Who We Are
Founded in 2021, Journey Home Animal Control (JHAC) is a Wisconsin-based nonprofit dedicated to helping people and animals through compassionate support, education, and practical solutions. Since our founding, we have assisted more than 1,000 animals across Jefferson, Walworth, Rock, Waukesha, and Ozaukee Counties. We work alongside residents, law enforcement agencies, animal shelters, veterinary clinics, and rescue organizations to address animal-related concerns and help people navigate situations where they need support.
Our mission is rooted in a simple belief: helping animals begins with helping people.
Our Mission
We believe that protecting animals takes more than responding to a problem. It takes education, collaboration, accessible resources, and a community willing to work together.
Journey Home provides guidance and hands-on assistance with lost pet recovery, stray animal concerns, community cat management, and animal welfare education. Whether we are helping reunite a missing pet with their family, assisting with a stray animal, or connecting someone with resources to care for their pet, our goal is to find practical, humane solutions that benefit both animals and the people who care about them.
We strive to empower community members with the knowledge, resources, and support they need to make informed decisions and help animals in their own communities.
How We Work
Journey Home Animal Control is not an impound facility and does not operate a traditional animal shelter. Instead, we collaborate with local shelters, foster-based rescues, veterinary partners, and dedicated volunteers to help ensure animals receive appropriate care while their owners have the opportunity to reclaim them.
This collaborative approach allows us to focus on lost pet recovery, field assistance, education, and connecting people with the services best suited to their needs. We believe that working together strengthens our local animal welfare network and helps ensure resources are used where they can make the greatest difference.
We also operate a low-cost Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program for feral and free-roaming cats. Through humane trapping, spaying or neutering, vaccination, and return to their outdoor homes when appropriate, we help communities manage outdoor cat populations in a responsible and sustainable way.
Our Commitment to the Community
Journey Home Animal Control is a community-focused, volunteer-powered nonprofit. We understand that every situation is different, and we approach our work with compassion, patience, and a commitment to finding solutions whenever possible. From helping a lost pet find its way home to supporting people facing difficult animal-related challenges, our purpose remains the same: to help people help animals.
Because stronger communities create better outcomes for animals.
What Makes Journey Home Different?
Journey Home Animal Control was founded on a simple belief: helping animals begins with helping people.
Not every animal-related situation has an easy solution. Sometimes, it takes education, specialized equipment, hands-on assistance, or someone willing to put in the time to help. That's where Journey Home comes in.
A Different Approach to Animal Welfare
Journey Home specializes in lost pet recovery, using methods such as community outreach, mapping, trail cameras, humane trapping, signage, and volunteer coordination to help reunite pets with their families.
We also work alongside shelters, rescues, law enforcement, veterinary professionals, and community members to help fill gaps when additional time, resources, or hands-on assistance are needed. We believe animal welfare is strongest when organizations collaborate and build on one another's strengths.
Helping People Help Animals
Sometimes, the best way to help an animal is to empower the person trying to help them. Through education, practical guidance, and connections to available resources, we help community members understand their options and make informed decisions.
We also believe keeping pets with their families matters. Not every animal welfare concern requires separating an animal from its home. When people have access to the right resources and support, many challenges can be addressed before they become a crisis.
Our low-cost Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program follows this same philosophy by helping community members manage feral and free-roaming cat populations through humane, sustainable practices.
A Community Working Together
Journey Home is a volunteer-powered nonprofit that relies on collaboration. From residents reporting sightings and volunteers distributing flyers to property owners permitting monitored traps and partner organizations providing care, every contribution helps.
We recognize that no single organization can solve every animal welfare challenge. By working together, we can reach more people, support more animals, and create better outcomes throughout our communities.
Our purpose is simple: to provide the education, fieldwork, and practical support that help people help animals.
Because helping animals isn't just about responding when something goes wrong. It's about giving people the tools and support to make things better.
Locations Covered by Journey Home Animal Control (Click to Expand Image)
