Every year, the first full week of November is National Animal Shelter & Rescue Appreciation Week—a chance to honor the compassion, hard work, and heart of rescue organizations, humane societies, foster networks, and volunteers everywhere.
At Boundary Bay Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Bellingham, we witness daily how vital these partners are to saving lives, restoring health, and giving pets their second chance at a forever home.
Why This Week Matters
Shelters and rescue groups aren’t just temporary holding places—they’re critical community partners in animal welfare:
- They provide emergency intake, medical stabilization, foster care, rehabilitation and community education
- They collaborate closely with veterinary specialists, referring cases that need advanced diagnostics, surgery or long-term care
- In moments of crisis—natural disasters, dog bites, trauma or cruelty cases—they’re often the first responders for animals in distress
- Their work depends on staff, volunteers, fosters and donors working long hours under emotionally and logistically challenging circumstances
National Appreciation Week is a reminder that every link in the rescue-to-rehabilitation-to-adoption chain matters.
Does Boundary Bay Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Bellingham take rescues or strays?
Unfortunately, no—we are not a shelter and do not house or rehome stray animals directly. While we will always treat a critically injured animal if it comes through our doors, we refer people who find or are holding strays to trained and licensed local organizations that have the legal authority and systems in place to care for them long-term.
Each animal we treat has a story, and many of those stories began thanks to rescue or shelter intervention. Whether it’s a broken limb from trauma, a neglected senior cat needing chronic disease management, or a terrified puppy found as a stray, without rescue partners we’d see far fewer happy outcomes.
Here are some of the amazing shelters and rescue organizations in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area that we’re proud to support and collaborate with:
- Whatcom Humane Society — open-admission shelter & animal control for Whatcom County
- Alternative Humane Society of Whatcom County — all-volunteer, no-kill foster-based rescue
- Alternativehumanesociety.com – an all-volunteer, non-profit animal welfare organization dedicated to improving the lives of dogs and cats and helping them find and stay in permanent loving homes.
- Happy Tails Happy Homes — at-home foster network focused on underdogs and special-needs pets
- Saving Pets One at a Time (SPOT) — volunteer rescue and spay/neuter support across the Skagit and Whatcom region
- Main Street Mutt Rescue & Meow — foster-based adoption and rescue serving Whatcom and Skagit counties
- The NOAH Center — Snohomish County nonprofit adoption & spay/neuter clinic (regional partner)
…plus many more smaller fosters and community-based animal welfare groups working tirelessly across Northwest Washington.
How You Can Help This Week (and anytime)
National Animal Shelter & Rescue Appreciation Week is a great reminder to step up—and there are lots of ways to help:
- Volunteer or foster: even a few hours or short-term support can relieve shelter crowding and help animals thrive
- Donate supplies or funds: blankets, crates, pet-safe cleaning products, food, veterinary supplies, or modest cash gifts all go a long way
- Share stories: adopted a pet recently? Send a thank-you note or photo to the rescue that made it possible
- Raise awareness: amplify rescue or shelter social media posts, share adoption profiles, or call out humane education events in our local community
- Keep supporting year-round: stable support, not just seasonal giving, helps rescues plan and respond more effectively to animal crises
A Final Word
As a veterinary specialty hospital, we often get to see the “happy ending” of a rescue story: the wound healed, the fear soothed, the behavior stabilized, the adoption completed. But those endings almost never begin without the hard work, compassion and collaboration of rescue and shelter partners.
Thank you to every organization, volunteer, foster, staff member, donor and community member helping animals find safety, healing, and a loving home. Your work does more than heal wounds—it builds resilience, trust, and hope in our region’s animal welfare community.
