We are a small rescue group operating in the New York area that rescues dogs from high kill shelters and southern rescues. This means a majority of dogs admitted there are euthanized due to lack of space, in an overpopulated area. We do not acquire animals from anywhere else besides these shelters we have worked with for years.

We started the rescue in 2007. I (Sarah) had recently adopted my first dog from the Maryland SPCA. Duke was a year old with a lot to learn! While online one day, I saw a website that showed dogs due to be euthanized. A large black lab named Duke had no time left. I drove out to Ohio and took the second Duke home with me. He found a home fairly quickly, and was such a good boy. It was horrible to see so many great dogs looking for homes, chained up outside to dog kennels. Some had been there over 6 months. This was a very rural shelter, with an overpopulation of dogs. They were all very well deserving of more, and I wanted to help them get there.

I learned there were plenty of shelters like this all over the country, which is not normal to us who live in more populated areas. Many northern rescues help out these other states in order for these dogs to have a chance.

A transport volunteer would start meeting me half way between Ohio and Maryland, with a few adult dogs each week. I would foster them freely in my home, and found homes for them usually all within a week. I realized this was really important work, and I wanted to make it into an organization.

Sadly, the Ohio driver passed away from cancer. We then started concentrating on shelters I had come across from West Virginia. A friend and I would drive 12 hours round trip weekly to rescue dogs in overpopulated kill shelters in West Virginia. The main shelter we rescued from was a really sad place. It was dark, moldy and miserable. None of the dogs ever had any blankets, beds, or toys. There were kennels full of puppies that did not have any of these things either. I believe the first litter of puppies (who did not have a mother there) we saved from there were cold, wet, and full of worms which you could actually see standing there. They needed just as much help as the adults.

Puppies are not easy to rescue. They need more medications, wormer, vet checks and inoculations. They are also more susceptible to becoming ill, require lots of cleaning up after, and lots of knowledge and strength to deal with it all.

It is important to note, we do not take in a litter of puppies without taking their mom or dad. If we do not have room for an adult at the time, we decline the offer to take any of the family. The asking rescue or shelter then asks a different place to help. There are plenty of pups out there who were dumped in the woods, surrendered without their mom, or something tragic happened while in the owners care etc. In some cases, the original owner wants to keep the mom, in which we will pay to have her spayed to avoid this from happening again. All mothers are spayed and heartworm negative before coming to us as all adults!
In Maryland, we had a small group of fosters that would take in dogs as they could. We also had a few fosters in NJ, PA and DE. We were very overwhelmed most of the time. Rescue is very time consuming, stressful, but rewarding work. There is nothing like seeing a dog you helped rescue be adopted.
Moving from Maryland to New York, it was time to scale back a bit and focus on a central location. We were lucky enough to obtain a great small group of knowledgeable fosters to care for our dogs before they are adopted. We continue to help out the other rural states as much as we can.

 We are thankful to all our supporters, sending rescues, other local rescues, transporters, fosters and adopters for your collective perseverance in this mission of saving lives! Thank you for reading our story. We are happy to answer any questions.