We are a small, but mighty, Not-For-Profit - 501c3 - No-Kill dog and cat rescue organization in South Florida, comprised solely of volunteers who love animals. We rescue stray, neglected, abandoned, and surrendered dogs and cats and work very hard to place them in new loving homes.

This group is comprised ENTIRELY of volunteers who work full-time doing something that pays the mortgage. We do the rescue stuff (which is our true passion) after work and on the weekends. So if your phone calls or emails are not answered by a live person right away --- it's probably because we are at work and will call you when we can.

We do not have a shelter... We are of the belief that a home environment is far more desirable than a shelter or kennel, so we rely exclusively on homes like yours in which to place our pets.

We work exclusively with a foster-care program where our pet lives with you, and we pay for or provide everything. A home environment is always the most desirable ~ and with the endless supply of animals needing homes, we just never have enough lined up. Sometimes the foster lasts a week, sometimes several months. A dog or cat will do far better adjusting when they are sitting by your chair or next to you while you are on the computer than stashed in a noisy kennel somewhere surrounded by sick and barking dogs.

Because we don't have a shelter, we can only take a new animal IF we have a vacant foster home for the pet to live while we seek a new forever home for him -- OR-- if you agree to hang onto the pet while we help you find a new home. Sadly, we are not able to assist every animal that crosses our path. There are just too many dogs & cats out there who need help. But.. we DO have an extensive list of people looking for specific dogs and cats - so if you can hang onto your pet for a little longer, we might be able to assist you in placing them. No promises, but we will try.

Our foster parents pay nothing, unless they want to. We absolutely are against housing an animal in a kennel for any length of time. And doing so, absolutely hinders our ability to adopt him or her into a new home. Cages easily make a once friendly dog, cage or dog aggressive which is difficult & costly to un-do. In a kennel, we do not know whether they are housebroken, destructive when left alone in a home, whether they like kids, cats, people in general or other dogs, and when in a home, we know. And because we can give you a history of the pet, we are able to get them adopted sooner. That means we can help another animal in need.

We depend on people like you. Our ability to help that next animal-in-need depends on whether we have a temporary home for the animal while we are looking for a new forever home

Our foster parents pay for nothing, unless they want to. We are a Not for profit, 501c3 organization so everything you provide on behalf of our pet can be a taxable deduction on your income taxes, plus...time spent helping our pets counts toward COMMUNITY SERVICE or SCHOOL HOURS!

We provide or pay for the: crate, baby-gate, food, HeartGuard and Frontline, and any necessary vet visits that may be required. And our pets are thoroughly vetted before they come to you, so your own pet will not be subjected to anything harmful. As a foster parent, all we ask of you is a kind hand, a little patience and a loving home while we search for a forever home for this one.

OUR VET SERVICES ARE NOT FREE! Most folks don't understand how rescue groups work and are under the impression that this is what we do full time -- and that we get our vet services for free. WRONG on both counts! We are not funded by anyone! We all work full-time jobs during the work week and we rely entirely on DONATIONS from people like you. And just so you know, none of us get paid for our time - we do all this stuff for FREE!

We work with some wonderful Veterinarians in the area who ensure that our animals are thoroughly examined, brought current on shots, spay or neutered, micro-chipped and treated for whatever might ail them. They help out a little when they can, but they are trying to make a living too! Our primary Vet is Dr. Alicia Grasso at Hollywood Animal Hospital. We also use Animal Clinic, an affordable spay/neuter clinic located at 4101 Griffin Road in Davie.

When you adopt from us, you can be sure that your pet will be coming to you from a home environment vs. a kennel or shelter. Not having a shelter is a two-edged sword. Sadly, it prevents us from helping ALL the animals that come our way, but it does restrict us to take on only the pets we can care for, and care for "well". Our pets are healthy and live in private foster homes until their forever home can be found. They are thoroughly vetted, current on with shots, tested, spayed or neutered and the dogs are micro-chipped or tattooed.

Most of the dogs & cats in our care are owner-surrenders or strays who never found their way back home. And many of the pets we rescue are pedigreed who were bought from a breeder or a pet store, and for a variety of reasons, end up in our care. We take them to our vet for a thorough exam and vaccinations. We spay and neuter every pet in our care, and we micro-chip all dogs. If there is anything heath-wise that needs treating, we fix it.

WE NEED YOUR HELP! In fact, we exist solely on donations from folks like you. If you want to help out with a specific dog or just donate to the cause click here to donate via paypal or if you prefer to mail a check or money order, our mailing address is: Grateful Paws, 9264 NW 17 Street, Coral Springs, FL 33071 -Tel. 954-554-3332. To save us a stamp, please be sure to include your email address. And remember your donation is tax deductable!