Mission: Since 1926 the Animal Rescue League of Iowa (ARL) has been a safe haven for animals who have nowhere else to turn. Over the course of nearly a century, more than 1 million abused, abandoned, neglected and even very loved animals have found refuge within our doors.
The Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Inc. mission is:
To promote animal welfare, strengthen the human-animal bond, and prevent the overpopulation of pets.
The ARL strives to serve people and pets in our community through our programs and services designed to promote animal welfare, to address the reasons animals end up in shelters, to find forever-adoptive homes for the animals in our care, and to help keep pets in their homes with the people that love them.
Principle Programs and Services
- Shelter and care for lost and found pets; Pet Receiving (of strays and owner-released animals); Pet Adoptions at two ARL locations and twelve adoption partner locations in the Des Moines metro; Pet Support Services programs: reclaim assista

Animal Rescue League of Iowa is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1949, and donations are tax-deductible.