MINOT, ND (KXNET) — After realizing there were no animal shelters in a 100-mile radius in rural North Dakota, Keith Benning decided to take matters into his own hands. With the help of some experts with a passion for animals, Benning learned everything he could and transformed an empty building into a shelter. After a decade of helping animals in December last year, Turtle Mountain Animal Rescue ran into problems when the land that the shelter was built on was set to be sold. People all around the world jumped in to save it with donations. "Our supporters are amazing. We have people in 53 different countries that follow us all across the United States and locally," Benning said. "To see everybody rally behind us just validates what we've been doing, which is we've been trying to do the right thing for the right reason." Benning says without those donations, thousands of animals would be without a home. But now, with more than a quarter of a million dollars donated, the shelter is here to stay. Barb Dwyer, valued friend, helper and companion "What this means is that the animals have a safe place to stay," Benning said, "because if we weren't able to buy it and we had to close, we don't have any functional space to be able to move into, and we don't have any place to be able to store all of the things that we have here, so it would be a really tough deal." Donations to help save the animal shelter are still being accepted by Turtle Mountain Animal Rescue, which will go toward taking care of the animals. "Anybody that has donated, we truly deeply appreciate everything that you've done," Benning said. "You know without our supporters, we wouldn't be here, and anybody that is considering donating, we're a 501c3, so everything is tracked. We get audited every year as the process for grants and things like that, so any money that is donated is just a little bit less that we have to pull out of savings to be able to make this happen." To donate to the animal rescue, click here, and to adopt from the shelter, click here. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Today's Top Stories SIGN UP NOW