The Bond Between: Saving Lives Through Community Partnership
How The Bond Between partners with Best Friends to rescue and rehome dogs and cats in Minnesota.
The Bond Between: Building Meaningful Connections Between People and Animals
In the heart of Minnesota, an extraordinary animal welfare organization is transforming lives—both for animals in need and for the people who care for them. The Bond Between, formerly known as Secondhand Hounds, has emerged as a one-of-a-kind animal well-being organization that goes far beyond traditional rescue services. Founded in 2009, this innovative 501(c)(3) nonprofit has grown from a modest rescue operation into a comprehensive animal welfare hub that combines rescue services, veterinary care, social services, and community support programs.
What sets The Bond Between apart is its holistic approach to animal welfare. Rather than simply rescuing animals and finding them homes, the organization recognizes that the bond between people and animals is sacred and worth protecting. This philosophy drives every program, every decision, and every interaction within the organization. Today, The Bond Between has rescued over 30,000 dogs and cats, creating a ripple effect of compassion throughout Minnesota and beyond.
Our Mission and Vision
At its core, The Bond Between operates with a clear mission: to wake up every morning saying YES to connecting people and animals, caring for them, and helping them fill each other’s hearts. This isn’t merely a tagline—it’s the guiding principle that informs every aspect of the organization’s work.
The organization’s vision is equally powerful: to create a world where the bond between people and animals is free of threats, barriers, and limits. This ambitious goal reflects a deep understanding that human-animal relationships have the power to transform communities and heal individual lives.
Core Values That Drive Action
The Bond Between operates according to five core values that shape its culture and decision-making:
- Acting with open minds to understand diverse perspectives and needs
- Focusing on solutions rather than dwelling on problems
- Following through on commitments and doing what they say they will do
- Leading with compassion in all interactions with animals and people
- Believing in collaboration to achieve greater impact
Comprehensive Services and Programs
The Bond Between has developed an array of programs designed to support both animals in crisis and the people who love them. This multi-faceted approach addresses the real barriers that prevent sustainable animal welfare in communities.
Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation
The primary function of The Bond Between remains animal rescue and care. The organization provides safe shelter, proper veterinary care, and daily necessities for animals at risk. More importantly, the organization commits to comprehensive care pathways that include adoption, rehabilitation, and even hospice care for animals with special needs. This compassionate approach ensures that no animal is turned away simply because they have behavioral challenges or medical issues that might make them harder to place.
State-of-the-Art Veterinary Center
A landmark achievement for The Bond Between is the establishment of Minnesota’s first-of-its-kind in-house veterinary center. This facility represents a significant investment in animal health and demonstrates the organization’s commitment to providing quality medical care. The veterinary team works tirelessly to ensure that every rescue animal receives the care they need before and after adoption. The organization spends approximately 1.5 million dollars annually on veterinary care, reflecting the depth of this commitment.
Pet Food Shelf Program
Recognizing that many people face barriers to pet ownership due to financial constraints, The Bond Between established a pet food shelf program. This innovative service has supported families in crisis, with over 47,000 families visiting the food shelf. By providing access to pet food and supplies, the organization helps people keep their beloved companions during difficult times, strengthening rather than severing the human-animal bond.
Respite Foster Care Program
Understanding that pet ownership can become challenging during life crises, the organization created a respite foster care program. This program provides temporary care for pets whose owners are facing homelessness, domestic violence, hospitalization, or other temporary hardships. Currently supporting over 166 animals, this program represents a compassionate recognition that sometimes the best way to save animals is to keep them with their families by providing support during crisis periods.
The Foster Network: Community Heroes
The heart of The Bond Between’s rescue operation is its extensive foster network. With over 6,400 active fosters and volunteers, the organization has built a community of dedicated individuals who open their homes and hearts to rescue animals. Foster homes serve as crucial waypoints in an animal’s journey from shelter to forever home, providing socialization, rehabilitation, and love during a critical transition period.
What Foster Volunteers Do
Foster volunteers agree to take animals into their homes and care for them until they can find permanent families through The Bond Between. This arrangement provides multiple benefits: it reduces overcrowding in shelter facilities, allows animals to decompress and show their true personalities in a home environment, and helps identify behavioral issues that might need addressing before adoption.
Support for Foster Families
The Bond Between recognizes that fostering requires support and guidance. The organization provides all necessary supplies, food, and veterinary care for foster animals. An experienced Foster Support Team is available to answer questions and provide advice on managing behavioral issues, making introductions to new households, and navigating the emotional aspects of fostering. The organization even offers temporary fostering options for those new to the program, allowing potential foster families to “dip their toe in” before making a longer commitment.
Addressing Challenges
While the organization carefully screens animals for known aggressive behavior, some behavioral issues may arise during fostering. The experienced Foster Support Team helps manage separation anxiety, marking, chewing, house training difficulties, barking, and animal aggression. Foster families are supported with guidance and advice to work through these issues until they’re resolved.
Adoption: Creating Forever Homes
The ultimate goal of The Bond Between is to match animals with loving forever families. The organization has successfully placed over 31,848 animals in adoptive homes, transforming the lives of both the animals and their new families. By saying YES to adopt a rescue animal, adopters directly enable The Bond Between to rescue more animals in need.
