Rescued Rascals started with
a simple mission:
Saving unwanted, abandoned, abused and neglected dogs by finding them immediate safe and comforting short-term housing while working diligently to find them their loving forever homes.
Founded as a 501c3 not for profit organization
Rescued Rascals was started by a small team of just two volunteers who had worked extensively in dog rescue and foster. They found a new niche for their work by running their own transports to and from a variety of locations, by connecting with their network of dogs rescuers across the Midwest.
Rescued dogs in the second half of 2019
One year later
Two years later
Sarah, President, Co-Founder, Intake Coordinator
I have had a passion for anything dog related for as long as I can remember. I am a single mom to a 13yr old who loves rescue. He is learning all the ins and outs so one day he can join our team. My days in rescue started almost 10 years ago when I fostered a little boxer mix and couldn’t imagine my life without him and adopted him. He is the best dog I’ve ever had. Through that experience, I fell in love with everything that rescue is. I have a deep appreciation for the whole process. From first seeing a picture of a dog in need to meeting them at transport. Then watching them open up and grow while in a foster home. Then finally seeing them happy and in their forever home! I am so happy and absolutely love everything that Rescued Rascals is about and all involved.
Michelle, Foster Coordinator, Secretary
Our family started fostering with Rescued Rascals in January of 2021. As the need for help continued to grow, I found myself a niche within this amazing group of volunteers. Fostering and being a part of the board of Rescued Rascals has been incredibly rewarding. Seeing dogs go from their shelter setting to a warm home is priceless!
Jess, Vice President, Adoption Coordinator
Growing up, my mom always instilled the value that is choosing to adopt our animals and save lives. In college, I visited the local animal control often and was continuously heartbroken by all the blocked headed bully breeds I’d meet there. My whole life when asked if I could do anything with my life if money were no object, I wouldn’t skip a beat and I’d say “run a dog rescue!”. My husband and I started fostering for the first time in early 2020, and I quickly became enthralled in all things dog rescue. We are now up to four dogs of our own (and yes, three are beautiful bully breeds) and we have fostered too many to count. Being the Adoption Coordinator for Rescued Rascals has brought me so much joy; bringing dogs and their perfect families together is so fulfilling!
Yazmin, Events Coordinator
I have always loved animals of all kinds. I enjoy the happiness they bring to a home. I have a dog named Rosè and a cat named Enzo. I decided to join rescue life as I had always wanted to foster, but wasn’t sure where to start. What started as me just fostering became me getting more involved. I love working in rescue and helping dogs find a safe and warm home. Getting our dogs exposure through events, in order to find their forever homes!!
Lori, Fundraising Coordinator
I have always loved dogs, as seen by the photo of my childhood dog, a rescue dog my parents adopted that I had the privilege of growing up with. My heart lies deeply with helping in any way I can while being creative and innovative in doing so; I work full-time in Non-Profit, so I’m REALLY passionate about helping. I adopted my first first rescue dog as an adult shortly after moving into a dog-friendly apartment, and then my second adopted rescue dog came about 1.5 years later. My first rescue dogs taught me so much in love, care, understanding and when the time came again, my now husband and I adopted a rescue puppy! Oh boy, that was a learning lesson! BUT well worth it. The time came that our girl needed a friend; we heard of Rescued Rascals through our neighbor who was fostering with them, and now the rest is sort of history! We adopted our second rescue dog in 2021 from Rescued Rascals, began fostering with RR in 2022, brought in 16 foster dogs in 21 months, and found our third dog as our last foster with RR. Deciding to adopt our third dog, whom we had been looking for, was a tough call, how could I help and make an impact saving lives? Ah-ha! Then the fundraising coordinator position became available and it made sense! So here I am, always trying to come up with fun ways to fundraise, help dogs, educate, advocate and understand.
Jess, Treasurer
Growing up I was always surrounded by animals, from dogs to horses, that’s how my love for them started. My family adopted our first rescue back in 2016 and soon after we began fostering dogs and puppies. That is until we fell in love with one of our fosters and couldn’t let her go! We now have two incredibly sweet bully breeds that live with us on our farm with horses and chickens! Rescued Rascals is an amazing family that I am so lucky to be a part of. Rescuing is such a rewarding experience, seeing the dogs find their forever homes, I am grateful to be a part of their journey!
Kayla, Training Coordinator
I have loved dogs for as long as I can remember. After college, I was searching for something outside of my corporate job to “fill my cup” and give me purpose. That was when I started volunteering at a shelter walking dogs. Later on, when I moved away from the shelter, and missed being a part of rescue life; I found Rescued Rascals and slowly became the Training Coordinator. I have 2 rescue dogs that have made my life immeasurably better. I have a GSD mix named Jack and a Black Lab mix named Duke. I have learned so much from these dogs and am so glad to be a part of bringing happiness to other dogs and humans.
Sarah, Vet Coordinator
I’ve always had a love of animals. During my youth, my family adopted our first pet, a black lab named Her-She. She was so good to us, a true family member. From there on out, I knew I had to have a dog in my life at all times. As soon as I graduated college I adopted a 2yr old Pitbull from a shelter. It was love at first sight! We eventually added a cocker spaniel/black lab mix to our family and from there I knew I needed not one but two dogs in my life! After they passed, I wanted to get involved in other ways. My job requires travel so I was looking for something more behind the scenes where I could make a difference. I’ve found that being the vet coordinator is a reward and humbling experience. There are so many things needing to be executed from the time a dog comes in through intake and before they become “adoptable”. It’s a huge undertaking that requires communication, teamwork and most importantly commitment. I am so happy to have found my calling here at Rescued Rascals!
Audrey, Vet Coordinator
I started fostering in 2016, and have been obsessed with helping rescue dogs ever since! I travel to TN with my best friend and find dogs, meet dogs, and help Rescued Rascals provide vet care to these dogs once they’re in IL. I love being able to help great dogs once they’re in IL, and look forward to helping more!
Kelsey, Supply Coordinator
I started fostering with Rescued Rascals in 2021–and immediately knew that rescue was where my heart belonged. Have always had a love of all animals since I was little and have grown up with quite a few pets. Now my husband, myself and our kiddos have our own little zoo at home-2 dogs named Dex and Lily, a cat named Gryffindor, a beta fish and an African Dwarf Frog. As the Supply Coordinator for Rescued Rascals I get the fun job of getting all supplies ready for transports and making sure that all of our Rascals here in foster homes have everything they need. I have always lived by Adopt Don’t Shop and now through Rescued Rascals I get to share that passion with my kids.)
Skyler, Social Media Coordinator
Growing up I have always been surrounded by dogs, not just dogs, but rescued dogs. My entire family has always instilled the importance of rescuing throughout my life which shaped how I am today when it comes to rescuing as it will always have a special place in my heart. I have always known I wanted to do something with rescuing, due to seeing so many dogs growing up in shelters that shouldn’t be there. Dogs have always been a huge part of who I am; if I went anywhere and there was a dog everyone knew where to find me. I first met the Rescued Rascals team when I was looking for my first dog and have loved the team and program since! Now being able to be a part of the team and helping all of the sweet dogs who are looking for homes is so amazing and I am so grateful that I get to be a part of helping them find their forever homes!