The Best Arizona Dog Rescues & Shelters in 2026

Sky Sanctuary Rescue

Sky Sanctuary specialize in the humane capture and rescue of stray, fearful and injured animals from the streets of Phoenix, Arizona, the surrounding desert areas and local shelters. We often rescue the abandoned, lost and forgotten animals. Fiercely advocating for the animals in our care. Often our animals have extensive and complex medical needs that require a profound level of specialty medical care. Not only do we invest in our animal's physical health, we utilize a trusted group of trainers to build confidence, empower and improve our animal's mental well-being in order to live peaceful, happy lives in family homes. We are very different from other animal rescue organizations. We are "boots on the ground" in our community while passionately fight for the dogs and animals no one else has the courage to take on. We have a knack for finding ourselves in pretty breathtaking scenarios- some call it divine intervention, others call it luck. We live by the mantra "if not me then who?". We are funded solely by public donations through social media. We are grateful for the opportunity to help these animals. We would go to any length to #SAVETHESTREETDOGS

Almost There: A Mom + Pups Rescue

“My name is Geri Hormel and I am the founder of Almost There Rescue. What do we do at ATR? We save bitches. No, we don’t go around seeking out malicious, unpleasant women and try to convince them to change their ways (although someone should!). We save dogs. Specifically, homeless, pregnant, large-breed dogs. We scoop those gals up from less than ideal situations and give them a place to birth and raise their pups. We work our tails off to give our pups the medical help, enrichment, socialization, and love that they need on their journeys to finding forever homes.”

Southwest Oasis Labrador Rescue

SOLR is a rescue organization dedicated to helping Labrador Retrievers and Lab mixes who have been displaced from their home environment find new loving homes for the remainder of their lives. SOLR is non-profit and depends entirely on our volunteers and donations.

Puppy Luv Animal Rescue

Foster based, all breed, all size dog rescue.

One Love Arizona: Rescue, Advocacy + Sterilization

One Love utilizes innovative and forward-thinking programs to rescue and rehabilitate at-risk dogs, advocate for shelter animals, and provide free spay + neuter services.y

Be Like Josh Foundation

The Be Like Josh foundation is a non profit organization dedicated to the study and advocacy of dogs with neurological disabilities. We are proud to celebrate all abilities on the canine neurological spectrum. It is an honor to rescue, rehabilitate and re-home these exceptional animals, to tell their stories, from rescue to adoption, and every adventure along the way. They serve as ambassadors of our mission, which pushes back against ableism in the veterinary community and promotes true inclusion, for animals and humans alike. Through our work, we share the message that all animals and people, wherever they are on the spectrum of abilities, are worthy of being seen, loved and appreciated.

Barb's Dog Rescue

Handover Rover

At Handover Rover, we specialize in rescuing and training 'tough' dogs—those with challenging behavior and medical cases. Our mission is to provide expert care, rehabilitation, and find loving homes for the dogs that cross our path.

Friends For Life Animal Rescue

Friends for Life Animal Rescue is dedicated to the homeless and stray animals in our community. These animals do not have an advocate and will likely suffer starvation, illness, or injury as they try to survive alone. Animals on the street are often unaltered, reproducing and creating even more unwanted animals. Friends for Life prefers to get to the source of the problem through spaying and neutering all animals we take in, and educating the public about the importance of altering their animals.

Arizona Humane Society

In 2013, Maricopa County was one of the worst places to be a pet. Shelters were facing the second worst pet overpopulation crisis in the United States. The Arizona Humane Society was a large rescue shelter taking in thousands of homeless animals, but there were still many pets with treatable illnesses being euthanized throughout the state. We knew a radical shift in thinking was needed to save more animal lives. So, we began systematically launching multiple initiatives to care for the most vulnerable in our community. Today, we take in the pets that other shelters can’t care for: the ones who are sick, who are injured, or who would normally be euthanized in other shelters because of their tough medical needs. We serve as a safety net for the Valley’s most vulnerable pets, and our Ethical No-Kill Philosophy™ ensures we never euthanize a pet for space or based on the length of time they’ve been with us. And every effort has been worth it. Since 2013, we’ve reduced euthanasia by 83%—that’s 150,000 additional lives saved. Here’s how we’re transforming animal welfare in Arizona.

Saving Paws Rescue Arizona

Saving Paws Rescue Arizona is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) charitable organization in Phoenix, Arizona. We are dedicated to providing veterinary care, evaluation and adoptive homes for German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois dogs who are left in pounds to await uncertain fate, are owner surrenders (such as divorce, death, etc.) or are no longer wanted or cared for. We help provide a safe harbor for these dogs that might otherwise be destroyed. SPR doesn’t believe that being sick, injured, old or pregnant is a reason to die. Saving the lives of the most vulnerable has long been a mission for SPR. The sick and injured are often abandoned by owners who cannot or will not provide care. The most vulnerable are the first to run “out of time” at the county shelters. The abandoned and dumped are often sick and injured as a result of living life on the streets and desert. Over 2,500 lives have been saved by SPR and our new facility will enable us to save more.

