In the spring of 1952 under the sponsorship of an animal welfare committee, the shelter opened its doors under the name of "The Animal Shelter". Four weeks after the opening, the committee disbanded leaving Edna-Ann and her father Henry (Pop) Klare with 48 stray and homeless animals including a horse and a mere $15 in the treasury. That would have been the end had it not been for some dedicated friends who helped with the much needed publicity. It was not long before the shelter's population grew to overflowing. So Pop Klare cashed his government bonds and he and Edna-Ann moved the shelter to a 50 acre site in Greenfield Center, NY where we still are to this day. On January 21, 1954, Estherville received its first charter under the legal name of Estherville, the Alberta and Winonica Memorial Animal Shelter, Inc. Estherville is named after three of Edna-Ann's childhood dogs.
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