Our Dog Rescue Partners

RESCUE SUPPORT

Save Our Scruff rehomes many dogs already rescued by partner organizations. In many countries, dog adoption rarely exists. But these areas are often overwhelmed with dogs in need of homes. We partner with these organizations to help their dogs find their furever homes here.

Our help takes what would otherwise be long-term residents from the shelter, which frees space and resources to help more dogs in need. That could be through intake, or through community support programs such as spay & neuter campaigns, street dog feeding stations, supply giveaways, and vetting & educational programs. Relieving a shelter of just one dog can jumpstart the time and resources necessary to help other dogs in need.

When possible, we do our best to visit shelters. This allows us to learn alongside them, while also sharing the wisdom we have learned through our Canadian & International impact. Our work on the ground fuels our commitment to dogs. Seeing firsthand what dogs & communities are experiencing brings more compassion, understanding and focus to our mission to end this cycle.

Along with being a flight parent to bring these dogs to SOS as you will see linked below, there are many ways to support dog rescue in your community or while visiting other areas. 

The Dog-Go Project

Mexico

The Dog-Go Project first sparked Save Our Scruff’s attention in 2016, when founder Gaby went out of her way to connect with SOS at our first spay and neuter campaign in another area of Mexico. At that point, they had never flown a dog to Toronto, and they were looking for more information on how to adopt dogs internationally. Needless to say, they were very much barking up the right tree, and our rescues have been working together and building each other up ever since. And oh, how they have grown. Today they have sent more than 2,000 dogs to Canada. When we first connected, they had no physical shelter, and have since built a 300-dog shelter, which we now visit annually. 

Dog-Go dogs come in all shapes, ages and sizes. Their typical “Malix” street dog is generally a slimmer hound mix weighing in at around 45-70lbs. We also get a lot of breed-specific dogs from Mexico, which could be anything from a small, fluffy Maltese to a great Dane. Their dogs have varying experiences and exposures, and can fit well into a variety of different homes and lifestyles.

This partnership serves as a reminder for us that the sky's the limit when it comes to dog rescue. We admire Gaby’s dedication and go-getter mindset, and her capacity to support large quantities of dogs is really something. With the Dog-Go Project, we have done one spay & neuter campaign and in 2020 supported the extension of a new wing to house 45 new dogs in their shelter. So far, we have chartered three planes of more than 100 dogs each time.

How to help us help more dogs through this agency: If you’re flying to/from Mexico City, you could be a Flight Buddy, or could help us bring donations down to the rescue.

Manitoba Animal Alliance

Manitoba

Manitoba Animal Alliance works mostly in remote areas on reserves in Northern Manitoba. We first reached out to the rescue a few times before getting on their radar in 2019, and we’ve been a supporter and ally ever since. SOS had always wanted to be involved with our First Nations communities, and this partnership has allowed us to do so. MAA gets dirty on the ground equally helping dogs and humans as they come together. Today our partnership mostly exists “en route” as we often meet up with the rescue when they are on the road supporting communities through dog pulls and community campaigns. As MAA has no physical rescue space, we primarily help with transporting homeless dogs out of the area and into foster homes.

Most MAA rescues are classified as “northern dogs,” which are typically larger mixes of breeds such as shepherd, Labrador, husky and Rottweiler. Though we do occasionally see medium-sized dogs make the trek from Manitoba, we usually ask adopters to prepare for large to extra-large dogs (up to 120lbs) when adopting younger dogs and puppies.

MAA has been a great example of the power of human empowerment to save dogs. The rescue works to manage the dog population in these communities, and our goal is to support their mission to educate and empower the community, and spay/neuter and vet the residential dogs. Their focus is on the dynamic between humans and dogs, and their approach is sensitive to the unique circumstances of each individual. It is their vision of building this alliance that inspires us.  

How to help us help more dogs through this agency: Flying/driving to/from Winnipeg? Reach out as we may need some help transporting dogs.

