One of A Kind Education

As we approach our 20th year in rescue, we thought it would be a good time to revisit our history, mission, and vision of One of A Kind. We are a private, non-profit organization not affiliated with any other entity or national organization.

About twenty-five years ago, our founder Lisa lost her cat, Reuben, when he darted out the door. This was a terrifying experience and Lisa looked everywhere for Reuben, along with her family. Unfortunately, they were not able to find Reuben and bring him home to their loving family. What they did find, however, was that perfectly healthy, happy animals were being killed in animal control facilities at alarming rates. The conditions, treatments, and methods of killing for space were horrific and Lisa vowed to create change. After researching several animal sanctuaries, veterinary practices, and rescues across the country, she decided to mold One of A Kind after the Best Friends model. In 2005, One of A Kind Pet Rescue was born with the spay & neuter clinic opening shortly thereafter.

The mission of One of A Kind Pet Rescue is to save the lives of animals in imminent danger of euthanasia and enrich the lives of people through rescue, spaying, neutering, adoption, and advocacy on behalf of homeless pets. But what exactly does this mean? This means we are a no-time-limit, no-kill pet rescue, and no adoptable animal is euthanized. Because of our history and foundation, our rescue focuses on saving companion pets from animal control facilities. Every ninety seconds, a cat or dog is killed for space in a shelter. This keeps us extremely busy and always operating at capacity. We would love to help everyone in need of assistance, but unfortunately, the current conditions do not allow for this. We do not pick up strays and have no authority over animal abuse cases. We will help Good Samaritans as we are able.

Our rescue mission has saved over 47,000 cats and dogs since our inception almost twenty years ago. Our clinic has performed over 171,000 spay/neuter surgeries. Unfortunately, we do not see an end in sight and the conditions for cats and dogs are worse now than they were pre-pandemic. Our vision is for a “no-kill” community where all pets have loving homes. Until our vision is achieved, we will continue to do all we can to save those most in need of our help. If you would like to assist us, please feel free to donate.