The Best Riverside, CA Dog Rescues & Shelters in 2026

Yucaipa Animal Placement Society (YAPS)

Yucaipa Animal Placement Society (YAPS) is a no-kill nonprofit dog and cat rescue based in Yucaipa, CA. Our mission is to strive to prevent the euthanasia of dogs and cats throughout the region by providing them a temporary safe haven until a permanent and loving home can be found.

Loving All Animals

Loving All Animals was incorporated at the end of 2008 to fill a void in the animal welfare community within the Coachella Valley. The agency sought to be the conduit for the welfare of the valley’s animals. Lindi Biggi, founder of Loving All Animals, believed that if all of the shelters and rescue organizations could work cooperatively, the animals would be the ultimate beneficiary. In 2018, the Pet Rescue Center, a 501(c)3 charity, based in Coachella, CA, was gifted to Loving All Animals. The Pet Rescue Center had been founded and continuously managed by Christine Madruga for 21 years. In 2018, the Pet Rescue Center’s Board elected to transfer the entire charity to Loving All Animals, and Christine retired. Loving All Animals provides animal sheltering, adoption, training, support, humane education programs to our community.

Lucky Chi Dog Rescue

We are a Non-Profit 501(c)(3) that helps prevent the suffering and neglect of Chihuahuas which are second-most euthanized breeds in the shelters. Our primary focus is subsidizing Spay and Neuter programs to prevent the needless suffering of unwanted dogs. We also support foster programs by funding medical and dental, along with pain meds for dogs in most need to alleviate suffering. To date, we have fostered hundreds of dogs and spayed and neutered thousands of dogs here and in Mexico over the years. We continue to do spay and neuter events, support fostering to find loving homes, and subsidize medical expenses to relieve extreme suffering of shelter animals. We also promote humane education for the betterment of the lives of companion animals.

Your Love Unleashed Dog Rescue

Your Love Unleashed Dog Rescue accepts large breed dogs; specifically Rottweilers and Shepherds. However, we will accept any large breed of dog that needs our help, if we are ABLE to help them. This includes networking out to our connections at other dog rescues & organizations if they are more suited for a particular dog or breed. Being in this industry affords us the opportunity to work with many great rescue organizations in California and neighboring states.

Muttly Crew

Our goal at Muttly Crew, Inc is to rescue animals from harm many of which have been abandoned, hurt, or abused. We are a non-profit 501c3 organization committed to the care and re-homing of all the dogs that we save. Our goal is to help them heal, get needed veterinary care, neutered/spayed to make them ready for a forever home.​ We count on volunteers to help support our rescue efforts, involving immediate rescue from harmful situations, and trapping of abandoned animals to get them off the street. We are strictly a volunteer-based organization that relies on fundraisers, collecting donations, silent auctions, raffles; etc. to support our rescue efforts.

Hesperia Animal Shelter

The fully staffed shelter provides care for animals who are impounded because they have become separated from their owners but will be quickly reunited. The shelter also cares for animals that need to be adopted into a new family and those that must be humanely euthanized. The need for this agency is due mostly to irresponsible pet ownership and pet over-population. While the benefits of pet ownership are many, pets that are not properly cared for can become not only a nuisance, but also a threat to the health and safety of neighbors.

Redlands Animal Shelter

Our mission is to maintain the best environment we can offer for the many stray and homeless animals we acquire, as well as providing the public with an inviting and helpful experience.

Coachella Valley City/County Animal Shelter

A Passion for Paws Rescue, Inc..

A Passion for Paws Rescue, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) certified non-profit dedicated to saving the lives of Akitas and other dogs in need. We rescue and support dogs including veterinary costs, food and temporary housing until the dogs can be adopted into their forever homes. We are a NO KILL rescue organization that survives entirely on donations. We are these shelter dogs' last hope! Since the beginning of A Passion for Paws, we have saved the lives of almost 1000 Akitas and other dogs. In 2006, A Passion for Paws became officially approved as a 501c3 non-profit charity organization. In 2010, established the Akita Ranch facility to provide for the temporary housing and care of dogs. We are the only Akita rescue organization in the Southwest United States that actively takes in dogs on a weekly, if not daily basis. We are a volunteer organization that relies on private donations to continue our mission to save Akitas and other dogs in need. We could not accomplish our mission without the help of our generous supporters, friends and volunteers and we are very grateful to all those who also love and help Akitas and other dogs in need. A Passion for Paws Rescue was founded in 2004 by Cheryl Weatherford to honor the memory of her son, Paxton David Weatherford who passed away unexpectedly from a rare form of cancer. Paxton loved animals and brought Cheryl her first Akita, an extra-large white male Akita named Zeus who had survived a terrible fire at the animal shelter. Zeus had the presence and appearance of a polar bear, the temperament of a lamb unless he or his family was threatened and then he would fight like a tiger, and the intellect of a being wise beyond the short time he was with us. Both of these rare individuals inspired an undying love for Akitas and dogs in need.

