News and Events

It's hard to appreciate the dynamic friendship of Henry, a deaf border collie, and his pal, former hearing service dog Georgia, without seeing them in action. We got this great video footage of the two dogs this past week. The miraculous story of how these two dogs found friendship and a Home for Life at our sanctuary is featured in our Summer Appeal.

Above: 3-legged shy Scout in her first official Home for Life® portrait by Mark Luinenburg

Photographer Mark Luinenburg was out to visit us this summer, and swimming in the Apple River with our dogs was on the agenda but he also made time to get some of the most beautiful photos of our cats enjoying the balmy weather.

The touching story of Henry and Georgia is featured in Home for Life's® Summer Appeal.
Deadline extended to Sept 6 - $30,000 Matching Grant!  A deaf dog and a former hearing service dog find friendship and a home for life!

Above: Polaris employees on location at Home for Life®

Spring's arrival has been sweeter this year with the support given to Home for Life® from the community. Polaris rounded up several volunteers who spent a sunny day at the sanctuary helping us prepare our gardens for spring.

Above: Maxmillion the Dachshund checks out the dandelions at Home for Life®!

In this album are some of our favorites from Photographer Mark Luinenburg's visit to Home for Life® at the end of May when the dandelions were in full bloom; his photos at the sanctuary during dandelion season have become an annual tradition. With so much that doesn't make sense and the world so turbulent, it's reassuring to know that every year, there will be spring sunshine, cheery yellow flowers, and happy animals at Home for Life®.

Protect the animals you love. Create a lasting partnership with Home for Life®. Your planned gift makes it possible.

By including Home for Life® in your estate plan, you can continue providing a second chance for unwanted dogs and cats due to old age, chronic illness, handicaps, and temperament issues.

Charitable trusts help ensure the future of the animals in Home for Life's care. Receive income for life or transfer property to your children or grandchildren in a tax-advantaged manner.

There are several different types of trusts, each with specific benefits to the donor, to someone the donor designates, or to the charity. At the end of the trust, the remaining assets either go to the charity or revert to the donor's family. The amount of the income stream is either a set amount per year or a percentage of the value of the assets.

Your will is an important element in your estate plan that enables you to protect the people you love, create a lasting partnership with Home for Life®, and help ensure a home forever for unwanted animals. For details about making a charitable bequest see our Charitable Bequests page.

Outright gifts or bequests of real property have many advantages, including bypassing capital gains and reducing estate taxes. Gifts of real estate can include a house, apartment building, farm, vacation home, commercial building, or land (either income-producing or non-income-producing). Donors can make outright gifts of real estate now or through their estate, or use the property to fund a charitable remainder trust that provides income to the donor or the donor's children.

These can be powerful tools for endowing a charitable legacy to home for life while avoiding heavy estate and income taxes.

Many individuals have accumulated substantial sums in tax-deferred retirement accounts, which include profit-sharing plans, IRAs 401(k)s and 403(b)s. These accounts are popular because the contributions are made with pretax dollars in the assets in the account grow tax-deferred. However, funds withdrawn from these accounts are usually taxed at both high income and estate tax rates.