Hearts & Bones Rescue is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foster-based dog rescue with dual bases in Texas and New York City. To date, we have saved the lives of over 4,300 shelter dogs in need!
Our mission is to eliminate the needless euthanasia of shelter dogs through direct lifesaving, shared learning, and community building. We want to portray the world of animal rescue, fostering, and adoption as accessible to everyone, and show that rescue dogs are not inherently damaged animals, but wonderful additions to families of all kinds.
Hearts & Bones has created a highly effective foster-based rescue model dedicated to reducing shelter deaths in Texas, the state with both the highest intake and euthanasia rates in the country. Our lifesaving operations begin at a network of municipal, open intake shelters around Dallas that are regularly at or beyond capacity. We rescue dogs from these shelters, provide them with necessary medical care, and after a clean bill of health transport large groups of dogs to NYC. Upon arrival, they spend time with a foster adjusting to city life, and usually find their forever home within 1-2 weeks.
We believe transport programs are an essential part of making the US a no-kill country. While there are many people who want to adopt in Texas, the number of unwanted dogs is far greater. In New York City and the northeast, the situation is reversed -- there are so many people looking to adopt and not as many animals entering the shelters. The dogs we rescue in Texas have a much better chance of finding their forever homes in the NYC area. In addition, every dog we pull from a shelter in Texas and bring to NYC reduces pressure on the incredibly overburdened Texas shelter system and makes room for them to save another life.
Our Needs
Two of our top priorities in 2023 are to expand both our transport and adoption programs by getting adoptable dogs out of overpopulated Dallas and sending them to locations where there is more demand for adoptable dogs. We are currently raising funds to purchase a new Transport Van to increase our capacity for larger transports and a Mobile Adoption Van to increase the number of adoption events in highly visible NYC locations and the surrounding areas without relying on brick-and-mortar indoor locations and their operating hours.