The Best San Diego, CA Dog Rescues & Shelters in 2026

Bunny's Buddies

Bunny's Buddies works tirelessly to save dogs from slaughterhouses, the streets and kill shelters in Asia and the USA.

The Animal Pad

The Animal Pad is a non-profit, all breed dog rescue that focuses on saving dogs from high kill shelters and the streets of Mexico. We get them vet care, place them in foster homes and then find them loving forever families. A few years ago, we turned our attention to the street dogs of Mexico as there is very little help for them. Since then, we have developed a large rescue network in Baja California and we have a sister shelter in Ensenada that we focus on taking dogs from whenever funds allow.

A Way Home For Dogs

We are a free Pet Recovery Service assisting owners on a global scale. We also secure evasive street strays primarily in the San Diego are (occasionally Riverside). If the strays are not claimed at the local shelter systems and are in danger of being euthanized, we become their safety net pending kennel space. We rescue, rehabilitate and rehome when the dogs are ready and safe to do so.

Amazing Strays Rescue

From day one, our goal has been to help all dogs who need it. Big, small, medical cases, senior or puppy; ASR stands by our commitment- Lisa, Our Founder

The Liberty Dog Network

The Liberty Dog Network was established in 2022 and is a small, Southern California based dog rescue. We rely on fosters/people to open their home to care for the dogs we rescue. We provide all medical care and supplies to our fosters, they provide the home and supply the love.

The Barking Lot

Located on 10 acres in San Diego County, we adopt to anywhere in the US and Canada. It's our goal to find an excellent match suited to both you and each of our Temporary Barkers. Having rescued over 9,000 dogs since our inception in 2006, we are primarily volunteer run with a soft spot for the underdogs. Our Temporary Barkers come from all over the world as we have partnerships with Soi Dog Foundation in Thailand, Four Paws in Cambodia/Vietnam and Ark119 in Korea from which we've taken in over 1000 dog meat trade survivors. We also rescue heavily from Mexico where the abandoned dog population is extensive, the neglect is vast and the stories are heart wrenching.

It's The Pits

It's The Pits is a 501c3 canine rescue that coordinates the fostering and adoption of dogs that haven't yet found their permanent home. We specialize in American Staffordshire Terriers (Am Staffs), Staffordshire Bull Terriers ("Staffy's"), and American Pit Bull Terriers, but will do our best to help all breeds, often by referral to other local rescues that specialize in that type of dog. You can find many of these on our links page. We are located in San Diego county, as are all of our foster homes. We work alongside our fosters to give the dogs a temporary and loving home before they are placed into permanent homes. We rescue dogs from various shelters, evaluate them, ensure they are healthy, and then match them with the appropriate family. We take pride in matching the best dog for the individual family that contacts us. We do this by matching the activity level of the dog to the family's needs, as well as making sure that the other pets in the home work well with the new addition to the pack.

Mad Mutts

Our goal is to assist in the rescue and rehabilitation of at-risk dogs from shelters that need a little more time, a more home-like environment, more individualized support, and/or have minor medical issues. So many AMAZING dogs just simply do not thrive or show well in a kennel environment. We aim to help rehabilitate and rehome these dogs with the goal of quality homes over quantity of placements. Our small rescue works with local shelters and rescues in Southern California to network, transport, foster, and adopt.

Tragic to Magic

We are in the Baja California region and see first hand the homeless, hungry, scared and sometimes sick dogs on the streets. We take the animals in and keep the animals in our homes until they are fully vetted and ready to find a new home. We are just 3 people doing the actual rescue so we attempt to operate on a one-in one-put bases. Therefore, we work very hard doing adoption events, networking with other rescues and using social media to find them homes. We have saved over 120 animals in 2017.

Frosted Faces Foundation

FROSTED FACES FOUNDATION IS A 501(C)(3) NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT DELIVERS THE PROMISE OF FAMILY AND QUALITY VETERINARY CARE FOR SENIOR ANIMALS WHOSE LOVE AND LIVES ARE IN JEOPARDY.

Heart of Gold's Shelter

Heart of Gold Legacy was established in December 2005 with the purpose of providing assistance to various organizations that promote the general welfare of animals. Gertrude Sissy, McGill, the benefactress of Heart of Gold Legacy, has given financial contributions to organizations that provide shelter and care to animals before the inception of the foundation. Sissy has been an active supporter of animal welfare all her life. With the help of Teresita Bacani, a long-time friend and business partner, Sissy's vision of helping the animals through the foundation came to fruition. A legacy has been finally fulfilled. To this date, many animal welfare organizations in the United States have benefited from the goodness of the heart of the foundation.