The adoption process is designed to ensure good matches between animals and families. The organization provides adoption basics and guidance to help potential adopters understand what to expect and how to prepare for their new family member. Each adoption represents not just the placement of an animal, but the creation of a new human-animal bond that will endure for years to come.
Partnership with Best Friends Animal Society
The Bond Between’s impact extends beyond Minnesota through its partnership with Best Friends Animal Society. As part of the Best Friends Network, The Bond Between joins thousands of animal welfare organizations across the country working toward a common goal: making the entire nation no-kill by 2025.
The Best Friends Network
The Best Friends Network comprises thousands of public and private shelters, rescue groups, spay/neuter organizations, and other animal welfare groups from every state. These organizations work collaboratively to save the lives of dogs and cats in their own communities while sharing best practices and resources. By joining this network, The Bond Between gains access to marketing support, fundraising events, webinars, grants, and other resources that amplify its impact.
Shared Mission and Values
Through this partnership, The Bond Between and Best Friends work together to inspire change and lifesaving innovation. The collaboration enables both organizations to take on cases that might otherwise prove too challenging and to support the bond between people and animals through community resources. Together, they demonstrate that when animal welfare organizations unite around shared values, they can achieve extraordinary results.
Impact by the Numbers
The Bond Between’s work is measured not just in program descriptions but in tangible outcomes that demonstrate real impact:
| Metric | Impact |
|---|---|
| Animals Rescued | 33,648+ |
| Animals Adopted | 31,848 |
| Animals Supported Through Respite Foster Care | 166 |
| Families Served by Pet Food Shelf | 47,021 |
| Annual Veterinary Care Investment | $1.5 Million |
| Active Fosters and Volunteers | 6,416 |
How to Get Involved
The Bond Between welcomes community members who want to make a difference. There are multiple ways to support the organization’s mission:
Adopt a Rescue Animal
By adopting from The Bond Between, you give an animal a second chance at happiness and free up rescue resources for another animal in need. The organization maintains an accessible database of adoptable dogs and cats waiting for their forever homes.
Foster a Pet
Fostering requires minimal barriers to entry and maximum impact. Foster volunteers receive support, supplies, and veterinary care from the organization. Whether fostering temporarily or long-term, foster families make a direct difference in an animal’s life.
Volunteer Your Time
Beyond fostering, the organization seeks volunteers for various roles. Whether helping with administrative tasks, events, fundraising, or other needs, volunteers are the backbone of The Bond Between’s success.
Donate to Support Operations
Donations are essential to the organization’s ability to rescue more animals, take on complex cases that others cannot, and support community resources. Every contribution directly funds rescue operations, veterinary care, and social services.
Social Services and Community Support
What distinguishes The Bond Between from traditional animal rescues is its commitment to addressing the human side of animal welfare. The organization recognizes that animals don’t exist in isolation—they’re part of families and communities experiencing real challenges.
Through social services programs, the organization supports people experiencing homelessness, domestic violence, and financial hardship who might otherwise lose their beloved pets. The pet food shelf, respite foster care, and other community resources reflect a sophisticated understanding that saving animals often means supporting their human families first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How can I adopt a dog or cat from The Bond Between?
A: Visit The Bond Between’s website to browse available dogs and cats. Complete an adoption application, and the team will work with you to find the perfect match for your family. Learn about their adoption basics and process before applying.
Q: What if I’m interested in fostering but have never done it before?
A: The Bond Between welcomes new foster families! You can start with temporary fostering to see if it’s right for you. The Foster Support Team provides guidance, supplies, and veterinary care. Contact them to learn more about getting started.
Q: Does The Bond Between help people keep their pets during financial hardship?
A: Yes! The pet food shelf program provides pet food and supplies to families in need. Additionally, the respite foster care program temporarily cares for pets while owners face homelessness, hospitalization, or domestic violence situations.
Q: What makes The Bond Between different from other animal rescues?
A: The Bond Between combines animal rescue with veterinary care, social services, and community support. It’s Minnesota’s first organization to operate an in-house veterinary center and intentionally addresses barriers that separate people from their pets.
Q: How can I donate to support The Bond Between?
A: Donations can be made through the organization’s website. Your support funds rescue operations, veterinary care, social services, and community resources that save lives.
Q: What should I know about introducing a foster animal to my household?
A: New foster animals should have slow introductions over several days to all household members, both human and animal. The Foster Support Team provides specific guidance for your situation and is available to answer questions throughout the process.
References
- The Bond Between – Our Mission — The Bond Between. 2025. https://www.thebondbetween.org/mission
- The Bond Between – Main Website — The Bond Between. 2025. https://www.thebondbetween.org
- Secondhand Hounds – Idealist Nonprofit Profile — Idealist. 2025. https://www.idealist.org/en/nonprofit/d88e3c40890b45c6b4eb56680bcfca9a-secondhand-hounds-minnetonka
- The Bond Between | Best Friends Animal Society — Best Friends Animal Society. 2025. https://bestfriends.org/partners/bond-between
- Become a Pet Foster Home | The Bond Between — The Bond Between. 2025. https://www.thebondbetween.org/foster
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