Westside Rescue

01/12/2026

Of course, we are following beautiful Aloka and the Walk for Peace!

01/06/2026

Thank you, Stacy Constance, for sharing. Dr. JAN BREECH is right. This IS what's possible.

Educational Post
This is the result of a successful spay and neuter program after 5 years. An empty cat room- and this happens regularly.

We are NOT “limiting admission” or putting people on a wait list. We are taking in every animal that comes into our shelter as long as it is from a Clark County resident- that is what shelters are supposed to do. We are not altering data by diverting intakes or turning animals away. We are working hard to build programs that work to save animals and serve the community.

How is this possible without controlling intake?

1. Free and extremely low cost spay and neuter services that are readily available to everyone in our city and county. This includes owned animals and community cats or feral cats. Not a wait list, not a couple clinics a year. In the beginning we were booked out months at a time, now we can almost always get someone scheduled within 3 weeks or sooner. Progress. This is funded by grants and fundraising not the general shelter budget. The City of Wi******er, which is not our governing body, is gracious enough to provide funding towards this program (has ranged from $5-$17,000 over 6 years) and is to be used specifically for cats.

2. Safety net resources. A food bank, supplies and other resources that can help an owner that is temporarily struggling. We do not currently have assistance for owner vet bills but we regularly write grants and are trying to get that going too. Funded through donations.

3. A barn cat program. If a shelter doesn’t accept feral cats, those cats keep reproducing, become unhealthy due to inbreeding and lack or resources in the area and have poor quality of life and poor outcomes should they come to the shelter later. We have a list of people wanting barn cats so when a feral comes in, it is fully vetted and transferred to a new location where it is wanted within the week.

4. Rescue partners. In general, rescues love to work with a good shelter. A shelter they know is doing their best for the animals and giving honest evaluations on both health and behavior. We are very fortunate to work with some wonderful rescue partners with great adoption facilities to move a large number of our animals.

Animal shelters by design are reactive to the animal problem. But if we can see the bigger picture and create proactive policies that prevent more animals from needing to come to the shelter in the first place we can make a difference in the long run.

*There will likely be some comments asking why we don’t help other shelters when we have space. We are funded by tax dollars from Clark County so we are only able to accept animals from Clark County. We do offer to help by sharing resources, networking etc. We want all shelters to be successful!

**Update- due to the attention this post has gotten and the way Facebook sorts the comments we realize we are missing a lot of comments and questions. If you have questions please email us directly at [email protected] and we’ll be happy to get back with you!

01/01/2026

HAPPY NEW YEAR. Westside Rescue wishes all a truly good new year ahead. We look forward to not only continuing to serve those responsible pet guardians in need, but also INCREASING awareness and education about proper pet care in our community.

12/15/2025

Thank you to our supporters who made it possible for us to provide humane euthanasia for this beloved dog recently. We are thankful that he lived for 17 years with the family who loved him.

12/14/2025

This good girl got spayed today. Thankfully, she was saved from horrible conditions and is being cared for by my friends, Kristin and Donny. Thanks a million to Stefani Dauderman for making this soft, comfy dog bed shown in the photo, that Luna will enjoy tonight post-op!!---Karen

12/14/2025

Good morning and HAPPY SUNDAY, friends. Sharing a few photos here of the spay-neuter clinic work being done by the Animal Balance veterinarians and technicians at Fresno Animal Center today. They have been in Fresno these last three days, working hard to provide surgery services to over 200 dogs and cats in our community. Kudos to all the shelter employees and community volunteers who assist the veterinary team to make all this flow smoothly, as well. Westside Rescue is grateful to be able to help some deserving animals and their people access this help because we are all in this together.

12/13/2025

Amen!! Thank you to all our friends and supporters who love and cherish precious senior dogs!

“Take him,” my owner said to the shelter volunteer, handing over my leash.
“He’s too old now. He can’t keep up with me anymore. He just sleeps all day.”

I didn’t fully understand what was happening.

For 15 years, I—Kodi, an old Pit Bull with a once-muscular frame and a brave, steady heart—had been by his side.
I woke him up in the mornings, sat quietly with him on hard days, and greeted him with gentle tail wags even when the pain in my body was hard to hide.

My legs had grown weaker, my chest wasn’t as broad as it once was, and my eyes carried the weight of time…
But my heart?
Still full. Still loyal.

That day, he didn’t even look back.
Just like that, I was no longer his protector, his companion—
I was just a burden he no longer wanted.

At the shelter, people came and went.

Children pressed their faces to the glass, laughing at the playful puppies—
small, energetic, perfect.

But when they reached my kennel—
where an old Pit Bull with a graying face, heavy body, and tired eyes lay quietly—
they hesitated.

“He looks sweet… but he’s a Pit Bull.”
“And he’s old.”
“He probably doesn’t have much time left.”
“I couldn’t handle that kind of heartbreak.”

So I curled tighter on the cold concrete floor and let the truth settle in—

I wasn’t unwanted because I was bad.
I was unwanted because I was old…
and because I was a Pit Bull.

Then she appeared.

She didn’t even glance at the puppies.
She walked straight to me—
straight to the dog no one else chose.

She knelt down, her voice soft and calm.

“Oh, sweetheart… look at you.”

My tail moved—just a small thump.
But she noticed.

She didn’t see my age or my slow steps.
She saw my soul.

“I’m not looking for a hiking partner,” she told the volunteer.
“I’m looking for a gentle soul to share quiet mornings and peaceful evenings.
And he… he’s perfect.”

That day, I didn’t leave the shelter as an afterthought.
I left as someone’s family.

Tonight, I’m resting on the softest orthopedic bed I’ve ever known, wrapped in a blanket that smells like safety and kindness.
She knows I may not have many years left—
maybe not even many months.

But she made me a promise:

Whatever time I do have…
will be filled with love.

To anyone reading this—

Please don’t overlook the seniors.
Don’t overlook the gray-faced Pit Bulls,
the slow walkers,
the ones whose loyalty outlived the people who left them behind.

We may not be young anymore,
but our hearts love just as fiercely.

We don’t need a lifetime.
We just need someone willing to love us now.

Love has no age limit. ❤️🐾

12/11/2025

Second trip this week to HOPE! Today we have Luna, Lucy, and sweet kitty Star for spay and rabies vaccines. Big shout out to HOPE staff for taking care of our Westside companion animals!

12/09/2025

Penny, Bailey, and Caramelo are with our friends at HOPE Animal Foundation today for spay/neuter surgery and rabies vaccination. Three more healthier, happier companion animals!

12/09/2025

We are so grateful to have been chosen by the Lewis-Harlow Foundation for all Gods Creatures to receive a generous donation that was graciously hand delivered today! Thank you so much!

12/07/2025

Some of the companion animals cared for today at the POV! Vaccines, sign ups for spay/neuter services, food, leashes, collars, and some sweaters and blankets. Big thanks to our dedicated crew showing up in the cold.