Mutt Scouts

Mutt Scouts is not a breed specific rescue. We're dedicated to saving every dog we can, regardless of age, breed, medical or behavioral needs. We are transparent about our Mutt's needs with fosters and potential adopters to ensure that once a dog becomes a part of our organization, they will know nothing but love and safety for the rest of their lives.

Second Chance Dog Rescue

Second Chance Dog Rescue (SCDR INC, dba Second Chance Dog Rescue) is a non-profit 501c3 (#26-3642128) organizations dedicated to saving homeless dogs. We rescue, rehabilitate and re-home dogs, primarily from local shelters, as well as dogs surrendered by their owners for various reasons, and dogs from Baja California, Mexico. Once we receive a dog, we provide medical care, including spay and neuter, and any necessary rehabilitation.

San Diego Humane Society

San Diego Humane Society, an open-admission shelter, is creating a more humane world by inspiring compassion and advancing the welfare of animals and people. Our lifesaving safety net has helped San Diego become the largest city in the U.S. to keep healthy and treatable shelter animals from being euthanized. We are a private, independent, nonprofit organization that is not affiliated with any other humane society or society for the prevention of cruelty to animals. With campuses in El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside, Ramona and San Diego, we provide animal services for 13 cities within San Diego County. We not only care for more than 40,000 animals in our communities annually, but also share the expertise we have gained through our innovative programs with shelters nationwide so they can save more lives in their communities. While our influence is expanding nationally, our top priority is meeting the needs of San Diego. We provide exceptional care for all animals through world-class veterinary medicine, shelter and most of all: love.

Mission Bay Puppy Rescue

Rescue orphaned puppies, pregnant and their litters. We partner with amazing rescue teams in Bakersfield CA, the San Diego Humane Society and Country Animal Shelters across California as well as others to save as many pups and mamas as possible.

Foundation for the Care of Indigent Animals

The Foundation for Care of Indigent Animals (FCIA) is a small 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is staffed 100% by dedicated volunteers. FCIA was founded in 1982 by Penny Adams, who, for the following 25-plus years, tirelessly committed herself to the rescue and care of companion animals in need. FCIA takes in small adoptable dogs in need of care that would have otherwise been euthanized. Animals come to us from many sources. Some have been rescued from San Diego County shelters. Others have been abandoned or relinquished to us as the result of a family facing the loss of their home, or due to the illness or death of the primary caregiver. We provide these dogs with medical care when needed, compassionate foster homes, and plenty of love and attention. We work very hard to find devoted forever homes for our animals. The FCIA also assists low income individuals with emergency veterinarian services. The majority of our annual spending is for this part of our mission. We also pay for veterinarian care required for animals at County shelters, over and above that which shelters are able to provide so that these animals can be placed into adoption at the shelter or go to a rescue group. We work with almost every animal rescue group in San Diego County and some beyond the borders.

Saving Pets One at a Time

SPOT, Saving Pets One at a Time, is a leading San Diego County all-volunteer rescue organization whose main focus is to save dogs and cats in shelters who are at risk of euthanization and to help other dogs and cats in need as well. Our goal is to save treatable, trainable, manageable and misdiagnosed dog and cats. We rescue them and provide foster homes in order to give them the care, medical, behavior and training, they need until we find them their forever loving homes. Our ultimate wish is for all shelters to be empty ‚ meaning that no animal is abandoned, and no shelter kills one animal to make room for another. We promote and advocate for spay and neuter programs in addition to Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR) programs for feral cats.

No Wagging Tail Left Behind Animal Rescue

Wagging Tails is an all breed, non-profit rescue that places hundreds of dogs each year. We pride ourselves on our reputation of ongoing support for adopters and their new family members. We are volunteer and donation based- our main goal being to care for and give loving homes to dogs in need. Sandy's first rescue dog, Bonnie, was a cattle dog mix that was transported to her home in the trunk of a car with 8 puppies. She found homes for the puppies and kept Bonnie. Since that day, Sandy has been helping place dogs in loving homes. No Wagging Tail Left Behind came to life when Sandy began taking in six plus dogs a week, mostly from El Centro, to find them homes. With the help of board members Jean Whitney and Laura Morkan, Wagging Tails received a non-profit status on May 12, 2012. Since then, the rescue has grown in size with volunteers who handle paperwork and attend adoption events. We look forward to increasing the number of dogs placed each year, our volunteer staff, and our donations!

