About The Iowa Shepherd Project
Our Mission: Keeping Families Together
Our History: From Greenleaf to Muscatine
Our History: From Greenleaf to Muscatine
"Hardships happen to everyone, but facing a tough time should never mean giving up the pets who have been by your side through it all. Let us help you keep your family together." - Rue
At the Iowa Shepherd Project, we believe in a holistic, judgment-free approach to community care. We bridge the gap between crisis and stability by suppor
"Hardships happen to everyone, but facing a tough time should never mean giving up the pets who have been by your side through it all. Let us help you keep your family together." - Rue
At the Iowa Shepherd Project, we believe in a holistic, judgment-free approach to community care. We bridge the gap between crisis and stability by supporting both human and animal needs under one roof in Muscatine and surrounding communities.
What We Stand For:
- Housing Stability & Homelessness Prevention: Helping families find safe places to land, navigating housing resources, and covering critical move-in barriers like pet deposits so families never have to part with their animals.
- Life Coaching & Mentorship: Providing one-on-one guidance to help individuals map out practical steps through difficult transitions and everyday problem-solving.
- Pet Food & Supply Pantry: Supplying essential dog and cat food, crates, leashes, and supplies through direct drop-offs and scheduled pickup event days.
- Behavioral Guidance & Education: Offering proactive animal education and tailored training tips to help resolve household challenges.
- Customized Support: Delivering tailored life and training guidance directly through our email and physical mail lists because every unique journey deserves a personalized approach.
Our History: From Greenleaf to Muscatine
Our History: From Greenleaf to Muscatine
Our History: From Greenleaf to Muscatine
How It All Began in Wisconsin
Our story started in Greenleaf, Wisconsin, where we operated a community focused initiative built on a unique blend of baking and animal welfare. To help fund and support local pet owners in need, we ran a purple self-serve roadside farmstand on Lark Road, offering artisan sourdough baked goods (like bagels
How It All Began in Wisconsin
Our story started in Greenleaf, Wisconsin, where we operated a community focused initiative built on a unique blend of baking and animal welfare. To help fund and support local pet owners in need, we ran a purple self-serve roadside farmstand on Lark Road, offering artisan sourdough baked goods (like bagels, cookies, muffins, and rolls.)
Every loaf baked and shared helped fuel our community pet food and supply pantry, bridging the gap for families facing tough times. We learned firsthand that when a community rallies around its members, no one has to choose between putting food on their own table and feeding their pets.
Continuing the Mission in Muscatine
Today, The Shepherd Project has grown beyond its roots in Wisconsin. Relocating our home base to Muscatine, Iowa, we have expanded our vision to provide an even wider safety net. Alongside our pet food and supply pantry, we now offer vital life coaching, housing assistance to prevent homelessness, animal education, and tailored training tips.
While our iconic purple roadside farmstand has stayed back in Wisconsin for now, our boots are still very much on the ground. Moving forward, our goal is to serve Muscatine and the surrounding communities through scheduled pickup event days and direct drop-offs to families in need.
While our zip code has changed, our core heart remains exactly the same: hardships happen to everyone, but facing a tough time should never mean giving up the pets who have been by your side through it all. Let us help you keep your family together.
The Team
Our History: From Greenleaf to Muscatine
The Team
Rue (Founder): Rue’s dedication to community care is deeply rooted in her own life's journey. Having lived on her own in an apartment at age 17, earning her GED, and knowing firsthand the heartbreak of having to rehome pets during difficult seasons, she understands the struggles of crisis and instability intimately. Driven by those experi
Rue (Founder): Rue’s dedication to community care is deeply rooted in her own life's journey. Having lived on her own in an apartment at age 17, earning her GED, and knowing firsthand the heartbreak of having to rehome pets during difficult seasons, she understands the struggles of crisis and instability intimately. Driven by those experiences, her mission is to ensure other families never have to face those same painful choices. Professionally, she has worked as a Direct Support Professional (DSP) on and off since the age of 18, bringing extensive hands on experience in case management for individuals with limited mental health capacity in assisted living, crisis management, and de-escalation. Currently halfway through her bachelor's degree program with a goal to do social work and serve as a community resource, Rue's animal care expertise is equally backed by hands on experience working in a vet clinic and alongside K9s at a K9 activity academy. She maintains high standards—such as housing a single hamster in a custom 2ft x 4ft x 2ft enclosure—and holds a special soft spot for older and misunderstood animals, having cared for a return for aggression hamster through his end of life years, where he thrived simply by having his true needs met.
Boston Kurtz: Boston has a lifelong love for handling dogs and birds, with a natural gift for geriatric and end of life care. He previously gave a wonderful, high quality life to a geriatric bird that came to us confined to a small cage and unable to fly. He also cared for Blue, a Petco parakeet find, for 13 years, traveling state to state with him and letting him live out his final years in a Florida lanai. Boston has a huge soft spot for shepherds, having adopted his Dutch Shepherd Malinois mix rescue, Enzo, when he graduated high school.
Our Pack (Enzo, Freya, Ahsoka, & Purrari LaPurrari):
- Enzo (Dutch Shepherd Malinois Mix): Enzo has been by Boston's side for seven years since high school, traveling state to state together. Through consistent, hands on training, Enzo has made incredible, hard earned progress managing his old triggers around bikes and other animals, shining as a dedicated and well traveled companion.
- Freya (Catahoula Mix): Rescued from a tough outdoor shelter in Texas, 2 year old Freya has blossomed into an amazing road trip buddy. After overcoming early medical hurdles as a puppy, she has shown wonderful resilience and growth, doing fantastic on trips following dedicated reactivity and confidence building training.
- Ahsoka (Miniature Shepsky / Aussie Husky Shepherd Mix): A former stray who came to us from a Wisconsin shelter needing specialized eye and dental care, Ahsoka is an absolute superstar. She is already thriving and mastering advanced obedience commands like sit, stay, kennel, and leave it, making her a wonderful, well mannered companion for our very sharing toddler.
- Purrari (5 Year Old Cat): Rescued during Christmas 2024 after surviving a Florida hurricane and beating a shelter kill list, Purrari is a total sweetheart. She gets along harmoniously with all of her dog siblings and our toddler. She is a wonderful indoor companion who even enjoys the occasional leash walk outdoors!
How to Help & Get Involved
- Donate Supplies: Help keep our pet food and supply pantry stocked with essential dog and cat food, crates, leashes, and daily care items.
- Support Our Mission: Contributions help us cover critical move-in barriers like pet deposits, ensuring families facing tough times never have to part with their animals.
- Spread the Word: Share our mission with neighbors, local businesses, and community members who might need a helping hand or want to pitch in.
- A Quick Note on Our Status: We are not an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit yet, but that process is actively in the works as we look to secure a fiscal sponsor. If you are a local organization interested in partnering with us or helping us grow our community roots, please reach out!
