The Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation is focused solely on rescuing abused and neglected animals. They rescue, provide full rehabilitation services, and then work to find them permanent loving homes. what makes the Animal Hope & Wellness Foundation different from other rescues is that the animals they take in are animals who have been beaten, kicked, shot, run over, used for gang initiations and have been waiting for the day that someone would come and save them. The other very important focus of the Animal Hope & Wellness foundation has been on rescuing dogs from the Asian dog meat trade- from the slaughterhouses and torture chambers where the use of cruel and barbaric torture methods are practiced to kill dogs in order for their “meat to taste better”. By raising awareness, founder Marc Ching and the AHWF aim to expose the world to the unimaginable anguish and suffering that these dogs endure in order to enact change and force the government to create laws to protect these precious animals from unfounded, barbaric and cruel tradition.

The Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation began with a couple of restaurant owners with a love for animals. At first, is was a few “lost” dogs needing a place to stay until they could find new homes of their own. Soon it grew into taking in dogs who were about to be euthanized in shelters and finding adoptive families for them. Finally, the efforts of founders Pamela Mcalwee and Ross Underwood coalesced into the establishment of The Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation (LDCRF) in 2001 and the opening of the “Lost Dog Ranch” in Sumerduck, VA. The Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation places about 2,000 dogs and cats each year into adoptive homes for a total of more than 25,000 since 2001! Each weekend, an army of volunteers mobilizes to run eight adoption events in the metro-DC area. Each animal spayed or neutered, up to date on vaccines and routine tests and treated for any special medical needs before adoption.

Muttville Senior Dog Rescue was founded in 2007 by Sherri Franklin, a long time animal advocate and rescue worker. Working from her house, Sherri rescued 27 dogs that year. Since then, Muttville has grown into a nationally recognized organization that rescues approximately 1,000 dogs a year. Muttville Senior Dog Rescue reaches out to senior dogs and special needs rescue dogs; finds suitable homes for those dogs that are adoptable; and offer end of life care for those that are not. These are not just shelter dogs; Everyday, dogs are moved from loving homes to concrete cages because their guardians have dies or moved or simply can’t care for them anymore. If they had their way, no dog would spend its last days in a cold, dark shelter. Their is so much love and joy in these dogs! Bringing these special dogs into a home is not only good for the dogs, but such loving, mellow dogs transform the quality of life for the people who adopt or foster them.

The Sato Project is dedicated to rescuing abused and abandoned dogs in Puerto Rico, locally referred to as “Satos”. Since its inception in 2011, The Sato Project has largely focused its efforts on a place unfortunately known as “Dead Dog Beach” in the municipality of Yabucoa, one of the islands poorest. They have rescued over 2,000 dogs to date, rehabilitated them with the highest standards of veterinary care and placed them in loving homes in the mainland U.S. The Sato Project works to address the underlying causes of overpopulation, abandonment, and abuse through community outreach and a low cost spay, neuter, vaccine and microchip program.

The Richmond SPCA, founded in 1891, is a no-kill humane organization dedicated to the guiding principle that every life is precious. As a national leader in humane care and education, the Richmond SPCA is building a more compassionate community through programs of adoption, rehabilitation, spay/neuter, pet-retention, trap-neuter-return and humane education. In their most recent fiscal year, the Richmond SPCA delivered care to 4,119 homeless animals, provided 3,505 homeless pets with veterinary treatment for a variety of medical conditions prior to adopting them to loving, lasting homes, saw more than 11,300 four-legged patients in our full-service, low-cost veterinary hospital and delivered more than 36,000 hours of humane education and training to area school children, adults and canines.

Richmond Animal League is Richmond, Virginia’s oldest non-profit, no-kill organization, committed to saving lives by providing hope, help and homes for animals in need. Founded in 1979, RAL’s main goal is to reduce euthanasia rates in central Virginia by transporting pets from partnering animal control agencies. RAL provides temporary housing, medical treatment, sterilization, and quality care to over 2,000 companion animals each year until they are adopted into permanent loving homes. Richmond Animal League also provides low-cost spay and neuter services at the loving spay and neuter clinic to pet owners without geographical restrictions.