A second chance, for the ones who ran out of them.
Refuge rescues animals from overcrowded shelters and the side of the road — rehabilitating, rehoming, and, for the ones no one else will take, offering a home for good.
12,408 animals rehomed · 408 active foster homes
Why it matters
Most of them didn't do anything wrong.
They just ran out of room.
A dog isn't surrendered because it's a bad dog. A family moves and can't take it. A medical bill comes due. A litter arrives that no one planned for. The animal did nothing — the circumstances simply closed in.
And the shelters those animals land in are full. When a kennel is needed and none is free, the decision often isn't about whether an animal can be saved — it's about whether there's space to save it. Refuge exists to add that space: a place to heal, a path to a new home, and for the ones who'll never be adopted, a home anyway.
Brought to overcrowded shelters across the three counties Refuge serves, annually.
Euthanized for lack of space, not lack of health — a healthy or treatable life, ended for room.
For every lifelong-sanctuary spot, eight elderly or special-needs animals are waiting.
What we do
From the worst day to a forever one.
Five programs carry an animal the whole way — out of danger, through healing, and into a home that lasts.
Rescue & intake
Pulling animals from overcrowded shelters and emergency calls, around the clock.
Medical rehabilitation
On-site veterinary care for injury, illness, and the wounds that don't show.
Foster network
408 foster homes giving animals a couch to heal on instead of a kennel.
Adoptions
Careful, unrushed matches — and a 96% adoption-retention rate to show for it.
Lifelong sanctuary
For the elderly, blind, and chronically ill: a permanent home, never a deadline.
No animal here is on a clock.
We don't time-limit care. An animal stays until it's well — or for life.
Help us keep that promise →Impact
Sixteen years, counted in second chances.
Placed into adoptive homes since Refuge opened in 2009.
Active volunteer households fostering on any given week.
Surgeries, treatments, and recoveries handled in 2025.
Adoptions still in their home a full year later.
Where your money goes
Fiscal year 2025, independently audited.
- Animal care & programs86%
- Fundraising8%
- Administration6%
Cumulative animals rehomed
2016 → 2025, every adoption finalized and followed up.
A rescue story
Juniper got out. Marigold gets to stay.
Juniper came in on a Tuesday, tied to a fence post and left — a senior shepherd mix, badly underweight, heartworm-positive. The intake notes were short. The prognosis wasn't good. Animals like Juniper are exactly the ones a full shelter can't afford to take.
Refuge took her. Five months of treatment, a quiet foster home, and a slow return of trust later, Juniper was adopted by the Bhandari family, who'd specifically asked for "an old dog who needs a soft place." She sleeps by their back door, in the sun, most of the day.
Not every story ends in an adoption — and it shouldn't have to. Marigold, a blind, arthritic mare surrendered at 26, will never be rehomed. She doesn't need to be. She has a stall, a pasture, and a name that everyone here knows. That's the other half of what Refuge does: when there's no next home, we are the home.
"We didn't rescue Juniper. Refuge did all the hard parts. We just opened the door."
Donate
Fund a recovery from start to home.
Every gift covers a real, costed piece of an animal's care. Choose a one-time gift — or join the Sanctuary Circle, the monthly giving that keeps food, hay, and medicine on hand year-round.
- $25
- a full week of food for a rescue in recovery.
- $50
- vaccines and a microchip for one animal at intake.
- $100
- a contribution to the surgery fund for urgent cases.
Give today
SecureMonthly donors join the Sanctuary Circle — the steady budget behind every meal and med.
Tax-deductible · cancel a monthly gift anytime · no fees taken from your gift
Winter Shelter Fund · 9,408 donors so far
Ways to give
More ways to give an animal a future.
The Sanctuary Circle
Monthly gifts are the budget we can actually plan around — food, hay, and medicine never run short.
Join the Circle →Employer matching
Many employers match gifts to animal-welfare nonprofits — an easy way to double your impact.
Check your employer →Legacy giving
Name Refuge in your estate plan — or fund the lifelong care of a sanctuary animal in your will.
Plan a gift →Supplies wishlist
Send food, blankets, crates, and medical supplies straight from our always-current wishlist.
See the wishlist →Volunteer & foster
Walk dogs, socialize cats, help at the sanctuary — or open your home as a foster.
Get involved →Sponsor an animal
Pick a resident, cover their care, and get photo updates on how they're doing.
Meet the animals →Transparency
Where your money goes, in the open.
Refuge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Our finances are independently audited every year, and the full picture is public.
EIN 26-1408337
Sustained by foundations, partners, and 16,408 monthly & one-time donors
FAQ
Questions donors ask.
Are you a no-kill organization?
Yes. No animal at Refuge is euthanized for space, time, age, or treatable illness. The only time we make that decision is when a veterinarian determines an animal is suffering and cannot be made comfortable — an act of mercy, never of convenience. Every other animal stays until adoption, or for life.
Can I sponsor a specific animal?
You can. Sponsorship covers the monthly cost of one animal's care — especially meaningful for our lifelong-sanctuary residents, who'll never be adopted. Sponsors get photo updates, a short profile, and news whenever something changes. It's the closest thing to adopting when you can't bring an animal home.
How do I become a foster?
Apply online, and our foster team will match you with an animal that fits your home, schedule, and experience. Refuge covers all food and medical costs — you provide the couch and the company. Fostering can last a weekend or a few months, and it's the single fastest way to open up shelter space.
Where does my monthly gift go?
Monthly gifts fund the Sanctuary Circle — the predictable, everyday budget for food, hay, vaccines, and medication. Recurring support matters more than its size suggests: it lets us commit to a senior animal's ongoing care without gambling on whether the next big appeal lands.
Can I visit the sanctuary?
We'd love that. Refuge runs guided sanctuary tours twice a month and hosts a few open days each year. Tours are small and scheduled to keep stress low for the animals — many of our residents are elderly or recovering — so we ask visitors to book a spot in advance.
Be the reason one more
makes it out.
Right now there's an animal in a full shelter, out of time and out of luck. Your gift is the room we need to take them.