About us
ArkanPaws Animal Rescue is a group of dedicated volunteers who are passionate about helping homeless animals through rescuing, fostering, vetting, and rehabilitating them until they are placed into their forever homes. We are based in central Arkansas, and we transport about 85% of our dogs to New England, where they land in short-term foster care or permanent homes. Most of our animals live in Arkansas, and transport runs every week.
With a mission to rescue, rehabilitate, and re-home pets in need, ArkanPaws was started in 2012 by a small group of concerned women and earned its nonprofit status in 2013. Since then, about 4,000 dogs and cats have benefited from our work, from spay and neuter and vet care to reuniting found pets with their owners, food donations, and re-homing. We also work directly with lawmakers to create and improve animal welfare laws, push for better conditions in existing shelters, and we have built a foster program run by volunteers in both Arkansas and New England.
We are committed to building a community of devoted pet families and helping people understand why spaying and neutering matters so much. Arkansas is one of many southern states with a serious pet overpopulation problem, and it leads to far too many beautiful, healthy, adoptable animals dying needlessly every day. By transporting north, we save thousands of lives each year, get these animals into homes that want them, and help end the breeding cycle. Placing animals with families in New England also leaves homes open here in Arkansas, so local families can adopt from shelters and rescues that only adopt locally. We are always growing our network of volunteers and fosters, and we are always looking for help. Apply today to join our team in Arkansas or Rhode Island.
Mission Statement
Fostering and finding good permanent homes for wonderful animals is fantastic, but what we hope to achieve is much more. We aim to be a source of education, of compassion and encouragement, of networking, and of inspiration for animal lovers everywhere. We strive to be an agent of change: in the way animals are too often seen as disposable, in the way rescue can feel competitive rather than collaborative, and in the way the issue of pet overpopulation is addressed. We will keep helping people find low cost or free spay and neuter programs, in our state and beyond, along with lists of rescues to reach out to for help. Knowledge is power, and the power to bring positive change to a community is a beautiful thing indeed.
Saving one dog will not change the world, but surely for that one dog, the world will change forever.