01/02/2026
Such a marvelous rescue! This is where I adopted Viva ❤️
We rescued 960 animals in 2025❤️🐶🐈⬛🎉
Here are some of their sweet faces.
Note: the number in the photo is slightly different as we welcomed more animals today, after we made it.
As 2025 wraps up we look back on what we have accomplished in the last year.
Dogwood welcomed 716 dogs/puppies and 244 cats/kittens for a total of 960 animals rescued in 2025. We did 930 adoptions with a couple more pending as we write. (Note: some animals are still with us, like Jenna and Twizz and others were to far gone to save and passed away or were euthanized.) We helped fund 13,221 low cost or no cost spays and neuters for owned or feral animals not in our program, in addition to spaying and neutering all the animals we took into our program.
Dogwood cares for everything from the tiniest newborn kitten or senior chihuahua to the largest Great Dane, Saint Bernard or mastiff. We took dogs of almost any breed you can name including the common ones like pit bulls, huskies, shepherds and Dobermans and more unusual breeds like Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Japanese Chins and whippets. Our program was absolutely flooded with frenchies and doodles this year, the sad result of irresponsible breeding and a flooded market for the latest fad breed.
We rescued animals from horrifying neglect and abuse, animals in their final hours before they were to be euthanized in crowded shelters, and animals dumped on the side of the road in boxes. We welcomed animals that were critically injured, desperately ill, suffering from everything from mange and advanced dental disease, to fractures and cancers and animals whose people were murdered or died of natural causes. We took endless pregnant dogs and cats (the overpopulation crisis is so devastating that we spay whenever possible, even when pregnant) and their babies took their first breaths in our loving care. We rescued animals with terminal illnesses and loved and cared for them until their last breath in our arms, being told over and over how much we loved them.
Our Dogwood family worked hard every single day of 2025. We fostered, bathed, bottle fed, medicated and loved dogs and cats nobody else cared about. We fundraised, did adoption visits, endless boring admin tasks and paid endless bills. We cuddled, socialized and loved animals who had never been loved before. We cared for animals with ringworm, parvo, malnutrition, fractures, gunshot wounds, paralysis and endless other illnesses and injuries. We rejoiced together at our successes and cried together at our losses. We drove all hours of day or night to save animals who had no other hope and stayed up all night with bottle babies. It’s a labor of love.
We look forward to seeing what 2026 brings.
Making a difference one animal at a time.
www.dogwoodanimalrescue.org
