Paws On Your Heart Pet Rescue Support Program

There’s no end to the sad, heart-wrenching stories of homeless dogs and cats. We read about many such pets that are neglected, abused, and/or abandoned and left to die. Others are released in terrible shape from hoarded homes and backyard breeders or are surrendered unwanted, often with medical needs.

Pet rescue organizations take these animals in, but then face challenges with physical resources. Adoption fees do not cover a fraction of the expenses that each pet incurs.

This is where the Paws on Your Heart Pet Rescue Support Program steps in! We are able to support dog and cat rescues in IA in 3 important ways: (1) We offer annual grants each January. (2) Throughout the year, we supplement these grants with additional grants to our grantees. These help with large emergency medical costs, community service events, and special product needs. (3) We also offer each grantee other help – fundraising ideas, sources for free/discounted products, introductions to funders, grant tips/coaching, and help with specific rescue needs.

But we can’t do this important work without partners – our donors! Your donation goes directly to the grants we give out each year. The more donations we receive, the more grants we can give, and the larger they can be!

So that you SEE where your donations are being used, we send a letter of Succes Stories each year to all donors. These show OUR grant dollars and YOUR donation dollars at work for that year! See the Success Story at the end of this profile for a wonderful example for 2025.

In addition to donations that fund our grants, some donations are made in honor or memory of a beloved pet or person. We welcome such gifts! Donors of these gifts reading our Success Stories will be able to see how their tributes live on and benefit homeless dogs and cats that need a helping paw.