Support 4 Paws

Support 4 Paws is a 501c3 nonprofit ​organization supporting animals and their ​guardians through community outreach, ​medical assistance and educational ​programs. Our mission is to keep animals in ​their homes, out of shelters and off the ​streets by providing much needed services ​to their owners. Thereby, we are “rescuing ​before rescue is needed.” If we can keep animals at home with their ​owners then they don’t end up in ​overcrowded shelters at risk of euthanasia

Desert Paws Sanctuary

Desert Paws Sanctuary is committed to the rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming of abandoned animals. Our mission is to establish a sanctuary for these animals while also offering educational resources and support to low-income communities in the area of animal welfare.

Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center

The Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center (MSRPAC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) public benefit charitable organization committed to giving homeless cats and dogs another chance for a healthy and happy life by finding them good, loving homes. MSRPAC is supported solely by private donations and fundraising projects. As a limited-entry companion adoption center, the Pet Adoption Center takes in healthy, adoptable cats and dogs from owners who can no longer care for them. As space allows, we also select healthy, adoptable cats and dogs from other local animal welfare agencies. Pets that are accepted into our center must pass health and behavior evaluations. All animals stay in our care until a good, loving home is found. No healthy, adoptable animal is ever destroyed. If space is not available to admit a pet, or if the pet cannot be accepted due to any other reason, owners are referred to other facilities and organizations. All pets while in our care receive food, a comfortable environment, medical attention and loving socialization from both staff and volunteers. Our staff and volunteers monitor the physical, emotional and mental health of the animals daily. A progressive “stress reduction” program helps keep our residents healthy, happy and adoptable. All animals are vaccinated, micro-chipped and spayed or neutered. For animals that are too young to be adopted, volunteers offer temporary homes through our pet foster care program. More on volunteering » Our Adoption Counselors assist in finding the right pet based on personalities and lifestyle. Individuals who adopt our animals go through an extensive adoption process where they are counseled on the medical, physical and emotional needs of the particular dog or cat they are adopting. After the adoption, the staff and volunteers at the center are always available to help with any questions or issues that may arise. Caring for homeless pets is not all the Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center does. MSRPAC is very active in promoting animal welfare and positive human-animal relations through community-service programs which include humane education, pet behavior counseling, and support of pet overpopulation education and programs. More than 100 years of caring The Riverside Humane Society was established in 1897 for the purpose of preventing cruelty to children and animals. The first shelter was dedicated in 1917 and housed dogs, cats, horses, cows, birds, chickens and more. The society was incorporated in 1929 and in 1956 moved to 5791 Fremont Street. RHS provided complete animal control services such as licensing, impounding stray animals, accepting owner turn-ins, and investigating animal cruelty and aggressive-animal reports. Then in 1995, the society relinquished all animal control responsibilities to the County of Riverside Dept. of Animal Services and reorganized as the Riverside Humane Society Pet Adoption Center. In January, 2008 RHSPAC relocated to a newly constructed, 17,000 s.f. facility at 6165 Industrial Avenue. On March 3, 2010 the Riverside Humane Society Pet Adoption Center officially changed their name to the Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center.

Animal Lives Matter Inc

Animal Lives Matter is a section 501(c)(3) no-kill rescue group, incorporated in March 2017, with years of animal and rescue experience amongst our founders. We are committed to helping the most needy, as well as the readily adoptable, among our community's most vulnerable creatures

The Animal Rescue Center of California

The housing crisis of 2008 created a wave of stray street dogs as owners lost their homes and moved to apartment buildings. With county shelters over-capacitated and animal control inundated, we saw an urgent need for help and stepped in immediately. With the help of private rescue organizations and low-cost spay and neuter programs, we have been able to rescue hundreds of animals off the street and find them loving permanent homes. There is a great deal more to do! Our vision moving forward is to continue helping animals in urgent need with a stronger support network and a greater capacity to rescue. Our ultimate intention is to create an animal campus in the eastern Coachella Valley to house rescued animals while finding suitable adopting families. Until then, we will continue our mission to help animals as we build The Animal Rescue Center of California.