Arizona Animal Welfare League

The Arizona Animal Welfare League is the largest and oldest no-kill shelter in Arizona. A "no-kill" shelter is an animal shelter that does not kill healthy or treatable animals even when the shelter is full, reserving euthanasia for terminally ill animals or those considered dangerous to public safety. AAWL is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization, tax ID 23-7149453. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law. AAWL rescues, rehabilitates, and re-homes more than 4,000 dogs and cats that are abandoned or that have been surrendered by their owners. We do this primarily by rescuing them from other shelters in Maricopa County where they are likely to be euthanized due to the lack of time and resources to care for them. At any one time, our shelter will hold 140 cats and 190 dogs. We also have a foster parent network of approximately 90 families who provide care and shelter in their homes for puppies and kittens that are too young to be adopted, and those animals that are recovering from medical procedures or that need socialization before adoption. All pets offered for adoption have been spayed or neutered; micro-chipped and are current on all vaccinations. Any medical treatments needed, including surgeries, are provided by our medical team and all animals are evaluated by our behavior department. Learn more about our Phoenix veterinary services and animal clinic. AAWL not only adopts companion animals into loving homes, but we also hold a leadership position in the community in education and animal welfare issues. Check out our extensive dog and obedience training classes.

Rotten Rottie Rescue

Thank you for visiting rottenrottie.com, Arizona's only Rottweiler rescue located in Gilbert, right outside of Phoenix! Within this website you should hopefully find all the answers you are looking for when it comes to helping rescue this great breed! From the dogs we have rescued, who's in foster care, how to become a volunteer or a foster parent, forms for adopting, donating, dog training , up coming events and so much more! We work hard to save as many as these great boys and girls off the euthanasia list at our county's animal shelter as we can (we also take owner surrenders, depending on temperament). Moreover, we rescue dogs from the Pinal County Shelter as well, and on several occasions have rescued rotties from neighboring states who were scheduled to be euthanized. The more Rottweilers we can place into forever homes, the more we can save! This rescue is foster based, meaning we do not have a large kennel where we house the dogs in cages all day. Each rottweiler that we rescue goes to live with a family who has experience or has been trained on how to safely bring in a homeless rottweiler, whose temperament is pretty much unknown. There the dog is able to relax and shows us his true colors. We are able to help train and tweak bad habits and behavior and learn what may set the dog off, such as a cat, another dog, a crying baby etc. This knowledge gives us the ability to match our dogs with families who would be a good fit. This gives the adopter a much better advantage then going to the shelter and picking out a dog that no one knows anything about, taking it home to find out that the dog gets very aggressive when he sees a cat and you hoped he was going to be fluffy's new best friend.

AZ Mastiff Rescue

We are a 5O1c3 non-profit Mastiff Rescue located in Phoenix, Arizona and Southern California. We Rescue, Rehabilitate and Rehome English Mastiffs, Great Danes, Saint Bernards, Cane Corso, Dogue de Bordeaux and other Giant Breeds throughout the Southwest and take pride in every Mastiff we help.

Foothills Animal Rescue

Foothills Animal Rescue began in 1995 and we have grown to be a community staple for dog and cat adoptions. We specialize in medical and behavioral animals that larger shelters may not have the resources to help.

Friends of PACC

Friends of PACC was founded in 2016 by a group of dedicated PACC staff, volunteers, and community members who knew that the newly renovated shelter would need tremendous philanthropic support to thrive.

Maricopa animal care and control

At Maricopa County Animal Care & Control we know a thing or two about making connections and saving lives. Animal homelessness is a community problem that requires a community solution.

Lost Our Home Pet Rescue

Yavapai Humane Society

We are committed to ensuring that every companion animal in our community has a great home and is well cared for all of its life. We utilize resources to support, serve, and educate the community by: Advocating for animals and individuals. Showing compassion through patience and open-mindedness. Maintaining a transparent culture to increase, develop, and sustain credibility.

Wildhorse Ranch Rescue

Fur the Paws

Our amazing team of volunteers are committed to helping dogs and supporting their guardians who have limited or no resources. Our members and volunteers provide the momentum that helps us affect positive change. We are always in need of Neighborhood Captains to help in this fight. Think you would be a good fit?

Desert Doberman

We are a growing statewide team of 200+ Doberman lovers, veterinarians, dog trainers, foster caregivers, dog walkers, shelter aides, administrators, and adopters who volunteer our time and resources to save fundamentally sound, purebred Doberman Pinschers. We range in age, and we come in all shapes, sizes, and a variety of ethnicities. We don’t discriminate on the basis of age, ethnicity, gender identification, race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or sex. We stay focused on our mission. We don’t talk politics in any sense, and have built a culture that encourages kind, direct conversations and NO infighting, or back-channeling. We understand that we are all very unique with varied perspectives, yet if we don’t support each other, we will place our mission severely at risk. We love to support other Doberman organizations that share our values and operate using compatible procedures. With us, it really is all about the dogs. We are governed by a Board of Directors who set policy and establish procedures for our volunteer staff. In addition, we are assisted by consultants and advisors to the Board who share executive-level experience in veterinary focus, rescue operations, and fundraising.