Small Breed Rescue of Southern California

Small Breed Rescue of Southern California is an all-volunteer, non-profit, foster-based organization funded by donations. We are dedicated to taking in and caring for small breed dogs, small reptiles, and select exotic pets primarily from public shelters and other rescues. We are education and science-focused to help ensure that the animals that go into their new homes and their new families are set up for success! Our rescue is uniquely structured to rehabilitate animals who are at high risk of euthanasia due to manageable behavioral challenges, such as small dogs who are declining in a shelter environment and reptiles/exotics that have not been properly handled over their lifetime. We develop organizational and individual relationships to accommodate these specific assistance needs, which is one thing that differentiates us from other rescue organizations. Another is focusing on the two groups of animals that most would not usually combine. Initially, we started working with behaviorally challenged dogs under 15lbs who were not sheltering well. Because of our team's different skill sets, we decided to also work with reptiles on the side. The pandemic and the current shifts in the economy have drastically changed our direction to where we now care for more reptiles and exotics than dogs! With these shifts, we have also had to drop our weight limit on dogs down to under 10 lbs due to a lack of foster homes. We are always looking for new foster guardians who want to help us in our mission to save more lives with stability, commitment, education, and support. We provide everything you need no matter the animal type. Inexperienced? No worries! We will match the right foster pet to your skill set and comfort level as well as provide you with the training and tools that you need. Consider joining our team to foster a dog that needs a little patience, guidance, and TLC to come out of their shell, or foster one of our reptiles like a bearded dragon, ball python, or leopard gecko! We have assembled a support team that consists of experienced individuals who bring particular skills from the animal welfare industry that enable us to grow, educate, and enrich our foster community in a manner that supports our specific needs and those of our animals. The same support is given to our adopters. We will help you get ready for your new companion before they go home. Our goal is to set you up on the path to success so there are no broken hearts if we can avoid them. SBRSC remains interested in and committed to the welfare of the animals beyond the adoption process by providing continued education, training tips, resource references, and an open-door policy to our supporters. ~

Glad To Be Saved Rescue

We are a no kill foster home base rescue with an amazing team of volunteers that are committed to helping animals. Seeing a nonprofit to support our community's animals, we formed our organization to provide sensible solutions. We've grown considerably since then, all thanks to the helping hands and foster homes of this amazing community!

A New Life Rescue

A New Life Charitable Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation operated exclusively by volunteers. We have significant experience in animal rescue and have an established network of highly qualified individuals. Our team includes lifelong, committed volunteers with a broad range of expertise from veterinarians to professional animal welfare advocates, some having over 30 years of experience and each one committed to protecting and saving helpless dogs. We focus on doing the best for the animals that we rescue by properly assessing each dog and providing necessary veterinary care, while also implementing training and socialization programs. Our dogs are initially cared for at boarding facilities and foster homes, and when they are ready, we aim to match each dog with their ideal forever home. Our regular adoption events and social media outreach allow us to find the best homes.

Project Street Vet

Project Street Vet was formed in 2020 to provide free veterinary care for pets of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness mainly through ‚Street Vet Work, free pet clinics, and financial assistance. Learn more about our work here. 2022 was a phenomenal year for Project Street Vet thanks to our supporters, volunteers, partners, and team members. We are grateful for the increased impact on pets and their people that our teams were able to make last year compared to 2021 and are excited for the continued opportunity to grow our work for those we serve.

The Barking Lot Rescue

We're passionate. We're non-profit. And we're volunteer-run. Since 2010, we've rescued over 5,000 dogs, finding happy homes for abandoned dogs scheduled for euthanasia at other shelters. In November 2016, we started our partnership with Soi Dog Foundation based in Thailand. We've rescued and flown in one group of dogs per month since, all survivors of the illegal dog meat trade.

Surfers for Strays Inc

Surfers for Strays was started in January of 2017 by Isabel Velasco and Natalie Ritenour when they rescued 7 puppies and their mother, who had been abandoned at a local hot springs in Lagunillas, Guerrero, Mexico. The puppies were being eaten alive by parasites and their mother was severely malnourished. Working together the women devised a plan to house and care for the animals and raise funds and more importantly, raise awareness to sterilize pets. They gained enough support in the local community to start helping “callajeros”, street animals in the villages of Troncones, Los Llanos, La Saladita and surrounding regions. With the help of local veterinarians and citizens, they started organizing spay and neuter clinics and a children’s education program on how to treat and care for animals. Visiting surfers and travelers began volunteering and growing the network to foster and adopt animals in the US and Canada. With that momentum and the love and support of key volunteers, Surfers for Strays Inc. was founded in August of 2019 to cover more ground and help more animals escape the cycle of neglect, abuse and abandonment. In 2021, Surfers for Strays adopted out 118 dogs to homes in North America and paid for 1,930 dogs and cats to be spayed and neutered in local communities in Mexico through partnerships with other nonprofits and local as well as international vets. Location Surfers for Strays is based out of San Diego, California, United States of America. However, most of our ground work is based in the Mexican states of Guerrero and Michoacán. Our local Headquarters is located in Nuevo Troncones and we have a Rescue Center in Zihuatanejo through our partnership with Jennifer Reyes. Our foster and volunteer network spans Mexico, the United States, and Canada.