New Beginnings For Animals

We’re an all-volunteer, 501c3, non-profit organization based in Mission Viejo, California. Our four Board Members and more than 30 Volunteers are dedicated to saving abandoned dogs and cats in overcrowded shelters throughout California. Many of the animals we rescue have a slim chance of getting out alive due to sickness, injury or lack of kennel space. Owners Who Must Give Up Their Pets — Our rescue efforts focus on shelter animals, particularly adults and seniors in need of medical care with little chance of survival, so we don’t often have the resources to take pets from owners who can no longer keep them. We are always happy to help network a pet in need of re-homing, though the owner will be responsible for fielding inquiries, screening, home checking, and adopting their pet to a good home.

Doggie Bonez, Inc.

Doggie Bonez was founded by Jacqueline aka Jackie. She has a passion for dogs that started at an early age. Instead of playing with dolls, she enjoyed playing with all of her animals. Jacqueline’s first rescue was more than 18 years ago. She hasn’t looked back since, except to fondly remember all of her successful adoptions! Doggie Bonez is run by a group of volunteers, who provide their time, effort, and their love of all dogs. Doggie Bonez would not be as successful as it is today without all the help of these special people. If you would like to volunteer to help these great people and care for these great dogs & puppies, please Contact Us. We would be forever grateful for any and all help you could provide.

Shadow Husky Rescue, Inc.

Forever Young K9 Rescue

In July 2013, I walked into North Valley shelter in Los Angeles to adopt a dog named Austin for a wonderful woman Gina Mann Landers. Gina had seen his picture in the shelter and wanted to open her home to him. The shelter advised me against adopting him because they thought he was at least 10 years old, and they did not believe he would live much longer. Austin and I walked out of the shelter that day and he never looked back. After leaving that day with Austin, I could not help but wonder how many other seniors were left behind because someone told adopters they were too old and it was a mistake. That began the journey to start Forever Young. I have learned many things along the way and have been touched and blessed by many experiences. I learned it was not just seniors that were left behind; the sick are treated similarly. In November of 2013, a sweet boy named Pelo was turned in by his owner because he was sick. He was not given treatment and he spent his time lying in his kennel in pain. Many rescues walked by him and did nothing. For me, it was beyond heartbreaking to see him neglected and suffering. But, there was a small community of individuals who resolved to rescue him. With only 30 minutes to closing, Sandy Naples rushed in and adopted him. With the help of the AC officer, Sandy placed him in her car and met me at our vet. Our vet confirmed he was suffering, and had been for some time. We gave him a comfortable bed, a sponge bath, managed his pain, and gave him the affection he deserved. For the first time in a very long time, he had a restful night’s sleep. The next morning, on Thanksgiving Day, we celebrated with the entire staff with a large breakfast consisting of all things that are bad for you. Later that day, surrounded by people and affection, he crossed the rainbow bridge. By giving just a little of our hearts and our time, we were able to provide profound relief to Pelo. Our experience with Pelo stays with us and serves as a strong reminder of our purpose in starting Forever Young. As our rescue has grown over the years we have opened and will continue to open our hearts to all dogs of all ages and circumstances. Whether they are with us for an hour, a day, a week, a year, or a lifetime, they all deserve to cross with love and dignity.

