Friends of the Shelter, Inc.

03/30/2026

If you have newspapers and would like to help Funky Paws Animal Rescue of Buchanan County you can box them up (label the box) and take them to drop off locations. It will help us in the community cat room to help keep it clean. Thank you!

03/30/2026

Happy to announce our next event in Center Point !!!🐱☮️

11/16/2023

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12/17/2022

Warning: Long post of good-bye 👋:
Friends of the Shelter, Inc. was formed in 2005 by 3 unstoppable amazing volunteers (yes I’m one of them 🤗) that met at a rural pound outside of Vinton, IA. We’ve helped thousands of animals, hundreds of rescues/shelters and met some amazing people along the way although the animals were the very best part! Those who donated and those who volunteered are forever in our hearts.

Two big “Pay It Forward” donations we did was in 2019 when we donated our building, equipment, funds, etc. and some adorable adoptable cats to Better Together Animal Rescue, Inc. (long time volunteers w/FOTSI) in downtown Vinton, IA and in 2022 donated $50,000 to Wildthunder rural Independence, IA to help build their educational building….the LEGACY of those volunteers who built the first stray animal sheltering building in Benton county in the 1970’s inspired us because they worked so hard but after some years good things didn’t continue after the city took over (we read their meeting notes & Dr. Corbett shared many stories from that time). We hope it will continue to inspire with what we have done and paid it forward. So much has improved in animal welfare and attitudes, but sadly some areas haven’t changed much but encouragingly …good people will “always” strive for better!
As we leave 2022 it will be with satisfaction that we made a difference and have started the process of closing the chapter called FOTSI. The adorable cat pictured is Tip. We didn’t leave every adorable cat at the building in Vinton, he needed a quiet environment and we needed a quirky guy in our sanctuary.

Good luck to all who care for and love animals!

12/06/2022

11/25/2022

Holden says if there was room on his pedestal he’d put Kim from KSS Accounting & Tax Service, Inc. Newhall, IA on it. She has been with FOTSI from practically our beginning. 🤗