About Our Rescue in Columbus, MN

Our Mission

Rescued Pets Are Wonderful is a non-profit, no-kill, volunteer animal rescue organization serving the Twin Cities metro area. We are dedicated to rescuing dogs and cats left homeless for whatever reason – focusing on the ones with major medical issues or of senior age. These are the ones that are usually overlooked because they are not “highly adoptable.” They are also the ones that cost the most to the organizations. We believe they are the most in need of help!

We place dogs and cats in loving, responsible, committed permanent homes, following a comprehensive adoption process which includes taking considerable care in finding good matches and educating prospective adopters about the responsibilities and costs of bringing a dog or cat into their homes and lives. Taking in major medical cases and senior animals means that they will likely have more care needed life long. We make sure that they are placed in homes that are able to financially and physically care for them long term.

Animals in our care are all spayed or neutered, receive all appropriate veterinary care and treatment, and placed in nurturing foster homes while they await placement in their permanent homes. We assist dogs and cats in distress without regard to age, breed or ease of placement. To the extent our finances allow, dogs and cats in the greatest need take priority.

We have partnered with some of the best and the brightest in the Veterinary Medical field and we are committed to giving every animal in our care the best chance at a happy forever. We do not shy away from unconventional routes and are always looking for ways to push forward medical advances for animals. From fish skin grafts on trauma cases, to prosthetics for amputees, to FIP treatments that save lives as never before, we will make sure every option is exhausted for our major medical cases. Many animals that would have immediately been euthanized in the shelter, now have a chance to live and thrive with their varied medical conditions.

We never euthanize animals due to space or time constraints, but we may elect to euthanize in the event of a severe, untreatable/debilitating illness or extremely dangerous behavioral concerns. Because we do not kill to make space, however, we cannot take in every animal that needs help.

RPAW stands ready to help you, the prospective adopter or foster home, find a companion who will thrive in your home. We are here to assist you in every way possible throughout the adoption process and will continue to be a helpful resource after you have welcomed your new pets into your life.

Rescued Pets Are Wonderful “RPAW” is a section 501(c)3 no-kill animal rescue group, incorporated in June 2004, with years of animal and rescue experience among our volunteers. “RPAW” is committed to helping the neediest, as well as the readily adoptable, among our community’s most vulnerable creatures. We are a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to restoring the dogs and cats under our care to physical and emotional health as they await placement in loving, responsible homes. Virtually all donated funds will be spent directly on the care of the animals.

Animal Programs

Rescued Pets Are Wonderful is pleased to announce our Barn Cat Placement Program.

We are looking for cat lovers who have a barn or other secure outdoor structure and are interested in adopting cats that are not suitable for life inside of a house or are unhappy living inside. This program is designed to find homes for cats that have traditionally been deemed un-adoptable through our “normal” adoption procedures. Cat temperaments range from feral to friendly.

If you have a safe, warm barn and would like to adopt barn cats, please email rpawrescue@gmail.com. We are developing a waiting list of people to call when we have such cats come into the shelter.

Barn cats benefit their caretakers! Supporting a barn cat is the safest way to control the rodent population in your barn. There are no poisons for children and pets to get into and no need to set nasty traps. They will help keep rodents away from grain and food storage areas, and you’ll enjoy watching the cats as well as have the satisfaction of giving them a much-needed home! Consider adopting a barn cat. We will assist you while the cats settle into their new home.

Due to the nature of the program, we may not have suitable cats available immediately but will try to fill your request as soon as possible. We will maintain a waiting list, as the number of cats available as candidates for the Barn Cat Program will fluctuate.

Emailing us is a great way to get the ball moving. A RPAW staff member or volunteer will contact you and a visit to the proposed location to ensure it will provide suitable shelter is optional. When we have Barn Cats for you, you will be asked to sign an Adoption Contract.

Now is the time that we stop walking past these animals.

After being around since 2004, RPAW has had a lot of dogs come through our program. Most make it to great families, but there are a few that live out their lives with the foster that has taken them in.

RPAW prides itself on pulling dogs and cats from local impound facilities. We take in the unclaimed and the unwanted and fix them up and send them off to better lives. Far too often though, we find ourselves looking at the faces of animals that will not make it out of the impound facilities simply because they are not adoptable for either being too old or too ill. These animals are humanely euthanized at animal control.

RPAW has started a hospice program where we will be pulling the sick and the old (only dogs for now) from impound and placing them into loving foster homes to live out their last days or weeks. They will be surrounded by wonderful people and will have every comfort they could ever want. These dogs will get the biggest and softest of beds and eat whatever they desire, and that includes frequent trips to fast food restaurants. This road is not an easy one and it will take the dedication of volunteers and donations to keep it alive! We hope to make a difference to those who truly deserve the best ending possible!