Boxer Luv Rescue

Founded in 1998 by Trish Spencer, Boxer Luv Rescue (BLR) is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to Boxers and Boxer mixes in need throughout Arizona. We have saved the lives of more than 10,000 rescue dogs since 1998. Boxer Luv’s goal is to find more ways to build our resources, so all the precious lives of this wonderful breed can be rescued in our area, and live on to enhance the lives of loving families. Boxer Luv is an all-volunteer organization that operates solely on private donations and grants from individuals and corporations. The vast majority of dogs in BLR are rehabilitated in foster homes, where they are medically treated, and given time to heal from their physical and emotional wounds before being ready for adoption to qualified families and individuals. All dogs go through a comprehensive medical workup. This includes complete blood work with testing for Valley Fever, Heartworm, Tick Fever, other desert diseases, and more. The rescues are also spayed or neutered and receive all vaccinations before being adopted to a carefully screened, loving "forever" home. Boxer Luv is proud to be a partner of PAC911 of Phoenix.

Cooper's Chance

Cooper's Chance Animal Rescue is a green-focused, 501c3 nonprofit, no-kill animal rescue established in 2006. Our mission is to rescue, rehabilitate, and re-home abused and neglected animals. We are dedicated to the welfare of these animals and the delicate ecosystem we share. We save all breeds and focus our efforts on animals in need of extra care. Our rescued pets are placed into loving foster homes and receive one on one attention, complete vet care, training, and socialization. We also work with the community to educate and promote responsible pet care and stewardship for all living things.

Love Them All

We are a group of animal advocates dedicated to making a dent in the number of euthanized pets in Maricopa County. We recognize that lack of space and resources is one of the top reasons that dogs and cats are euthanized every day in our county. Because our animal-loving hearts can't bear to live with that status quo, we want to be a solution to the problem.

Halo Animal Rescue

HALO (Helping Animals Live On) is a private, 501(c)(3), non-profit organization founded in 1994 by two women, Michel Herstam and Heather Allen, out of their homes in Phoenix, AZ. HALO provides temporary shelter to abandoned cats and dogs until they can be adopted into a permanent home.

The Puppy Mamma

The Puppy Mamma is a Non-Profit, 501(c)3 organization that rescues and fosters pregnant dogs and puppies. We provide nurturing, compassion and care to puppies and their mammas until they find their fur-ever homes. Pregnant dogs often come to us from County Animal Care and Control and we provide them with a foster home setting in which to have their puppies where they can feel safe and calm, and be pampered and loved. We rescue at-risk puppy litters to ensure spay and neuter practices are continued to prevent future abandoned puppy litters. Mamma dogs and puppies do not leave our safekeeping until they are spayed/neutered, vaccinated and micro-chipped. We are an all volunteer run organization and we rely solely on the kindness and generosity of animal lovers who open their hearts and homes to help us take care of animal orphans that desperately need help. We are 100% donation funded and your support is necessary for our continued success.

Hope of Deliverance, Inc.

Hope of Deliverance is dedicated to being the voice for the voiceless. Our mission is to partner with rural animal shelters, specifically those with low or no veterinary care available at the shelter, to save as many dogs as possible. Hope of Deliverance provides "tops to tails" care for the dogs we tag from rural shelters without veterinary care. All dogs come fully vetted; microchipped, vaccinated, 4DX, fecal tested and spay/neutered. Any surgical procedures needed are covered as well. Our focus is on the over-populated and rural shelters in the southwest. The dogs in our care are fully vetted, come with training support and everything is covered for our fosters!

Humane Animal Rescue and Trapping Team

Lost Our Home Pet Rescue was founded in 2008 as a grassroots response to the housing crisis that left thousands of people displaced and thousands of pets abandoned. Lost Our Home Founder and Executive Director, Jodi Polanski, worked as a local mortgage banker during that time and witnessed these devastating results firsthand. Pets were abandoned in foreclosed homes, often without food or water. Others were forced into shelters—their owners having no other choice. With the second highest foreclosure rates, and the second highest shelter-euthanasia rates, Maricopa County was experiencing a crisis and no existing service was designed to address the needs of both people and pets. Jodi was quick to recognize this urgent need and launched Lost Our Home Pet Rescue with just a small network of volunteers who were focused on helping the pets that had been abandoned during the housing crisis. Help and hope were on the way! Soon we learned that the need was even greater than we originally thought, and we responded by quickly expanding our programs to offer additional programs for pets and pet parents facing other life crises too.

The Last Resort