About Saving Grace

Saving Grace, Inc. is a 501(c)3 private, non-profit organization dedicated to the direct care of homeless, abandoned or neglected animals in Douglas County, Oregon.  Our mission is to champion, promote and protect the human-animal bond through responsible pet ownership. We are the county's only full-service open-admission animal shelter, providing shelter, food and medical care to thousands of animals each year.

Beyond the basics, each animal receives compassionate care from our staff and volunteers while they wait to be reunited with their families or to find a new home. Warm blankets, toys and treats, time spent socializing with caring people; all are a part of the animals' experience at Saving Grace.

History

In 2001, a group of concerned, passionate people knew that the animals of Douglas County needed and deserved better care. They believed that a private nonprofit would be better able to run the animal shelter. The new organization was named in honor of Grace, a yellow lab adopted from a shelter. For the complete story, see The Story of Grace.

After a year of working through details, Saving Grace was deeded the land from Douglas County in June 2002 and took over shelter operations in July. Since that time, Saving Grace has saved the lives of 30,600 animals.

From the beginning, Saving Grace's focus was on adoptions and providing quality care. An Animal Healthy Advisory Committee of local veterinarians was formed to provide guidance on populations, practices for disease control and vaccination protocols.

The organization actively promoted spay/neuter, and in 2007 opened the onsite spay/neuter clinic. Since that time, Saving Grace has performed over 7,300 surgeries.

Now, after years of fundraising and months of construction, we moved into our new building in November 2011. This facility finally allows us to provide the quality of care envisioned by our founders so many years ago.

As we look back over the past and look toward our future, we are grateful for the foresight of those who have led with vision and commitment, the strength and compassion of staff members past and present, the generosity of donors who have made our work possible, and the support of volunteers who have worked alongside us for the animals.

We hope you'll join us!

Download a copy of our most recent newsletter.