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Our MISSION

RESCUE RESPECT REPEAT

Dog Gone Seattle is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to saving homeless dogs in Washington and beyond through rescue, foster, and adoption. Powered by a passionate community of fosters, volunteers, and supporters, we are 100% foster-based and community-funded. We believe that rescue is more than saving lives — it’s about connection, compassion, and collaboration. Guided by our credo — Rescue. Respect. Repeat. — we work together to give each dog in our care the opportunity for adoption, one dog, one family, at a time.

Rescue

Together with our partners, we rescue homeless dogs and dogs at risk of euthanasia in shelters across Washington and beyond. Many of our dogs come from open-intake municipal shelters in California or rural shelters in Texas, where friendly, adoptable dogs often have just days before being euthanized due to space constraints. We bring these animals to safety in the Pacific Northwest and place them in loving foster homes, giving them a second chance and the first step on their journey to a forever home.

Respect

Every animal we rescue receives standard veterinary care including spay/neuter, vaccinations, heartworm testing if indicated, any indicated preventative care, and microchip with lifetime registration. Many dogs also receive specialty care such as dental procedures, remedial grooming, orthopedic surgery or special diets. We provide whatever is needed to get our dogs in foster care healthy, or on a clear path to health with adopters.  In addition, in foster care we evaluate personality, behavior, temperament, and compatibility with other animals, including working with a team of professional dog trainers for support if necessary.  We respect that each dog has different needs, and tailor our approach to set up every animal for success.

Repeat

Then we do it all over again!  Since 2017, Dog Gone Seattle has rescued and adopted out over 6,000 dogs and counting!  We rely on support from our community to repeat our mission, one dog at a time.  At any given time, we typically have around 120-150 dogs in foster care and 400 active volunteers helping with transportation, evaluation, training, walking, socializing, grooming, administration, and more. It truly takes a village, and we are grateful for this community!

Our Partners

Dog Gone Seattle partners with hundreds of organizations and businesses to make rescue possible. From shelters, rescues, and transporters who help bring dogs to us, to veterinarians and trainers who provide vital support along the way, to businesses that supply essential resources — it truly takes a village. We are grateful for these incredible select partners, a few of the many who help us rescue, care for, and place dogs in loving homes. For a more complete current list, go to Our Partners.

OUR (HER)STORY

In 2012, while pursuing her Master’s in Communication Leadership at the University of Washington, Jenny was given a simple assignment: build a digital community around an interest. Her first idea, Why Adopt, aimed to network dogs in need of rescue through a website and social media. But her professor quickly dismissed it as “too depressing” — predicting that people might visit once or twice, but wouldn’t stay engaged.

Jenny pivoted. She launched the original Dog Gone Seattle, a website and social community dedicated to discovering and sharing dog-friendly places and events around the greater Seattle area. At the time, nothing like it existed — and the community exploded in popularity. 

Still, Jenny’s passion for rescue never faded. After graduation, she began volunteering with a local organization, first helping with communications and then developing their large-breed foster program. It wasn’t long before the path became clear: she could combine her love for dogs, her communication expertise, and the community she had built to create something bigger.

In December 2016, Dog Gone Seattle was officially reborn — this time as a nonprofit rescue organization with a unique mission: to save dogs in need while cultivating a community of people connected by compassion, purpose, and a shared love for dogs.

In January 2017, DGS received 501(c)(3) status. What began as a small team of volunteers quickly grew into the largest foster-based rescue in the Pacific Northwest. In the first five years, DGS saved thousands of dogs — each one a story of second chances made possible by the power of community.

In Spring 2025, that community found a new home. The DGS Community Center opened its doors as a hub for fosters, volunteers, and adopters — a place built not for warehousing dogs, but for celebrating the connections that make rescue possible.