A top North Texas animal rescue group is taking local animal welfare to the next level with an innovative new facility it will open in Argyle in 2017.

Humane Tomorrow, formerly called Humane Society of Flower Mound, is known around Dallas-Fort Worth for its effectiveness in rescuing animals. Since its formation in 1997, it has saved more than 7,000.

With the help of a donation by the Hulcher family, the organization has acquired five acres in Denton County, where it will build a new home called the Center for Adoption, Rehabilitation, and Education (CARE). Founder Stacy Smith notes that the facility will not be a shelter, but will instead address areas that have been out of reach to most traditional, overburdened shelters.

"Shelters are doing good jobs, but we don't need another place to stash animals," she says. "Animals will be there, but will not live there. Our goal is not to build a shelter but a facility that works toward eliminating the need for shelters. We need programs that change the way people interact with and care for animals."

Those include educating people on proper animal care, including practices such as spaying and neutering their pets and providing proper shelter. "A key part of that will be the programs we put in place to educate children of all ages as well as adults," Smith says.

Humane Tomorrow has had success because of its strong infrastructure, with approximately 100 volunteers, and an approach where they don't bite off more than they can chew. That means not only rescuing animals, but finding them good homes and following through with education and assistance.

"You need education and outreach, and to keep animals in the homes they already have," Smith says.

One of its most exciting success stories has been the Love on Wheels program, where the group works with Helping Hounds Dog Rescue in New York to find homes for unwanted pets in Texas. So far, the program has placed more than 1,800 dogs.

The new center in Argyle will serve as a departure point for Love on Wheels, and it also will provide the following:

• Assistance for people seeking help to keep animals in the homes they have
• An adoption center for people seeking to add a new family member
• A home base for volunteers and supporters
• A place to transition animals moving from local shelters into foster homes
• A temporary refuge for animals in crisis situations

Humane Tomorrow president Linda Norman says that the group hopes to create a better future for animals. "Education and outreach will be a key focus of our work going forward and will constitute a large part of what happens at the CARE center," she says.