Our Mission

RezDawg Rescue works with communities in the Four Corners Region of the southwest U.S. to save homeless pets through transport, foster care, veterinary treatment and adoption. We also provide mobile spay/neuter clinics and outreach in collaboration with Indigenous and rural communities. This outreach includes veterinary assistance for those who need help caring for their pets and distribution of thousands of pounds of pet food pantry items each month.

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit animal welfare organization.

Each Year, We Provide

  • Transport for 1,650 animals into our care or to our partners.
  • Veterinary care for our foster dogs and cats through 42 veterinary partners.
  • 850 adoptions through 150 foster families and 4 PetSmart and Petco stores.
  • 2,500 spay/neuter surgeries for owned pets in collaboration with partner organizations.
  • 6,800 vaccinations for owned pets at 20 mobile vaccine clinics.
  • Over 200,000 pounds of food and supplies shared throughout Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, serving over 37 rescues, shelters, and animal control officers.

The RezDawg Story

Our Beginnings

Angela Cerci started RezDawg Rescue in 2012 while living and working as a teacher at a small school on the Navajo Nation. Shortly after arriving, dogs started wandering up to her doorstep. Within a couple of months, boxes of puppies were being abandoned at her door. She picked up puppies that were getting stuck under her classroom trailer and received calls for help with local injured animals.

The local animal shelter had no option but to euthanize many of the 6,000 animals that they took in each year. RezDawg Rescue was founded to help face this crisis. Our amazing network of supporters has grown each year, and in collaboration with local communities, we are making a remarkable difference for these animals.

Ready for Growth

The RezDawg Rescue New Mexico Hub, acquired in 2022, is a 5-acre property located 30 miles east of Albuquerque, just minutes from I-40 and Route 66. This property is a home to our pet food pantry warehouse, transport hub, and “DesertDawg Lodge,” a dog-friendly studio apartment (currently rented). The transport hub is permitted to temporarily house up to 30 rescue dogs as they await transport partners and foster homes. Our Pet Food Pantry is housed in a 30’ x 80’ double insulated Quonset hut and distributes over 26 pallets of pet food per month, plus supplies, to over 35 rescues, shelters, and animal control officers throughout southern Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona—a service RezDawg Rescue provides as a GOODS Ambassador through Greater Good Charities.