The Best Connecticut Dog Rescues & Shelters in 2026

Paws New England

We rescue abandoned, neglected, and abused dogs from high-kill shelters and desperate situations, provide them with veterinary care and much needed TLC, and bring them to New England where we place them in safe, loving homes.

Lucky Dog Refuge

We are not just a rescue, we are a refuge; a safe haven for dogs from dire backgrounds. We focus on the dogs most in need of saving - those who have been abandoned by their families, the strays, the starving, the injured, the sick, and those in immediate need of help. We take them in, rehabilitate them, provide housing, vetting, training, and extra doses of love. ‚Äã Whether at our facility in Stamford, CT or placed with one of our rescue partners, every dog we commit to is guaranteed love and a beautiful life with the forever family they so deserve.

Daws

Danbury Animal Welfare Society, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of animals in our community and beyond. We promote responsible pet guardianship and the humane treatment of animals, and work toward ending animal overpopulation through education and a variety of programs. We take pride in the work we do – working to keep homeless pets safe, happy and sheltered.

Desmond's Army Animal Law Advocates

Desmond’s Army Animal Law Advocates is a group of volunteer citizens who work together to better the lives of animals. We are committed to impacting animal welfare legislation. We do this by being a voice for the voiceless in the courts and at the Capitol. We seek to raise public awareness regarding the statistical connection between animal abuse and domestic and social violence.

Ridgefield Operation for Animal Rescue (ROAR)

Our shelter, named for the Donofrio family in recognition of their generous and ongoing support, reflects best practices in shelter construction and animal care. It is a warm, safe, welcoming place for homeless pets to recover and await adoption. ROAR’s staff and team of volunteers provide loving care, daily exercise & playtime, grooming, training medical attention and individual kennel accommodations to create a home-like environment. Nutritious food is generously provided by Blue Buffalo company, a long-time friend and sponsor of ROAR.

Where the Love Is Animal Rescue

​ ​ ABOUT US... Where the Love Is, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, no-kill animal shelter whose mission is finding loving homes for pets in Connecticut and beyond. It was founded in Hamden, Connecticut in July 2013 and has since rescued and found adoptive homes for more than 2,000 dogs. Dedicated to the prevention of animal cruelty and abuse, Where The Love Is promotes the fostering and/or adoption of abandoned or unwanted pets. Many of the animals up for adoption come from high-kill shelters in states like Texas, Louisiana, and Georgia where they often face euthanasia. They are brought to our shelter in Connecticut and given a new “leash on life.” Each pet is fully vetted, receives some training, and gets lots of love before they are matched with a new family. Where the Love Is relies fully on volunteers, so 100 percent of your donation goes toward the animals’ health care and social and emotional well-being. ​

Fetching Hearts Rescue

ABOUT US Fetching Hearts Rescue is a Connecticut, non-profit 501(c)(3), volunteer run rescue that is dedicated to saving dogs who have been abused, neglected or abandoned and finding loving, caring homes for them. We rely on a network of foster families so that each dog that we pull into the safety of our rescue is placed in a foster home and is no longer confined to a life in a kennel. We are committed to helping dogs of all ages, breeds and sizes by partnering with shelters and animal control services right here in Connecticut as well as with several high kill shelters in the South. We do a full assessment of each dog's temperament and health to ensure that we are able to find the most suitable home for them. Every dog is fully vetted - meaning they are up to date on vaccinations, spayed/neutered, heartworm negative and micro chipped - before being adopted.

Red Leash Rescue

Red Leash Rescue is a 501(c)3 non-profit adult, senior and terminally ill dog rescue located in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Our mission is to provide refuge, love and care to abandoned, surrendered or discarded dogs in our community. Red Leash Rescue works with animal control facilities across Fairfield County, taking in adult and senior dogs that have been overlooked by potential adopters or are having difficulty in facility. We also accept dogs coming from owner surrender and owner death. Once a dog has become part of our program they are bathed and taken to the vet for a well check. They are spayed or neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated. We work closely with our amazing local vets to assure we are aware of any concerns with our rescue’s health. RLR rescues are then placed in foster care to allow them time to decompress from their experience in the shelter, as well as any loss or neglect they endured prior to arrival in our program. Our fosters work very hard to get every dog into a place where they are ready for adoption. Our long term goal is to complement our program with a multi-use Sanctuary for terminally ill dogs, dogs bequeathed to our care as well as adoptable dogs that do not have a foster. This home-like setting will allow us to provide attention, enrichment and meet medical needs of the dogs in our care. Our Sanctuary will be a place for community education and involvement by providing expanded volunteer opportunities.

WAG

We Adopt Greyhounds, Inc (WAG) is a volunteer based, state-licensed, certified 501(c)3 organization founded in 1992 in Glastonbury, CT. WAG is dedicated to finding responsible, loving, and suitable homes for retired racing greyhounds and other breeds of sighthounds. WAG also looks to be an educational resource to the greyhound and sighthound community and works to promote and educate the public about the joys of greyhounds and sighthounds as pets.

