The Center for Animal Rescue and Enrichment of St. Louis, or CARE STL, was founded in 2018 in response to the City of St. Louis Department of Health's Request for Proposals for an animal shelter partner to run the existing city-run animal shelter, recording a 55% euthanasia rate. Weng Horak founded the organization. CARE STL was awarded the contract and has managed the city shelter since March 2019. CARE STL's mission is to create a supportive community rooted in collaboration, compassion, and caring for people and animals.

CARE STL provides adoption services, receiving animals within the City of St. Louis jurisdiction, fostering, and much more since its mission and focus is exclusively on protecting the safety of the City of St. Louis residents and its animals and protecting the public from strays that are possibly dangerous animals. CARE STL helps the city enforce Title 10 of the City Code relevant to animal care and control. CARE STL's target goal is to achieve the highest live release rate in the nation by following the guiding principles of proper sheltering practices such as:

• Save and rehabilitate community dogs and cats, regardless of whether they are perceived to be friendly or unsocial with humans ("feral") 

• Save orphaned animals as well as pregnant animals and their newborns.

• Rehabilitate animals suffering from or exposed to treatable contagious illnesses and provide emergency medical help to them.

• Enrichment of poorly socialized dogs, shy dogs, or traumatized dogs

• Care for the animals surrendered; our veterinarian and professional behaviorist staff will independently evaluate the animals to determine treatability. 

• Work with treatable animals considered to have "behavior problems" or "medical problems.

• Evaluate animals with behavior and medical impediments even if they have been signed over for euthanasia.

• Provide care for all animals not based on arbitrary criteria such as color, age, or breed.                                                                                                    

​CARE STL is committed to its city residents by promoting progressive programs and advocating for animal welfare. We strive to educate the public about responsible pet guardianship and recommend reforms in animal control policies. Our purpose is to rescue, rehabilitate, and facilitate the placement of unwanted pets from the City of St. Louis into suitable homes; to establish and manage an animal shelter for St. Louis City Animal Care and Control; to promote the welfare of the animals in our care, to reunite lost pets to their owners, and to increase public safety by addressing issues related to irresponsible pet owners and dangerous animals. We are focused on saving the animals of St. Louis City.

CARE STL is embracing the St. Louis community to extend a safety net of care for the animals in the city. We want to continue to grow our partnerships with other rescue organizations, foster care families, and volunteers. The key to success is our staff, volunteers who socialize with animals, and donors who open their hearts, homes, and wallets to the St. Louis city animals in dire need of assistance. The public will be at the center of our success, with us working with the city's residents to implement lifesaving programs and treat each life as precious. An organization like CARE STL transformed ACC into an excellent and phenomenal city shelter.

We know it is a tall order to have the goal of the highest live release rate, but this is what the leadership and entire CARE STL staff do best-- outside the box thinking. It will take all the city residents and business community partners to support and assist in achieving this goal. It can be done.