5 Reasons to Give to the Max 2025
Every wagging tail and happy purr starts with you. On Give to the Max Day — Minnesota’s biggest giving day — your donation to Ruff Start Rescue saves lives.
Here’s five ways your gift makes an immediate impact:
1. Veterinary care for injured or ill animals.
When we are able to bring a dog or cat into our care, we often don’t know their full medical needs. Emergency surgeries and treatments can cost hundreds of dollars. Your gift ensures animals get the care they need for a second chance at a happy, healthy life.
2. Spay and neuter services
Preventing overpopulation is critical to the work we do. Thanks to donors like you, every pet adopted from Ruff Start is spayed or neutered.
- $100 spays/neuters a cat
- $150 spays/neuters a dog
3. Supplies for foster families
Your support helps us meet the daily needs of the hundreds of foster animals in our care each month. This allows animals to have a warm, safe placet to sleep each night.
- $25 feeds a foster pet for a month
- Other costs include litter, puppy pads, toys, beds and medicine.
4. Animal transport from overcrowded shelters
Along with helping hundreds of animals from our local shelter every month, Ruff Start Rescue also has a program to save lives by bringing animals from crowded rural locations where they have little chance of adoption. Ruff Start Rescue’s committed to helping those in need with the Lone Star to North Star Rescue Relief ® program. You can help fuel the Ruff Start Rescue transport van and related trip costs for animal transports, such as our bimonthly rescue missions to Texas.
5. Education and advocacy
In addition to addressing rescue needs, Ruff Start educates about animal welfare and advocacy to help address roots issues that lead to abandoned and mistreated pets. We have a team of staff and volunteers who visit schools and community events to teach about the importance of spay/neuter, animal safety, pet care, rescue and adoption. Your donation supports this vital outreach.
Every dollar makes a difference. With your help, we can reach our $300,000 giving goal.
Category: Advocacy, Education, Mission, News, Rescue Tails Tags: animal, Animal advocacy, animal rescue, animal welfare, cats, dogs, education, ruff start rescue
5 Reasons to Give to the Max 2025
Posted: November 17, 2025 by Kelli Hanson
Every wagging tail and happy purr starts with you. On Give to the Max Day — Minnesota’s biggest giving day — your donation to Ruff Start Rescue saves lives.
Here’s five ways your gift makes an immediate impact:
1. Veterinary care for injured or ill animals.
When we are able to bring a dog or cat into our care, we often don’t know their full medical needs. Emergency surgeries and treatments can cost hundreds of dollars. Your gift ensures animals get the care they need for a second chance at a happy, healthy life.
2. Spay and neuter services
Preventing overpopulation is critical to the work we do. Thanks to donors like you, every pet adopted from Ruff Start is spayed or neutered.
3. Supplies for foster families
Your support helps us meet the daily needs of the hundreds of foster animals in our care each month. This allows animals to have a warm, safe placet to sleep each night.
4. Animal transport from overcrowded shelters
Along with helping hundreds of animals from our local shelter every month, Ruff Start Rescue also has a program to save lives by bringing animals from crowded rural locations where they have little chance of adoption. Ruff Start Rescue’s committed to helping those in need with the Lone Star to North Star Rescue Relief ® program. You can help fuel the Ruff Start Rescue transport van and related trip costs for animal transports, such as our bimonthly rescue missions to Texas.
5. Education and advocacy
In addition to addressing rescue needs, Ruff Start educates about animal welfare and advocacy to help address roots issues that lead to abandoned and mistreated pets. We have a team of staff and volunteers who visit schools and community events to teach about the importance of spay/neuter, animal safety, pet care, rescue and adoption. Your donation supports this vital outreach.
Every dollar makes a difference. With your help, we can reach our $300,000 giving goal.
Category: Advocacy, Education, Mission, News, Rescue Tails Tags: animal, Animal advocacy, animal rescue, animal welfare, cats, dogs, education, ruff start rescue