Start Spreading the News! Wonder Dog Rescue Expands to New York

These new digs are the future plans of Wonder Dog Rescue’s expansion to New York. photo: Google Earth

Wonder Dog Rescue has some incredible news to share. We’re opening a second location in Hudson, New York!  

Wonder Dog has been saving dogs for over 30 years with the mission of rescuing vulnerable, homeless dogs throughout Northern and Central California. After starting our journey in San Francisco, we moved to Sonoma County in 2019. Throughout the years, we’ve promoted the philosophy that all lives are valuable, most clearly demonstrated in our rescue of hospice, special needs, and senior dogs. 

In January 2020 our mission evolved from that of a single purpose nonprofit dog rescue into a fully working nonprofit sanctuary that provides care to these dogs. We also took time to examine how to advance the foundation work of this newly expanded rescue program. Our new mission incorporates the active care of special needs and hospice dogs on our five-acre farm here in California as well as caring for farm animals needing rescue, while continuing to run our dog adoption program.

All of our animals are provided with the medical care and love needed to return to a healthy, sound state. All dogs are spayed or neutered before adoption and, while many are adopted, some remain with us in hospice care or for other reasons. Our sanctuary is set up to accommodate blind and physically impaired dogs. Many unadoptable dogs have been with us for years.

Wonder Dog will not turn away a dog because it is unadoptable or at the end of life. Compassionate end-of-life support and euthanasia are both used as deemed necessary by our veterinarians, but Wonder Dog does not euthanize for space. Dogs who are in the final stages of terminal illnesses are cared for with compassion and love. 

Like other rescue groups, Wonder Dog staff and volunteers have become increasingly concerned about the recent influx of dogs in shelters throughout California, but particularly in the Central Valley. The combination of the pandemic and inflation have caused too many people to abandon or surrender their dogs. Many shelters are overfull and not accepting new animals. Dogs are being abandoned in fields or on the side of the road.This heartbreaking tragedy has had a major impact in rescue circles. 

Wonder Dog knew that we needed to expand in a way that would allow us to serve more dogs. Many rescues already work to send these dogs to Northern California, Oregon, and even Washington state. But, sadly, the West Coast cannot absorb the number of animals in need.

With the support of the Nature Defense Fund, Wonder Dog first attempted to purchase a property here in California, but prices are so much higher than in other parts of the country. This forced us to look at the situation differently, to think outside the proverbial box. And that’s how, after several wonderful planning sessions, Wonder Dog Rescue partnered with the Nature Defense Fund to purchase a kennel in Hudson, New York. Now Wonder Dog Rescue NY is scheduled to open June 1, as an extension of Wonder Dog Rescue California.

Wonder Dog has always specialized in transporting dogs in danger of being euthanized out of kill shelters located primarily in California’s Central Valley. Our mission at our second location, Wonder Dog NY, will be to remove dogs from the vicious cycle of abandonment in California and find them forever homes in New York, where there is a much higher demand for adoptions. 

Our new Hudson kennel is located on a 14-acre property. The kennel is a state-of-the-art space, with over two acres for our furry friends to run and play in a fully fenced grassy enclosure, as well as indoor play space and individual suites for the dogs. An added benefit is that our New York rescue location will be able to offer dog day care and boarding, which will help offset the costs of transportation and shelter operations. 

But never fear, Golden State friends - Wonder Dog Rescue in California is not going away!  We will still be working closely with California shelters to select dogs for rescue, perform intakes, seek veterinary care as needed, arrange transportation, and act as a liaison between California shelters and our New York location. You'll be able to easily access both locations by visiting wonderdogrescue.org.

All of us at Wonder Dog are so grateful to be starting this new phase of rescue with our New York location. We thank all our supporters for their years of contributions and look forward to seeing many of you here in California or at the new location in Hudson. 

If you’d like to help with Wonder Dog’s work, you may make a donation here wonderdogrescue.org/donate. In the meantime, start spreading the news - we’re going to be a part of it in old New York!