Labs and More Dog Rescue

Labs and More Dog Rescue is San Diego's fastest growing and most active dog rescue organization. Since our inception, Labs and More Rescue, has been Volunteer-run and is committed to saving dogs from our shelter systems and strays dumped in Southern California. Labs and More rescues thousands of dogs each year, with over 400 of them needing life-saving medical care. Over the past decade, we are most proud of our long-term relationships with over 13,500 adopting families. Previous adopting families and their referrals account for over 50% of our adoptions, a high mark of achievement we are very proud of.

Aussie Rescue San Diego

We believe that when you adopt a dog, a family is created. Here at Aussie Rescue San Diego, we have made it our mission to save Australian Shepherds, Border Collies and other breeds as needed. Our experienced, compassionate volunteers provide our dogs with medical care, training, and proper enrichment until the day that they find their forever home. We advocate for greater public awareness about responsible dog ownership and celebrate the connection and lifetime of love of people and their pets. We look forward to you being a part of our family! When you support ARSD, you will be forever changing the future of a dog who is desperate for help. 100% of your donation goes towards providing life saving care to dogs who otherwise would not have any good options. We need your help! With so many dogs currently being displaced and neglected, shelters / rescues are over capacity and struggling to make ends meet. Your support will help a dog have a better tomorrow. You will be saving lives and giving a future filled with hope, love and happiness.

San Diego Animal Support Foundation

The San Diego Animal Support Foundation is a private, volunteer dependent, nonprofit (501c3) organization dedicated to improving the welfare of animals in overburdened, underfunded local shelters and rescues.

Animal Rescuers Without Borders, Inc.

The A.R.W.O.B. group is based in San Diego, CA and operates primarily in Mexico but also Southern California. We will come to the aid of any animal in need that crosses our path. Our belief is to do what we can in order to “Make a difference in their lives.” There is ongoing and tremendous need in Baja, however, we extend our outreach north of the border by accepting relinquished family pets, providing foster care for both dogs and cats from the full shelters in San Diego and of course by working in conjunction with other animal rescue groups in the community. The A.R.W.O.B. family believes in opening our hearts and homes to the abandoned and unwanted dogs and cats of both Mexico and Southern California, irrespective of age, sex, breed or size. Our rescued and fostered animals go through a period of quarantine which will last 3 weeks before they are placed onto the adoption list. Insuring our foster pets' health is priority #1. Our rescues also receive veterinary care both south and north of the border, socialization and training in the hopes that they will be placed in a “forever” home. We are also focused on educating foster parents, adopters, school children and others especially in Baja, Mexico on the care, feeding and prevention of unwanted litters of both dogs and cats (both pure or mix breeds)

Kane's K9s & Animal Rescue

Meet Kane! The face behind the name of this rescue! Kane has always loved animals! He's always had an interest in dogs, and for his 2nd birthday he asked for a cat! Every day for 30 days I asked him what he was going to name the cat and everyday he responded "apple kitty" eventually I gave in and we went to a rescue to look at some of the cats. Kane walked right in, picked up this white cat and said "come on apple kitty, let's go home" and that was it! He then not only loved dogs, but he loved cats too! After being attacked by a dog we were so afraid he would be scared of them, but he proved us wrong, he became more obsessed with animals. We've rescued hundreds of animals, some nicer than others but with every single one he has showed patience and kindness. He has sat on the floor with mama dogs and read them books while they hid behind things because they were so scared given their horrific pasts and waited for them to eventually come sit with him. He's been jumped on by 80 lbs dogs and scratched up by feral mama kitties, but with each and every animal he continues to show them love and compassion. Kane has a love for animals that I could have never dreamed of. I am so grateful we are able to continue to grow this rescue and save animals so other families are able to get to know these animals outside of a shelter environment. Which gives them a much greater chance of showing their true personalities and finding their forever homes.

PAWS4thought Animal Rescue

PAWS4Thought Animal Rescue is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, all-breed animal rescue organization. Most of what we do is rescue dogs from shelters when they at risk of being euthanized, as well as abandoned, abused, and stray dogs in both the U.S. and Tijuana/Rosarito areas. PAWS4Thought is committed to reducing the number of dogs who are at risk of being euthanized or are left hurt and/or abandoned each and every day. Our primary goal is to rescue and rehabilitate these dogs in loving foster homes until they are adopted into their permanent “fur-ever” homes. We also focus on educating the public by providing information on rescue procedures, and we conduct low cost and free spay/neuter events to those who need these services. PAWS4Thought is a 100% non-profit volunteer organization that could not survive without the loving dedication and support of volunteers, foster families and sponsors who dedicate their time, homes and contributions to help save and support those without a voice.