All Things Pups Rescue

All Things Pups Rescue was founded in 2020 by celebrity dog trainer & behaviorist Kaelin Munkelwitz. Growing up, Kaelin always had a deep connection with dogs and developed a passion for fostering and rescue. When Kaelin moved to California, she was devastated by the number of sweet and healthy dogs being euthanized due to overcrowding in California shelters, especially pits and other large breeds who had been labeled as “aggressive dogs”. Over the years, Kaelin has poured her heart into saving these dogs through training and education and has built a reputation within the rescue community as a "miracle worker" with aggressive and reactive dogs; so much so, that she is considered the 'go-to' trainer for aggressive dogs on the verge of euthanasia among rescues she partners with. Kaelin’s ultimate goal was always to start a rescue but saw it as a long-term goal. However, a puppy named Kuma came into her life changed everything… Kuma first entered Kaelin's life in 2017 when he was a 3-month-old training client and started having seizures and high fevers under her care. After rushing him to the vet, Kuma was given less than a 10% chance of surviving the next 24 hours, and his owners were ready to give up on him. But recognizing Kuma's strength and love of life, Kaelin knew that Kuma had more to teach the world. She begged his owners to surrender him to her so that she could give him a second chance. And so began their incredible journey together. He was given a prognosis of around a year, and Kaelin was ready to do everything she could to give Kuma the best life with the time he had. Kuma’s condition included spiking fevers as high as 106 degrees and painful joint flare-ups about twice a week that lasted throughout the night. The disease was managed by high dose steroids, countless medications, and long nights of constant cold water baths, enemas, and fluids that Kaelin would administer herself until 2, 3 or sometimes 4am in the morning before going to work that morning to help other dogs. But beyond his terrible disease, Kuma was full of incredible happiness and powerful, unconditional love. He fought every single day of his life, always with a smile and a wagging tail, showing the world what true strength is. And Kaelin fought right alongside him, making sure he always knew he was never alone through any of it. At the age of 11 months, Kuma crossed the rainbow bridge in Kaelin’s arms. While Kuma may be physically gone, his story lives on, teaching others what unconditional love and true strength looks like. After going through this experience with Kuma, Kaelin was inspired to act on her dreams of starting a rescue to save other dogs like Kuma who are looking for someone to give them a second chance. All Things Pups Rescue’s ultimate goal is to give abandoned dogs like Kuma a second chance and decrease the number of dogs euthanized in local shelters by showing our community that you can find wonderful dogs of all ages, breeds and sizes through rescue. All Things Pups Rescue is lucky to have an incredible team of dog-loving, loyal and intelligent people that share Kaelin’s undying passion for doing whatever it takes to save dogs and educate the public on how to become better dog owners. As Kaelin knows the importance of training and owner education, every All Things Pups Rescue dog receives individual training to ensure we know the best fit for our dogs and can ensure successful adoptions.

Apple Valley Animal Services

The Animal Services Department consists of Field Services and Shelter Services, working together to protect public safety and provide humane animal care through sheltering, pet placement programs, education and law enforcement. Our philosophy is to promote responsible pet ownership, compassion toward animals and safe human-animal interactions. We celebrate partnerships with various individuals and rescue organizations that allow us to increase placement of adoptable animals into permanent loving homes. Working together, we all can provide a "Better Way of Life" for the animals in our care - four paws at a time.

Dream Team Angels Rescue

Dream Team Angels Rescue is a group of women who volunteer 100% of their time to helping homeless, sick, and injured dogs find their forever homes. Our history Dream Team Angels Rescue has been operating as a small federally recognized non profit rescue 501(c)(3) since 2018. Collectively, we have been helping our local pet population for more than 25 years!

Code Red K9 Crew

Redlands Humane Society

The Redlands Humane Society generally has a varied selection of pets available for adoption. Cats and dogs, pure breeds and mixed breeds, large and small, young and old. All waiting for that special person or family to love and be loved by. We operate an “all breeds” pet rescue and adoption program. We do not operate a shelter and never euthanize a healthy animal. All of our animals are in volunteer foster homes until they find good adoptive homes. We have no paid staff, this is an all volunteer organization. While this gives our pets a more caring environment, it also limits the number of pets we can take into our system at a time. If you are interested in more information on becoming a volunteer foster, please see our page for volunteer opportunities. We are the oldest Humane Society operating in California, with over 100 years of history. This history pre-dates the annexation of Redlands as a city. Our historical documents are on display at the Smiley Library in Redlands. Our current program, “Operation Second Chance” has been our focus since the 1990s.

Laguna Beach Animal Shelter

PUP Laguna Beach, a non-profit corporation, is the fundraising arm of Laguna Beach Animal Shelter, dedicated to bridging the gap between City funding and the special needs of our animals. PUP Laguna Beach directs fundraising efforts to ensure that the animals receive the best care possible including medical attention, neutering/spaying and behavioral reinforcement before they are adopted. In addition to fundraising, we are involved in animal issues that are brought to the attention of the City Council, along with working with the Police Department and Animal Control concerning any animal problems within our communities of Laguna Beach and Laguna Woods. PUP Laguna Beach is made up of a small board of directors who are active volunteers and staff members at the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter. Each member can attest to the heartwarming experience of pairing a once-abandoned dog with new loving “parents” and witnessing tears of joy that often follow. There are also many heartbreaking stories about neglected and abused animals who find their way to the shelter. The Board is privileged to experience firsthand how fortunate we are in the City of Laguna Beach to have a quality, clean and humane shelter providing extraordinary services every day.

