About Us

At Just A Touch Rescue we focus on "one dog".  While we hope that through our efforts we can help as many dogs that need us (either through our care, or by spreading the word about puppy mills and animal abuse), our focus is on helping that one special dog that comes to us and needs us. We will never stop helping that "one dog" because the cost of the care is getting high, or it is taking too long, or there are other dogs that might need help.

Once we make a commitment to a dog, we will see it through - no matter how much money, how much time, how much care that "one dog" needs. Sadly there will always be animals that need our help. We would love to have the resources to help many, many dogs - and hope some day through hard work and donations to be able to help every dog that needs us. But no matter what, we will do what it takes to help that "one dog", and every dog, that comes into our care.

Debbie Fahrenholtz

Founder and President

Our organization and our mission...

Just A Touch Rescue is a small, 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit small animal rescue organization based in Rhode Island. Our rescue was formed in early 2007 by our President, who has been involved in rescue work for many, many years, focusing primarily on puppy mill rescue work. Just A Touch Rescue consists of a six-member board and a continuously growing network of volunteers who identify dogs in need, arrange to bring those animals into the rescue, provide veterinary care, socialization, rehabilitation and foster care. Our dogs are placed with carefully selected and screened adoptive families to ensure that they will be loved and attended to for the rest of their lives.

Just A Touch Rescue was created in order to rescue, rehabilitate, and re-home dogs who are in need of a permanent, loving home. Unlike shelters and breed-specific rescue organizations, we focus the majority of our resources on rescuing dogs who have unique physical, emotional and developmental needs due to their upbringing in puppy mills across the country. Puppy mills are mass-breeding facilities that over-breed dogs in order to produce puppies for pet stores and private sales across the country. Animals that are kept in puppy mills are bred far more frequently than is recommended by veterinary medicine, and are often kept in small metal cages for their entire lives. Additionally, puppy millers begin breeding their dogs at an extremely early age, usually before the age of 1, and continue breeding until the animal has surpassed its usefulness to their facility, sometimes up to the age of twelve or thirteen. Many puppy mill dogs die in captivity, either from over-breeding or from common illnesses that are easily prevented and cured if the animal were to receive basic veterinary care. The luckier dogs are somehow freed from the mill and are turned over to groups such as ours. Unfortunately, as money-seekers until the end, many millers require rescue groups to pay fees in order to “adopt” a dog out of a mill, even after the animal has been deemed useless by the miller.

As animal lovers, it is heartbreaking to see the suffering that animals endure nationwide in puppy mills. Fortunately, there is a nationwide movement to educate the public on the horrors of puppy mills, and to shut these facilities down. For example, a puppy mill in VA was raided and closed down by VA authorities on November 3, 2007 – over 1,100 dogs were found in the facility! Now that this mill has been closed, it falls upon rescue groups such as ours to take in these animals and find them permanent, loving homes. These animals are frequently shunned from typical shelters due to the increased effort required to find suitable homes that will accept their unique needs. Due to their “upbringing,” puppy mill dogs often have developmental, physical and emotional problems that need to be addressed and corrected. Some of these animals can be rehabilitated fairly quickly, while others will require a patient, understanding owner to work with their special needs for the remainder of their lives. Just A Touch Rescue is founded upon the belief that all dogs are deserving of a patient, loving, attentive home, and strives to unite disadvantaged animals with the people who will provide such an environment.

Just A Touch Rescue. Inc., is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. As with most non-profit organizations, financing is our major limiting factor. We do ask for a donation when our dogs are adopted, and are constantly fund raising in order to help the continuous stream of dogs in need. Additionally, we have begun to research the numerous grants that are available to 501(c)(3) organizations.

Just A Touch Rescue allocates a very small percentage (less than 5%) of our income to the administrative aspects of our organization, so that the vast majority of our resources can be applied directly to the care and well-being of our dogs.

Thank you for taking the time to read about our organization and our mission. I hope that this letter is enough to convince you that Just A Touch Rescue is a laudable organization with goodhearted intentions.

Lisa Greaves

Board Member, 2007-2008

Just A Touch Rescue, Inc., is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. Our Federal ID number is: 26-0407846

We are also a Rhode Island Licensed Shelter -

License number 753/551 and we are a registered rescue organization in the state of MA (AG# 050482).