Iowa's largest nonprofit animal shelter, caring for thousands of pets each year. The Animal Rescue League of Iowa (ARL) is Iowa's largest nonprofit animal shelter, caring for many thousands of pets each year. The ARL and its programs serve people and pets across Iowa. 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.