To the Rescue!

To The Rescue! is a dog shelter simulator in which you care for dozens of dogs and help them find homes. You manage their needs while balancing the shelter’s budget and making room for new arrivals. Each day brings routine work, unexpected challenges and the chance to help someone find a new best friend.

Care for the dogs

Dogs need food, water and shelter, and must be kept clean and happy. Every dog is generated with its own traits, food preferences, personality, health quirks, name and training values. There are 28 breed variants, and dogs can have specific preferences, negative traits or infectious diseases. You can pet them and care for them through four minigames: Tug O’ War, Itchy Scritch, Fetch and Bathtime.

Find them homes

Visitors often arrive looking for specific qualities in a dog. Match their preferences to a dog’s traits to improve the chances of adoption, or find a foster who can care for a dog when the shelter has no room. Some dogs are harder to place, and waiting for the right adopter may take time.

Run the shelter

The shelter relies on donations and adoptions. You manage spending on food, vaccines and unexpected expenses, and can hold fundraisers or receive random donations. Upgrade the shelter to house more dogs, improve feeding and watering, add deluxe kennels, and get help with cleaning and upkeep. You also build the shelter’s place in the community by hosting events, promoting it and educating people.

Story and difficult choices

In the main story mode, you progress from housing dogs in your garage to running a large, efficient shelter. Events and developing story threads interrupt the routine, bringing challenges such as disease outbreaks and new dogs arriving when space is scarce. The game addresses the difficult realities shelters face, including animals that may be hard to adopt, rehabilitate or accommodate. Euthanasia can be part of the experience, but you can opt out of that mechanic.

The game also supports real-world dog shelters: 20% of the developer’s profit from sales goes to shelters through the PetFinder Foundation.