AmsterDog Rescue began after a small group of volunteers came together to help animals impacted by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans region. In addition to fundraising, the volunteers also rescued and transported several van-loads of abandoned dogs back up to the Northeast and placed them in forever homes. In the process of that rewarding endeavor, we became aware of how many precious and adoptable dogs and cats were losing their lives every day right here in our own community, simply because of shelter overcrowding and a lack of awareness among the community.

With a desire to help save these beautiful lives, we formed a small rescue effort and became an established group in May 2010 called AmsterDog Rescue, named after our beloved dog “Amsterdam”, who was found wandering on the very avenue in Harlem after which he was named. “Amsterdam” was a large, white, 70-pound pitbull mix, who many people would cross the street to avoid simply because of his misperceived “intimidating appearance”, when in fact, he was an extremely affectionate and loving dog who had a calming affect on everyone around him. He inspired our belief that it is not us that rescue them - ultimately, it is they that rescue us!