Animal rescue vs animal shelter.

  • Animal rescue vs animal shelter

How animal rescues and animal shelters are similar

Both animal rescues and animal shelters

  • Take in and care for animals that come from a variety of different situations, such as owner surrenders, strays, and transfers from other rescues or shelters
  • Focus on getting animals adopted to suitable homes as soon as possible
  • Cover animal and business expenses, such as vet bills, transportation fees, staff compensation, building upkeep, rent or mortgage, training fees, and an array of animal care costs
  • Rely heavily on donations to cover seemingly endless costs
  • Need dedicated, reliable volunteers to handle the numerous tasks — feeding, walking, event setup, etc. — that ensure their animals are ready for adoption
  • Strive to provide a stable environment and suitable care for animals with the often-limited funds they have available

How animal rescues and animal shelters are different

Rescues and shelters differ mostly in how they operate and their perspective when it comes to animal welfare. Below are the most prominent distinctions.

How they are governed

Rescues are almost exclusively private ventures, which means owners don’t answer to anyone but themselves (unless it’s a legal matter). In contrast, animal shelters are more often than not government-run (and -funded) facilities that are part of the public sector. This impacts multiple aspects of the shelter — including its mission, operations, and decision making — as there is a lot more oversight and bureaucracy involved.

Mission

Every rescue or shelter has a mission, even if it isn’t formally stated. However, the perspective of the mission differs.

Rescue mission statements tend to focus on animal care and safety, finding animals good homes, and ensuring their overall well-being.

For example, Gillinson’s mission for COAR is to save dogs from high-kill shelters. “We of course want to save dogs from any situation, but we also recognize that shelters are often overwhelmed by too many dogs and are forced to euthanize due to space issues. We want to lighten that load and find these dogs a good home. They deserve it.”

Government-run shelters, on the other hand, have more of a civic focus, being primarily concerned with public safety and secondarily with animal welfare. But not every shelter follows suit:

“Our shelter is a bit different than the standard. Most shelters have a mission mandated by the local government since it funds their operations. However, we’re privately run, so our mission is more in line with a rescue — animal safety and care come first every time,” Howell says.

Control over operations

Rescues have a lot more control over things like adoption fees and operating hours. They also may choose to specialize in a specific type of animal or even breed. For example, there are rescues that save only dogs or cats; some have an even more specific focus on schnauzer or boxer breeds (for dogs), or Bengal or Persian breeds (for cats).

Shelters have set fees and hours, among other operating aspects mandated by the government. They also don’t have specializations, except for possibly accepting only household animals, such as dogs and cats. This helps reduce owner abandonment and control the stray population, both of which impact the local community.

Fostering

While both rescues and shelters use a foster network, rescues are much more dependent upon foster volunteers to give dogs and cats a safe and stable environment. This is mainly because many rescues do not have a formal space, such as a leased building or purchased property, to house animals. (Or the space they do have is very limited, allowing for only a handful of animals at a time.)

Meanwhile, shelters typically have enough property to house 100 to 200 (or more) animals, even though they also often lack sufficient space for the number of animals present. This then necessitates either turning to foster families or, unfortunately, euthanasia.


How animal sanctuaries diverge from rescues and shelters: Unlike animal rescues or animal shelters, animal sanctuaries operate within an entirely different context. Their main goal is not to adopt pets but to provide a permanent home for animals, allowing them to live out their days in peace and safety. (Note that there are some sanctuaries that allow adoptions.) Their animal roster typically includes all types of animals, such as dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, goats, and more. Sanctuaries focus on improving the quality of life for these animals, including enrichment programs that include both inside and outside activities.A sanctuary may be different in concept from rescues and shelters, but starting and running a sanctuary requires the same level of dedication and effort. Make sure you have a clear mission and a good understanding of what’s required before you get started.Now that you understand the distinction between animal rescues and animal shelters, it’s time to dive into the nitty-gritty of animal rescue operations.

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