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Trails UP

Creating Sustainable Solutions For Homeless Animals

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In 2020, after being a leader in saving lives across Virginia, HT created our Trails UP program. Trails UP (TU) is a state-wide (Virginia) program that provides lifesaving support to our most under-resourced communities. 

We provide education, financial support and guidance to shelters, nonprofits and individual animal welfare leaders on building sustainable programs that address the root of animal homelessness.

Our Trails UP team hits the road monthly to spend time in the field in these communities working alongside our community members. 

 

Since the creation of Trails UP, we have provided thousands of spay/neuter surgeries, secured TNR surgeries for more than 1,500 community cats,  provided vaccines and microchips to shelters and individual animals and distributed over one million pounds of pet food and supplies across Virginia! 

We help improve systems and care at animal shelters, work with Animal Control to better assist community members and work with local humane organizations to keep animals in loving homes and secure placement in foster homes when needed.

Trails UP is truly making a lasting difference in communities with hope that one day soon, animal homelessness will be a more manageable problem in Virginia.

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The communities we work in are those that desperately want to help their community’s animals but lack the resources to do so. Trails UP focuses on sustainable solutions and programs to address animal homelessness.

We currently focus on these areas of need:

Animal Care & Behavior

Community Cats

Volunteer Recruitment 

Local Laws

Intake & Outcome of Animals

Community Partnerships

Marketing & Fundraising

Our History
Our Mission
Our Principles

More News from the Trail!

  • Empty the Shelters National Adoption Event

    We’re excited to announce that we’re participating in  Bissell Pet Foundation’s Spring National Empty the Shelter reduced-fee adoption event  now through May 15. Come meet cats and dogs with reduced and waived adoption fees both Saturday and Sundays during the event between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Our nation’s animal shelters are facing a capacity crisis and need your help now to get pets from shelter kennels into the couches of loving homes.

  • Helping Happy Hounds – Fee Waived Hound Adoptions

    As you may or may not know, Virginia animal shelters are filled with Hounds. These amazing dogs are most often discarded by callous hunters, found starving wandering the countryside. Many never make it as hunters and are then tied up to chains or left along the side of the road like old furniture. A good number of them do not make it out of shelters alive.But these dogs – like all dogs – are amazing and worthy of families. We just cannot get them families fast enough to stop them from dying in our shelters when there is no more space.And so we are trying something new here. ALL HOUND DOGS ADOPTED FROM HOMEWARD TRAILS WILL BE FREE. Yes, we are WAIVING ADOPTION FEES for Hounds for the foreseeable future.We hope that will entice well-matched applicants to consider a Hound now. Use the money you save on training, treats, toys.We think all dogs are worthy. But the reality is that some take extra incentives. Some have more barriers to getting adopted. And the result is well, more end up dying. And no – this does NOT mean we are just giving dogs away. All applicants will still go through our application/screening process to ensure good homes. This is just us trying to save more dogs by eliminating one more barrier to adoption. And hey, Hound lovers can use all the extra money they can get to buy treats, right?Help us help these Hounds. Our program Helping Happy Hounds is live NOW. Let’s save some lives!

  • Our Current Supply Needs – Can You Help?

    Each year Homeward Trail spends thousands and thousands of dollars on supplies to care for our animals and support the general operations of our organization. We always strive to keep our costs as low as possible so that we can spend every extra dollar saving more lives.  One simple way you can help is by donating these supplies – everything from postage stamps, to cleaning supplies, to ink cartridges and paper, to dog and cat food and litter. Our wish lists are updated regularly so you can always find our most current needs. Please consider donating supplies to help us cover the cost of these items. The more we are able to get donated, the more animals we can help. Thank you! Adoption Center Wishlist Meow Palace Wishlist Dog Enrichment Wishlist Trails Home Farm Wishlist Farmhouse Wishlist Trails UP Wishlist  Puerto Rico Wishlist

More News from the Trail!

  • Empty the Shelters National Adoption Event

    We’re excited to announce that we’re participating in  Bissell Pet Foundation’s Spring National Empty the Shelter reduced-fee adoption event  now through May 15. Come meet cats and dogs with reduced and waived adoption fees both Saturday and Sundays during the event between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Our nation’s animal shelters are facing a capacity crisis and need your help now to get pets from shelter kennels into the couches of loving homes.