So, what IS Rescue-Me.org?

It is the hope of the founder that Rescue-Me.org will become an online home for anyone involved in companion animal rescue, whether independently, or through a rescue organization. We want this site to become a place for rescuers to share information, resources, educational materials and links, fundraising opportunities, transport and other needs...anything that will help us ALL help our furry friends in need.

This site is just in its infancy...it needs your help to make it the rich, beneficial resource it can become for all of us. Right now, the most urgent need for many rescue groups seems to be fundraising, so that's where we've focused our efforts to start. We've teamed up with an organization called CafePress to set up online fundraising opportunities for rescue organizations. Since the founder of this site is affiliated with Internet Miniature Pinscher Rescue, that's the first store we've set up under our Breed Rescue Stores section. Other items and designs are beginning to be developed that deal with general, non-breed-specific, rescue issues, such as Spay & Neuter and lifelong pet care and training. It is our intention that as more organizations set up their online stores through this site, profits from sales of "generic" rescue designs will be split among organizations who have teamed with us in fundraising, as well as possibly funding national organizations that support the causes of companion animal rescue.

We encourage you to please let us know what WE can do for YOU! What needs do your groups have? What topics do you find the most frustrating to try to educate the public about? Have you found an especially effective way to reach the public and reduce the numbers of animals in need in your area? Do you have links to online information and articles that are very good for rescuers to use? We want to open this site up to all rescuers, no matter their affiliation....please share with us, and we will share back with you.

As you can see by the links listed above, we plan to have a listing of rescue groups; those we can find, and those you tell us about. We also want to have a general "help" area...links for education, low-cost spay/neuter clinics, rescue-friendly vets, discounts for rescuers, behavior/training info, transport and supply sharing boards...whatever we can do to make your very special work easier and more successful. Bulletin boards will be created to help you share information as well. A "rescue glossary" will provide basic rescue abbreviations and terminology

If you have information to share with your fellow rescuers, or if you'd like to know how your organization can set up fundraising online, please email us at info@rescue-me.org . Shortly, a sign up form will be available to join a private mail list, so that we may let you know of additions and changes to our website.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and please continue to make Rescue-Me.org a regular stop on the web...we're growing, and we want you to be a vital part of that growth!

Who started Rescue-Me.org?

Rescue-Me.org was started by Sue Regonini, a graphic designer and rescuer in Florida. Sue has always had a love of animals (her first word wasn't "mommy" or "daddy"...it was "kitty"!), and she wanted to use her talents in some way to try to help animals in need. A few years ago, after many years of being strictly a cat person, Sue found her first dog, Spyk, a starving Min Pin/Chihuahua mix, and he stole her heart. When she ran an ad in the paper looking for this poor boy's family, one of the first persons to call her was someone from Internet Miniature Pinscher Service (IMPS). Even though Spyk was never claimed by his family, Sue and her husband kept Spyk, and chose not to turn him into IMPS. However, Sue was so impressed by the idea of breed rescue (which she had never heard of), that she researched IMPS, and eventually became a volunteer. A year after finding Spyk, Sue & her husband fostered Sadie, a 4-month-old Min Pin with a broken leg...Sadie is now a beloved member of their family, with a perfectly healed leg. Spyk and Sadie grudingly share their home with the occasional foster, and do their parts to help publicize IMPS and rescue work in general.

About a year ago, Sue developed an online store for IMPS fundraising, and it was well received. As she began to design other IMPS and Min Pin designs, other rescue friends asked her to develop some "generic" rescue-related items. As she began to think about these designs, she began to wonder how she could help more rescue organizations through her talents for web and graphic design, as well as her administrative and event-coordination experience. Soon, the idea for Rescue-Me.org was formed, with the goal of, first, providing an easy way for rescue groups to do fundraising without having to purchase inventory in advance, or go door to door to sell items. Secondly, she wanted the site to be a "one-stop-shop" for rescue-related information, including educational articles that could be printed out for the public or for booth display at public events. And finally, she wanted this site to be a way for ALL rescue groups, no matter where they are located, or if they're breed-specific or not, to come together and share information and resources, keeping in mind our ultimate goal...Every animal in a forever home.