Five Years ... and We’re Just Getting Started

Five years ago, AnimalCity began with one deeply personal question:

What happens to my pets if something happens to us?

That question became an idea. The idea became a mission. And over the past five years, that mission has grown into a community of people committed to protecting pets.

This July, AnimalCity is celebrating five years of protecting pets.

And mostly, I am feeling grateful.

I am grateful for every foster who opened their home. Every adopter who said yes. Every volunteer who transported a pet, shared a post, made a call, solved a problem, or stepped in when we needed help.

I am grateful for our board members, donors, partners, veterinarians, advocates, friends, and followers.

And I am grateful for every animal who trusted us during one of the most uncertain moments of their life.

AnimalCity was created to help pets whose people had passed away or could no longer care for them. That work will always be at the center of who we are.

But over the past five years, we have learned something important:

The best time to protect a pet is before the crisis happens.

That is where our future is headed. We are building better ways for people to plan for their pets, including our Pet Legacy Plan, which helps families arrange and fund lifetime care before an emergency occurs.

We want pet planning to become a normal part of loving an animal. We want fewer pets left without answers. Fewer families scrambling during grief. Fewer animals entering already-overwhelmed shelters because no plan was in place.

The past five years have brought challenges, lessons, heartbreak, happy endings, unexpected friendships, and more growth than I could have imagined when this began.

And we are still growing.

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To everyone who has believed in AnimalCity, supported our work, welcomed our animals, and helped carry this mission forward—thank you. You did not simply support an organization. You helped build a safety net for pets.

Five years in, I am incredibly proud of what we have created. But I am even more excited about what comes next.

Purrs & puppy kisses,

Leah