Maryville, Mo. (Feb. 9, 2026) –
Meet the ‘New’ NNHS and the Heart Behind What We Do
We’ve grown, and our brand has too. Our new identity reflects our continued mission to serve animals, and the people who love them, with compassion, dedication and care. We’re proud to reintroduce ourselves as NNHS: a community- and donor-supported pet rescue.
NNHS is a no-kill, non-profit animal shelter and rescue supported by the community and friends. Donations are the organization's lifeline, covering 80% of its expenses. Through the efforts of our staff and volunteers, we offer care and compassion to around 750 animals each year until they find permanent, safe, and loving homes.
Our animal shelter, which works to save animal lives in northwest Missouri, is launching a new logo and brand. This marks a milestone in the nonprofit’s ongoing efforts to provide care to animals in the region. This external transformation follows a year of internal operational shifts that have streamlined team processes, enhancing the level of care for animals at the facilities while ensuring the organization's information and resources are more widely known.
NNHS worked with Knactive, an interdisciplinary program at Northwest Missouri State University that places students in an environment mimicking a digital media marketing agency. This partnership provided NNHS with a tremendous foundation for building a better future.
"The teams provided great material for us to use," said Wes Rockwood, who serves on the Humane Society’s Board of Directors. "We pulled from each of the teams to piece together a plan we feel is even better."
The new NNHS logo features the abbreviation for our full name, New Nodaway Humane Society, alongside a heart-filled paw. These elements should remain familiar to our stakeholders from our old branding, ensuring the connection with our history remains intact.
The abbreviation was intentional to better represent how our organization functions, especially financially. Currently, about 20% of our budget comes from city and county support via animal control contracts. The remaining 80% comes from grants and donations. These donations allow us to operate as a no-kill rescue. The heart-filled paw is a refreshed tribute to the paw in past branding, with the added heart symbolizing how our mission is powered by the hearts of our donors, volunteers, staff, and community members.
Our new logo and brand marks are also accompanied by the addition of caricature mascots to bring an emphasis to the reason we do what we do, the pets, in a fun and friendly way.
The benefits of this refresh include increased visibility, enhanced mission clarity, stronger community connections, and improved trust and credibility, ultimately reinforcing the organization’s integrity.
NNHS would like to introduce our mascots – Buddy, Sweet Pea and Eve! Enjoy seeing these cute faces around more!
Shelter Status
It takes approximately $435,000 annually to operate NNHS.
Local govt. support $85,000
(20% of annual budget)
80% of our budget is covered by the community.
Average stay until adoption is 41 days.
Volunteers give more than 3,000 hours of their time each year
Once again, named a Best Friends Animal Society no-kill shelter in 2025.
Updated 2025
More about these numbers
It takes approximately $435,000 annually to operate NNHS
Staff/labor expenses, animal care costs and operational costs (like utilities and building maintenance) are the three largest expense categories.
We do not receive funding from the Humane Society of the United States, federal, or state governments.
Support from local governments totals $85,000 (approx. 20% of our annual budget).
Local governments cover ACO calls, the cost associated with dispatching and meeting the state required 5-day holding period for a stray animal.
The remaining 80% of our budget is covered by the community. (grants, businesses, individual donations, operating income and savings.)
In 2025, NNHS operated at a roughly $10,000/month deficit.
Individual donations are more critical than ever to our mission. Donor and community support:
Directly funds our no-kill mission “to give shelter and care to lost, abused, or unwanted dogs and cats, to advocate the humane treatment of all animals, and to reduce overpopulation.”
Prepares animals for adoption including vaccination, spay/neuter and microchipping.
Helps place these animals regardless of how long it takes.
Extends care to responsibly released animals in addition to strays.
As a “no-kill” shelter, there is no set time limit to an animal’s length of stay. The current average stay until adoption is 41 days.
It costs $12 per day to care for each animal.
In 2025, we welcomed 723 animals and successfully placed 95% in loving homes or reunited them with their families!
Our current building was built in 2003 and was officially paid off in 2023.
Our volunteers gave more than 3,000 hours of their time to help socialize the shelter pets.
Best Friends Award
NNHS is proud to once again be recognized by Best Friends Animal Society for maintaining no-kill status in 2025, saving 90% or more of pets who entered our shelter.
2023 Outstanding Shelter Award
NNHS awarded the 2023 Outstanding Animal Welfare Organization of the Year Award by the Missouri Animal Control Association (MACA). The award is given to “recognize outstanding volunteer work within your community; efforts to promote animal welfare, rescue, and pet adoption; and continued dedication to people and pets in your region.” View the MACA award webpage for more information.
Grab some new merch!
Your support keeps this mission alive.
Every dollar helps, we also have some fresh merch available if you’d like to rep the new look! Ordering will be available until Feb. 20, 2026 and ready for pickup the week of Feb. 23.
NNHS will receive a portion of all sales.
Together, We’re Building a Kinder Future
For every wagging tail to every second chance, your support fuels our mission. Thank you for standing with us, and for helping us make love, hope, and compassion the heart of NNHS.
