Together we can save more lives.

Adopt One.
Save Another.
That's The Rescue Effect.

When you adopt or foster an animal, your impact ripples throughout shelters nationwide — saving that animal’s life makes room for others. Helping one animal is just the start. The Rescue Effect is proudly supported by the Subaru Loves Pets® initiative.

Shelters Are in Crisis.

Approximately 6.5 million animals entered U.S. shelters in 2023. With limited resources and too many animals in their care, shelter professionals are working overtime to give animals what they need.

Together, we can save lives. By adopting or fostering from your local shelter, you give one animal the love and care they deserve and create space for the next animal who desperately needs it. Our actions can ease the strain on shelters and support the professionals who dedicate their lives to helping animals. Who knows? Your life might change in the process, too. That’s The Rescue Effect.

 
Man kissing dog

Adopt a Shelter Animal

Adopting a pet from a shelter saves their life and the next animal’s life. 




Adopt Today >>
Blond tabby cat

Foster a Shelter Animal

Fostering gives animals a break from the shelter environment. It improves their happiness and wellbeing, creates space for more animals in need and gives you a temporary companion.
Foster Today >>
Puppy

Make a Donation

Your donation helps provide lifesaving rescue and life-changing opportunities for animals in need.  

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Woman holding dog

Professional Resources

We partner with shelters across the country and offer tools and training to help shelter professionals increase the number of animals they save each year.  


Learn More >>

Subaru Loves Pets® Joins The Rescue Effect!

This October, through the Subaru Loves Pets initiative, Subaru is joining The Rescue Effect to help alleviate the crisis in our nation’s animal shelters. Subaru retailers will provide direct funding to their local animal welfare partners through grants administered by the ASPCA. These grants will help cover costs like preparing animals for adoption, veterinary expenses, and more. Many Subaru retailers will also host events to help more pets find loving homes. Together, we save more lives — that’s The Rescue Effect.



Adoption Resources

What to Expect When Adopting

Animals aren’t looking for perfection, they’re looking for loving homes. The ASPCA’s resources can help during every stage of your adoption journey.

After You Adopt

Use our guides to help you bond with and care for your new companion.

Adoption Resources

Our Role in The Rescue Effect

The ASPCA partners with local shelters and provides tools, training and relocation services to give more animals opportunities to find homes. Here are some of the ways this work helps animals.

Our Shelter Medicine Services team works directly with shelters across the country through remote and on-site consultations. Their work has impacted almost 500,000 animals since 2002. With more veterinarians board-certified in Shelter Medicine Practice than any other sheltering organization in the world, we operate the largest training program for future shelter medicine specialists.

Additionally, the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center (BRC) and Cruelty Recovery Center (CRC) provide sheltering, veterinary care and behavioral care for hundreds of the most in-need and vulnerable dogs – victims of neglect, abuse, natural disasters and more. The BRC includes teaching spaces where the ASPCA hosts shelter professionals from around the country, sharing strategies they can take back to their own facilities to help the animals in their care.

As the largest transporter of adoptable shelter dogs and cats in the U.S., we also partner with shelters and rescues across 40 states to safely relocate over 250,000 animals to regions where they will have a better chance of adoption.

Woman holding dog

“We’ve worked with local rescue groups to move animals out of our shelter, but in 2020 we began our relationship with the ASPCA to establish partnerships with rescues and shelters outside of Texas. Since then, we’ve transported 9,000 dogs and cats all over the country, which allows us to assist Texas municipal shelters and our community."

Kelli Eaves

Senior Director of Lifesaving Initiatives, SPCA of Texas

“For me, fostering a senior dog was very important,” Katherine says of Sailor, an eight-year-old Shih Tzu whom she took in during his recovery from a severe injury to his right hind leg. “They’re so sweet and loving and often get overlooked. There’s some work involved, but it made me a better person and it was rewarding to see Sailor gain confidence.”

 

Katherine H.

Adopter

“With more animals entering shelters than leaving, we need to continue working together to keep pets in loving homes and out of shelters. The ASPCA partners with shelters and rescues nationwide to help animals through relocation, training, sharing resources, and we ask the public to join us by adopting, fostering and volunteering.”

Matt Bershadker

ASPCA President and CEO