The Bond Between

The Bond Between A 501(c)(3) nonprofit that builds, supports, and reinforces The Bond Between animals and people! We were founded in 2009 as Secondhand Hounds.
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The Bond Between is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that focuses on building the bond between humans and animals. Since then, we have rescued over 35,000+ dogs and cats with the help of thousands of fosters, volunteers, and supporters in our community. Our organization has grown from a rescue to a first-in-its-class animal well-being organization! We continue to provide safe shelter, proper vete

rinary care, and daily necessities for animals while working hard to help them build a bond with humans. We also focus on supporting the bonds that already exist between people and pets with our pet food shelf, respite foster care program, and focus on social services. We wake up every morning saying YES to connecting people and animals, caring for them, and helping them fill each other’s hearts.

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The Bond Between is a 100% Foster based animal well-being organization, but we have kennels for temporary shelter. The Kennels are licensed and inspected by the Minnesota Board of Animal Health. License Number: MN417867

08/24/2026

The remaining 155 Ridglan Farms beagles have officially been released… all 2,115 have been rescued 🥹🥳

With this wonderful news, it’s only fitting that we give you a happy pupdate on one of our Ridglan beagles that found his home.

Do y’all remember Loon?! He now goes by Sam 🥰

Sam’s story is extra special because his parents ended up adopting another beagle from Winona Area Humane Society… but the REALLY special thing?

Willow was also rescued from Ridglan Farms 🥺

Sam and Willow immediately took to each other. Both growing in confidence, feeling calmer, and letting their personalities show. It’s almost like they knew.

They knew that they both had the same beginning. They knew what each other had been through. They could understand each other. They felt safe together.

Now, two dogs that had a heartbreaking beginning get to rewrite their next chapters together. They get to spend their days playing in their own backyard with their doggo sibling. They get to enjoy the soft, cozy life with humans who love them deeply.

They get to spend their days together… side by side, always ❤️

One conversation. One connection. Six lives changed. Help has a way of showing up in different ways... sometimes exactly...
08/23/2026

One conversation. One connection. Six lives changed.

Help has a way of showing up in different ways... sometimes exactly when you need it. Flash back to the end of June. Pride Weekend in MN. The weather wasn't great and people were hiding out under tents from down pouring rain.

While people were hiding out together, conversations began. Our Vice President of Rescue Operations, Jen, began talking to someone from the Q***r Muslim Network. Their friend's cat had just delivered a litter of unexpected babies and they didn't know what to do.

Jen talked them through our Pet Pregnancy Program... telling the everything. How pregnant mamas or newborn families will stay in foster care until the babies are ready to be adopted. The mama and babies will be spayed and returned. Mama will return to to their original owner and the babies will begin their search for their adoptive families.

Fast forward to now, and this little family is thriving in foster care 😍 The kittens are growing up quickly and soon, Burnt Marsh will be reunited with her humans... where she belongs.

This is why the Pet Pregnancy Program is important. An unexpected litter could result in someone surrendering their pet because they don't have capacity or resources to care for a little. We don't want that to happen... because after all, some people just need a little bit of help.

All because of that one conversation, a family gets to be reunited and stay together. That one conversation saved six lives and protected the bond between Burnt Marsh and her humans ❤

3 WEEKS UNTIL RACE DAY 🤩🥳3 weeks until we lace up our sneakers, leash up our doggos (or put cats in strollers), and tack...
08/22/2026

3 WEEKS UNTIL RACE DAY 🤩🥳

3 weeks until we lace up our sneakers, leash up our doggos (or put cats in strollers), and tackle The Fast & The Furriest 5K! Don't worry, there is no need to run. A nice little Saturday morning walk around the lake with us counts too 😍

3 weeks until we come together to create second chances for animals who once had none. 3 weeks until we show up as a community because we chose to care 3 weeks until we make change... together.

Saturday, September 12th at Thomas Beach Park. Be there. Your registration fee directly makes an impact. And if you can't be there? You can still fundraise or donate, share this social post, and tell your friends.

When a bunch of us show up in small ways... we make a big impact. Let's make a big impact in just 3 weeks ❤️

Register here: https://raceroster.com/events/2026/130603/the-bond-between-fast-and-the-furriest-5k

This litter of puppies was discarded. Not given a second thought. Just left to fend for themselves... under the hot sun,...
08/21/2026

This litter of puppies was discarded. Not given a second thought. Just left to fend for themselves... under the hot sun, next to a busy highway, inside a filthy crate.

It's honestly a wonder any of them survived... but they did. Meet Bruiser, Bongo, Buster, Ravina, and Roxy... our little survivors 🥹

A good human saw the crate by the highway and pulled over to help. What they found was shocking. A litter of five puppies... sunburned. Extremely thirsty. Covered in so much grime they had to be bathed twice with Dawn dishwashing detergent.

They were timid, unsure, and preferred to stick close together. We don't blame them.

Our shelter partners immediately jumped into action, giving these cuties some spa days, lots of water (and treats), and most importantly, love. They rebounded quickly... becoming your typical healthy, playful, adorable pups. You'd never know how their journey started when you look at them.

And then, there's Bruiser... our special guy 🥺

If you look at photos 2 and 3, you'll notice he's got a bit (okay... a lot) of a head tilt. It is stinking adorable, but it made us a little worried. He already overcame so much. We didn't want him to have to overcome something else.

Our Vet Team evaluated him for any eye, ear, or neurological medical causes for this. We held our breath... waiting for the results.