Moringa’s Mission

Dominican Republic

Our partnership with Moringa’s Mission begins at the very start of our rescue’s journey, when SOS founder Laura met with a core volunteer at Moringa’s Mission in 2014, and they quickly realized they shared many values. Before SOS kicked off, Moringa’s had been adopting dogs in the Hamilton area for a few years already. So needless to say we had a lot to learn from them. It was a lovely match from the get-go, and they helped us gain experience with both international and local adoptions. We have been lucky enough to have travelled to their centre in Dominican a few times, and it was actually the first international rescue space we ever visited back in 2017. And we loved it so much we even had our own intake centre in 2016.

Moringa’s sees many mixes. A good example of their typical dog would be Mascot Micke. Dominican street mutts are often sighthound mixes with a thinner physique, in various shades of beige, white, brown and black. These dogs tend to weigh in around 40-60lbs. We will occasionally see small breeds like chihuahuas and terriers as well. Moringa’s dogs can tend to have longer adjustment periods in their new homes, as they have limited exposure to humans and urban settings.

A few years back, due to financial uncertainty, Moringa’s reached a point where they had to ask themselves, “can we do this anymore?” SOS stepped in, and we have been financially supporting the rescue side of the centre ever since. This partnership has shown us how much we can accomplish when we work together. And it has taught us the value of community aid. One of their core incentives is supporting their local residents: From emergency vetting and intakes, to giving advice for pet owners that stop by, to local spay & neuter campaigns, this space is truly a lifeline for so many dogs in the area. And from there, we actively work to find ways to get dogs out of shelters as early as flight parents and foster homes are available.

How to help us help more dogs through this agency: Sign up as a Flight Buddy if travelling to Puerto Plata, Dominican. We also always need donations flown down as well.

Montego Bay Animal Haven

Jamaica

When we first connected with Montego Bay Animal Haven director Tammy Browne in 2020, we knew we wanted to create a supportive relationship. At the time, they were overrun with dogs, and were in the process of moving onto a new land and building their dream space. They found it challenging to adopt dogs locally, not to mention internationally, especially considering just how many dogs they were constantly bringing in and government regulations to send dogs out of the country. We first visited their space in 2020 when we volunteered at a spay & neuter campaign with them, and we fell in love with their passion. We supported 300 community dogs that got fixed on that trip. In 2021, SOS chartered a flight taking 144 dogs from their overcrowded centre to homes in the greater Toronto area. The organization is now focusing more of their resources on community spay & neuter, education, and feeding programs for current strays.

Dogs from Jamaica look like your typical “street dogs” — but smaller! They typically have thin physiques, and often are varying shades of blonde, beige, black and white. Most are hound and terrier mixes. Many dogs we see from this area are between 25-40lbs, which is quite small compared to street dogs from other areas.

This partnership has taught us that our mission stretches far beyond taking dogs off the streets: There is still a lot of work that needs to be done to ensure every dog’s long-term success. Shelters are not a cure-all for the overpopulation issue. Rescues need longstanding support and dedication, and that is what this partnership offers.   

How to help us help more dogs through this agency: We need flight parents travelling to/from Jamaica to transport dogs and donations. Fill out our Flight Buddy form.

Charlie’s Angels

Costa Rica

Back in 2018, SOS founder Laura stumbled upon Charlie’s Angels just when they were looking for someone to develop and manage the sanctuary and intake centre for a few months. She moved in just as it was opening up, and was there to help director Tania bring the project to life. Since then, Charlie’s Angels has grown tremendously, thanks to the hard work Tania and other amazing volunteers have put into the space. We continue to support them by flying dogs out, supplying donations, and connecting enthusiastic volunteers to spend time at the sanctuary. We have visited the space many times over the past few years, where we have helped host spay & neuter campaigns. 

Charlie’s Angels dogs have no distinct look, and breeds can range anywhere from street mutts to terriers, retrievers, or hound mixes. One thing we can say is that we generally get smaller than average dogs from here — typically between 20-50lbs.

This partnership has shown us the power of supporting the individual needs of each unique dog, and how that approach can work wonders on the dog’s overall success long-term. About 25 dogs will live in the shelter at a time, where they spend lots of time being handled by compassionate volunteers. They live together in smaller, sectioned areas with canine friends of similar size and temperament. These dogs probably get the most experience with an urban context out of all the dogs we bring in. They also get walked on-leash through the mountains, which we think is pretty cool.

How to help us help more dogs through this agency: Flying into/out of San Jose? Fill out our Flight Buddy form.