What Does Coastal Pet Rescue Do?
Pet Rescue
Provide rescue to abused, abandoned, neglected or otherwise homeless pets that are legally surrendered to Coastal Pet Rescue. These receive any necessary veterinary care, including required vaccinations and sterilization, socialization, basic training and temperament evaluation. The pet is then placed for adoption through a pre-adoption process that includes an application, meet and greet with the applicant(s), and veterinarian reference check.
Foster Program
Foster parents are responsible for working with the pet to get them ready for adoption, treating them as a member of their family until the pet finds their own. Foster parents provide the housing and love and Coastal Pet Rescue pays for all veterinary expenses and care supplies.
Camp Pawsawhile Retreat Shelter
Thanks to a generous partnership with the Animal House at Live Oak Kennels and the Animal Hospital at Rice Hope, Coastal Pet Rescue was leased a former hunting camp in August 2014. The property, dubbed Camp Pawsawhile Retreat, is used to facilitate emergency or late minute rescues of canines and felines from hoarding situations or animal control euthanasia days until a foster home is available. The Camp features four housing units: Kennels with 7 dog runs for dogs 25 pounds and over, Cottage with 5 runs for dogs under 25 pounds, Cattery with five rooms for cats and kittens, and Isolation Ward for animals needing medical care.
Humane Education
Provide humane education to the public to make them better pet guardians and help reduce the pet overpopulation by participating in public events, doing presentations at area schools, and offering youth programs at our shelter, Camp Pawsawhile Retreat.
CPR partners with the Effingham College and Career Academy to provide internship opportunities in shelter medicine for their students.
Outreach Programs
In March 2018, Coastal Pet Rescue signed an MOU with the Chatham-Savannah Authority for the Homeless to aid with pets currently residing in nine homeless camps around Savannah. Once a week, our Operation Street Paws team meets up with our CSAH contact to go deliver food supplies and aid for pets. CPR is also working with owners to provide spay/neuter and reduce the number of additional litters being born. Click here to learn more.
Life-Changing Partnerships
Coastal Pet Rescue has a partnership with Safe Shelter of Savannah to provide safe housing for pet victims of domestic violence while their owners receive services through Safe Shelter’s program.
Coastal Pet Rescue is partnered with Affinis Hospice of Pooler to provide rehoming services of their patients' pets when requested.
We believe in second chances, not just for animals but also people. CPR works with the Savannah Day Reporting Center to provide supervised community service opportunities for individuals who made a few poor choices but deserve a chance for redemption. Several of these have gone on to become regular volunteers at the shelter.
Operation New Hope is a partnership program between the Chatham County Sheriff's Office and various community rescue groups and animal service agencies to increase the adopt-ability of shelter dogs. The intensive training program provides inmate handlers with job skills that are beneficial to them gaining employment upon release.