They didn't find anything. That head tilt? Simply adorable. Just one of his added quirks that makes him even more charming 😍

All five of these pups had a rough start. They beat the odds and survived something they never should have had to experience. Now? They're ready for the next chapter... a family.

Buster found his family right away... his fosters decided to keep him 🥰 But his siblings? They are still looking.

Looking for the people that will become theirs. Looking for the home that will become their safe space. Looking for the people that will show them everyday that they aren't disposable.

Bruiser, Bongo, Ravina, and Roxy... they're all worth stopping for ❤️

Recap from our Pet Clinic with our friends at Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and their pets ❤We recently s...
08/20/2026

Recap from our Pet Clinic with our friends at Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and their pets ❤

We recently spent some time in Grant Portage, MN for our annual Pet Clinic and every single year we come back feeling incredibly grateful. Grateful to work alongside amazing humans. Grateful to provide care for their pets and help keep them healthy. Grateful for the chance to learn from others. Grateful to have our communities come together.

Because beautiful things happen when communities come together... so let's take a look at what we all accomplished together:

🐾 71 animals received wellness care (39 dogs and 32 cats)
🐾 158 vaccines were provided
🐾 168 preventatives were prescribed
🐾 We administered 200 other services including things like heartworm tests, deworming, ear cleaning kits, and more
🐾 22 cats surrendered into our care and made the drive home with us to their foster homes
🐾 50 animals were spayed and neutered thanks to Minnesota Spay Neuter Assistance Program 🥳

That's a whole lot of numbers. They're impressive for just a couple of days of work. But they aren't what we really care about. It's about the lives changed. It's about the diseases and unwanted pregnancies that were prevented. It's about building a better future for all of us.

Thank you to every volunteer, staff, and community member that showed up and came together. Thank you Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa for welcoming us into your community and thank you for being part of ours 🥰

71 days. 0 applications. And we have one question... how has nobody applied for Luna yet?! 😭Meet Luna. She's been patien...
08/20/2026

71 days. 0 applications. And we have one question... how has nobody applied for Luna yet?! 😭

Meet Luna. She's been patiently waiting (for 71 days!!!) for someone to adopt her. For someone to see what we see in her. But she keeps getting overlooked. And honestly? We don't get it.

She is quite literally one of the cutest cats we've seen (dare we say ever?!) and sometimes she looks a little cross-eyed... which only adds to her charm 🥹😻

Luna is the purrfect blend of cat personalities. Cuddly and lovable mixed with independent and chatty. In fact, many people describe her as "poised and quite the little lady" 💅

Within hours of arriving at her foster home she was belly up waiting for all the pets. But if breakfast is late? You'll know. Luna will make sure she tells you... right away 🤪

There is one thing to know about Luna: she is currently on a prescription diet due to her history of bladder stones. But the cool thing? That prescription diet will help prevent new bladder stones. Easy peasy!

And if you needed one more reason to make Luna yours, a portion of her adoption fee is being covered by The Wilbur Fund! So... what are you waiting for?!

Apply today. Share her photos. Let's find Luna her home so she doesn't have to wait another 71 days 💖

Sometimes, a car you no longer need can become something so much more 💙Since 2021, Animal Car Donation has turned donate...
08/19/2026

Sometimes, a car you no longer need can become something so much more 💙

Since 2021, Animal Car Donation has turned donated vehicles into support for nonprofit organizations... including $250,000 in support for The Bond Between 🤯🥰

The process is simple: donors give a vehicle they no longer need, Animal Car Donation handles the pickup and sale, and the proceeds help support organizations across the country. For The Bond Between, that means keeping pets and their families together

As Loren Dorshow, Executive Director of Car Donation Foundation, put it:

“The Bond Between doesn't just take an animal in — it tries to keep the animal and the family together in the first place, if it can. That's a different kind of rescue work, and it's exactly the kind our donors are glad to fund.”

And today, we're celebrating an incredible milestone alongside them: Car Donation Foundation, the nonprofit parent of Animal Car Donation, has surpassed $200 million in lifetime vehicle donations since 2010 🎉😍

That’s 200 million dollars directly to nonprofits. 200 million dollars worth of change... all because people chose to turn something they no longer needed into something that could help others 🥹 And we’re so grateful that to be just one part of that story.

Here’s to the next $200 million... and all the lives that will be changed along the way ❤️

08/19/2026

We made Bur a promise.

We promised her that we would tell EVERYONE that she knows how to sit on command. That she loves ALL the pets. That she LOVES to give kisses. And most importantly, that she is the GOODEST girl.

Well, her request worked… because today Bur was officially adopted 🥹🥰

Bur found her humans. She found the humans that she gets to love bomb every single day. The humans that she gets to grow up with. The humans she gets to stop and smell the roses with on walks (she loves a sniffari).

Bur is officially home 🩷

This week's new face Tuesday is a special one because it is brought to you by one of our amazing 5K Sponsors... Talk To ...
08/18/2026

This week's new face Tuesday is a special one because it is brought to you by one of our amazing 5K Sponsors... Talk To My Face 🤩

Talk To My Face (TTMF) a local Minneapolis-based social connection app created by therapists to help people step away from endless scrolling and meet up in person for real-world activities. The goal? Community 🥰

They want people to put their phones down and start real conversations... in real life. Users can discover others nearby with shared interests, connect through the app, and then meet up in person at one of their partner venues.

You can download TTMF on the App Store or Google Play today: https://linktr.ee/talktomyface and who knows... maybe you'll connect with a fellow animal lover that is also loves to look at all the currently adoptable animals 🐶😻

Address

5959 Baker Road, Suite 390
Minnetonka, MN
55345

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 7pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+19523227643

Website

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