Unconditional Rescue

Compassionate Animal Rescue for Medical Aid

Compassionate Animal Rescue for Medical Aid is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) founded by veterinary professionals dedicated to enhancing the lives of people in our community through our love for animals. Our purpose is to rescue sick or injured animals, provide them with necessary medical care and place them into caring homes if needed. CARMA continues to be an all-volunteer organization so that 100% of the money raised through adoptions, merchandise sales, and from our valuable individual and corporate donors and sponsors goes towards the animals we rescue.

Promise 4 Paws

Greendog Foundation

We are passionate about caring for those who need an extra hand (or 5!). We believe that everyone (and every animal) deserves a chance to be their best, and we try our best every day to make sure that all of our animals can find a forever home. The opportunity for an animal to have a second chance at life would not exist without the extraordinary generosity of our donors. Every dollar raised provides care, medical services and the opportunity for an animal to have a loving and permanent home.

Land of the Dog Rescue

I’m Charline. I have been rescuing dogs in the Gavilan Hills area for the last 22 years, which in the past always meant that when the owners could not be found, we kept them! This left my husband with little faith that when I said I was going to find them a new home, that I actually would. Then came Momma. Momma was a local feral dog who was born and lived her life in our hills and had just had her fifth litter of puppies. The puppies were safe thanks to new neighbor Lisa, and others. I found out about Momma Dog’s story after she had been trapped by animal control and was red tagged at the shelter. Neighbors put out a call for someone to foster Momma and, well, Happy Birthday to me. My husband was out of town…she came here, and she is still here living her best life. And that is where Lisa and my story began. We have been rescuing together for the last 4 years. Lisa’s husband had also lost all faith that she would be able to adopt out a dog! For many years, Lisa had been doing the same thing, pulling in strays, feeding (and cooking for) them, looking for the owners, and then keeping them. We both kept at it working with our local strays. Our husbands were still skeptical while we were learning, but once we had several adoption success stories and had proven we could actually let a much-loved foster go, they were on board. It is still a struggle, Lisa’s love and compassion for the dogs in her care knows no boundaries, and her husband is no help because he keeps falling in love with all of them too. Then we were blessed with a new neighbor and a long-time rescuer, Sharlet, with Forever Young K9 Rescue. Sharlet’s rescue mission had always been focused on the shelter’s seniors. However, they could not turn a blind eye to all our local stray and dumped dogs…so after taking in several of the dogs, she told us to stop talking about it and make our rescue official. She wasn’t taking a chance though and sat down with me and made sure everything got filed! So, on February 1st, 2023, Lisa and I became an official 501(c)(3) rescue and in the first 2 months took 9 dogs into the rescue and have not stopped since. Unfortunately, we get requests every day about dogs that need help. It breaks our hearts not being able to help all of them, but we will continue to help as many as we can.

Heer To Rescue

Heer to Rescue, Inc. is a non-profit 501c3 Dog Rescue based out of Lake Elsinore, California. We operate solely on donations made by the public We are very passionate about helping animals in need. Abandoned, unwanted and unloved animals should not be euthanized in our shelters! We work very hard to ensure that every animal that we help receives proper medical attention, vaccinations, microchips and that they are spayed or neutered. We also introduce the dogs to the structure, boundaries and consistency they need in order to set them up for success. Please help support our mission by donating, liking and sharing our website and facebook posts. We do not discriminate against the age, breed, or medical status of a dog that needs help. Every pet deserves a home where they can receive the proper medical care, training, structure, love and care that they deserve. Our goal is to place each pet with a family that is perfect for them. We are a small team of volunteers and we like the idea of quality over quantity. We dedicate loads of time, energy and soul, into every animal that we help, and we feel that in order to provide the best care to each pet we help, its important not to over stretch our limits or funding. Our intakes are chosen based on a multitude of circumstances so that we can ensure we can provide the care each pet deserves. Because we are a small rescue, your support is even more appreciated. It is also our goal to help educate the public as well as our adopters on dog behavior, proper methods of training and leadership, as well as the importance of spay, neuter and microchipping your pets. We want to help reduce euthanasia and keep dogs with their families when possible.