Frequently Asked Questions

RPM is an innovative rescue, rehabilitation and transport program. We rescue homeless dogs, cats, puppies and kittens (and the occasional pig) from area shelters and then provide the necessary vet care and rehabilitation through our temporary foster homes and boarding facility. The animals are then transported to our reputable rescue partners across the United States, where there is a high demand for adoptable pets. RPM does not adopt out the animals in our program locally due to our contractual obligations with our rescue partners. All animals in our program already have committed rescues that are waiting for them, with many already pre-adopted with homes waiting for them.

RPM does not adopt out the animals in our program locally due to our contractual obligations with our rescue partners. All animals in our program already have committed rescues that are waiting for them. Many of the animals have already been pre-adopted and have homes waiting for them.

Approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.3 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats. (Source: ASCPA) These unwanted, abandoned, neglected, and stray animals pour into animal shelters across the country every day — far outnumbering the good homes available to take them in. (Source: PETA) Only 10% of animals received in U.S. shelters are spayed or neutered. Each year, approximately 1.5 million dogs and cats are euthanized because shelters are overcrowded, and there are not enough adopters, fosters and rescues. (Source: Houston PetSet) Each year, approximately 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized – an estimated 670,000 are dogs and 860,000 are cats. (Source: ASCPA)

According to an Out the Front Door from 2015, “[a]ccording to a 2005 mayor’s task force report for the city of Houston and Harris County, animal shelters in the area killed 80,000 animals in 2004. The 2005 report gave total intake for the city and county’s 5 shelters as almost 120,000 animals in 2004. In addition to the high shelter intake, there may be another factor at work in Houston, and that is the permanent stray population. The Houston shelters admit that they are not able to take in all the homeless animals in the city. When there are a lot of homeless animals in a city that are not being picked up and impounded, they compete with shelter animals for homes. If someone has three or four neighborhood cats hanging around, that person may be just as likely – or more likely – to take in one of those cats as to go to the shelter to adopt. If a rescue takes in a pregnant stray dog from the street and finds homes for her and her five puppies, that will be six less potential adopters at the city shelter. Thus, when we are trying to figure out how many animals a shelter in a particular city can adopt out, we must include the number of permanently homeless strays in with shelter intake, since all those animals are part of the pool of animals that potential adopters have available.” Bottom line is Houston has a huge problem with stray and abandoned animals. There are many rescue groups, including one of our partners Animal Aid Brigade, that focus only on rescuing animals directly from the streets. The experts are not sure just how many homeless animals live on the streets of Houston. Some estimates are over 1,000,000 to 600,000 homeless animals, numbers that some experts say are similar to the number of homeless animals found in Baltimore in the 1970s. Out The Front Door points out that even if the number is far less and more like 120,000 homeless animals living on the streets, such a large number is big enough to crush Houston’s shelter system. Our temperate climate encourages year-round breeding, enabling the homeless pet problem to grow exponentially worse over time. Houston does not have spay/neuter laws and Texas as a whole has virtually no regulations for breeders with many puppies and kittens sold at flea markets, in parking lots or on Craigslist or Facebook. Additionally, few low cost and free spay/neuter options are not widely available in Houston’s vast metropolitan area that covers more than 10,000 miles. The areas RPM serves is much larger. All of these factors have contributed to an overwhelming problem and market saturation in terms of available homes for homeless animals of the Houston area. While there are efforts to provide more spay/neuter services and other resources the situation in Houston remains dire and shelter overcrowding and homeless animals living on the streets is an ongoing issue.

While Houston has a huge problem with stray and abandoned animals, other states have spay/neuter laws, breeder regulations and cold winters that do not allow for year-round breeding of stray animals. There is also a culture of adopting a rescue animal being the “right thing to do” versus buying from breeders. Our reputable rescue partners have also done a great job educating their communities about Houston’s overpopulation problem, which creates a demand for our pets too.

We need donations. It averages $250 per pet for rescue to provide necessary vet care/rehabilitation and transport them to their new life. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today! https://rescuedpetsmovement.org/donate/

We also desperately need temporary fosters who are willing to open up a spare room (or bathroom!) in their home to care for a homeless dog, puppy, cat or kitten (and the occasional pig) from the time they leave the shelter until their transport date. The estimated fostering time can vary from 2-3 weeks for cats and kittens and just 1-2 weeks for puppies and dogs, depending on their medical condition Often, they just need to stay in a home for one or two nights! Consider this, each time our fosters open their homes, they have saved a homeless animal from the euthanasia list and may have helped create space at the shelter to save a 2nd life! We provide food and supplies at the request of the foster, but because we rely on donations for our food and supplies, we will always be grateful to accept any assistance! Please consider becoming a foster today! A foster application can be found here: https://rescuedpetsmovement.org/foster/

RPM is always in need of pet food donations for the animals in our program. We have a wishlist on Amazon and Chewy’s to make it easy!

Click to view our Amazon Wishlist
Click to view our Chewy Wishlist

RPM also depends on volunteers for support at our facility in Oak Forest (2317 W 34th St, Houston, TX 77018 – just off 610 North near E. TC Jester), to care for boarded animals, walk dogs, help with laundry, and various other tasks. We also welcome support on our transport days. A volunteer application can be found here: https://rescuedpetsmovement.org/volunteer/