Woof Gang Rescue

Companion Pet Rescue

Companion Pet Rescue & Transport (CPR) was founded in 2004 and rescues over 2,500 dogs per year thanks to a dedicated group of volunteers! CPR is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. We have an adoption center in Southbury CT, as well as weekly events, and if your heart is set on a specific pup that has not yet arrived at our adoption center, you can pick up directly from our amazing transport! Please watch the video on the transport page to learn more about the transport process! Submitting an application is the first step.

Little Paws Dachshund Rescue

LITTLE PAWS DACHSHUND RESCUE is an east coast based 501(c)3 exempt nonprofit dedicated to the rescue and re-homing of our favorite short legged breed We specialize in finding permanent homes for dachshund and dachshund mixes. We strive to make the lives of all dogs better through action, advocacy, awareness and education. It is LPDR’s goal to identify abandoned, mistreated, or homeless dogs and oversee their treatment and wellbeing while working to find loving owners for those in our care.

National German Wirehaired Rescue Pointer Rescue

The officers and members of the German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America (GWPCA) believe that every German Wirehaired Pointer (GWP) deserves a supportive and loving home and the National GWP Rescue, Inc. (NGWPR) was developed to put that belief into action. Sponsored and supported by the GWPCA and the American Kennel Club (AKC), NGWPR is committed to helping desperate and neglected Wires whenever and where ever possible. Matching homeless GWPs with loving owners is our primary goal National GWP Rescue is a nationwide rescue program whose volunteers work tirelessly to provide funding, foster homes, medical care and training for GWPs found in shelters, animal control facilities and to those GWPs whose current owners are unable to provide a suitable situation. Working hand- in-hand with governmental and local shelters, NGWPR provides a safe and responsible home for GWP’s in need. Placed with an experienced GWPCA member, fostered GWPs that have been neglected, untrained or have medical issues quickly blossom as they are readied for their "forever" homes. Prior to releasing our rescued GWPs for adoption, volunteers provide obedience, manners, and housetraining. We hold to the philosophy that a mannerly dog has a better chance of fitting into a new household. NGWPR believes that Wires were designed to hunt and unlike some other rescue programs, we are happy to place dogs with field experience or bird instinct with potential owners who enjoy hunting behind a Wire. However, NGWPR insists that any rescue dog first be a house dog and companion, then a weekend hunting partner.

East Haven Animal Shelter

Double Dog Rescue

Double Dog Rescue (DDR) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by two sisters, Chey Ottoson and Laurie Ottoson Perotti. After rescuing their own dogs from the south, they wanted to do more to save even more dogs. Laurie was already working with Chesapeake Bay Retriever Rescue when she met Sharon Veronneau. Sharon, too, was a huge fan of Chessies, yet wanted to be part of an all-breed rescue. In turn, Sharon decided to be the third partner to the group. Chey adopted her first dog Lincoln who was a pet surrender, from Laurie. After getting the “rescue bug”, Chey frequented petfinder and met Lisa Walker and Debbie Ginn. Overall, there have been countless generous leaders in rescue who have taught the sisters the best practices which in turn were integrated into Double Dog Rescue. These are the best practices they instilled in their volunteers, and what has made DDR one of the best in New England. Together, Double Dog Rescue was launched in December 2006.

Outrider Dogs Rescue

Outrider Dogs Rescue was established in 2019 as a foster based non profit dog rescue. Our mission is to find homes for abandoned and neglected dogs regardless of the age, breed, or temperament. We are a group of volunteers who spend their free time fostering, transporting, feeding, medicating, entertaining, training and loving dogs until a permanent family can be found. We specialize in helping pregnant or new moms that are dumped off in shelters or found roaming the streets, raise their litter, find forever homes, all whilst nourishing the mom, spaying her and finding her an adoptive home. In 2021 we started rescuing cats of all ages and breeds and will continue doing so as long as we are operating. We can always use more fosters, volunteers, monetary donations and supplies, so if you’d like to become a part of the Outrider pack, we’d love to have you.

Brass City Animal Rescue

We aim to get as many dogs adopted as possible via our rescue. We have our own dog shelter and hold weekend adoption events to find forever homes for our pups. We provide veterinary care, behavioral assessments and training to make each animal successful in its new forever home. Though we no longer adopt cats out, we do assist other local rescues in the networking of homeless cats, including trapping and trap-neuter-release. We collect food, toys and other needs for our rescued dogs including veterinary donations for their care while in rescue. We network for dogs at local shelters and lend a hand to our rescue friends whenever we can. We also advocate for the well being of the dogs and their living conditions and strive to better improve the long standing customer service issues at many Connecticut Animal Control facilities. We also help the public with questions, training, referrals to veterinarians etc. Through constant media promotion and proper assessments of the dogs, we hope to save as many lives as possible in our day to day mission. This RESCUE group is CT registered and has APPROVED 501(c)3 status with the Internal Revenue Service. All donations to Brass City Rescue Alliance are tax deductible.

Dog Star Rescue

Dog Star Rescue, based in Bloomfield CT, has saved the lives of over 6,500 dogs and counting. The mission of Dog Star Rescue is to guide stray, abandoned, shelter, and owner-surrender dogs of all breeds and ages to qualified, caring, lifelong homes. We are a 100% volunteer, non-profit, foster-based rescue.

All Paws on Deck

All Paws on Deck focus on pregnant dogs from overcrowded shelters.