Scratchmybelly.org

Scratchmybelly.org ScratchMyBelly.org is a non-profit founded to save animals from high-kill shelters in Southern California and the streets of Baja California. Join us.

Scratch My Belly Rescue focuses on saving dogs on the day they are to be euthanized at high-kill shelters, dogs surrendered from owners in crisis health situations, and abused and severely neglected dogs from Southern California and Baja California. Our goal is to rehabilitate the neglected, injured and sick. We also help healthy animals find forever homes. Every year, about 10 million pets are br

ought to animal shelters across the US and more than 2 million of those are put to sleep. Economically distressed areas and the mindset that selling puppies will make one rich results in too many of the current popular breeds, physical and mental issues in many offspring, and sickness when puppies are not vaccinated and kept in unclean conditions. Parent dogs suffer by being bred over and over and are eventually dumped when they can no longer produce puppies. People adopt these puppies without any concern by the sellers for how the dogs will be raised or live. Many grow up without training or socialization and they wind up in animal shelters. There are areas in Southern California where dogs are not protected in homes and they roam freely, eventually being picked up as stray. Our goal is to rescue dogs who are at the end of their time in a shelter or on the streets in Tijuana when other rescues have not responded to save them. We rescue all breeds as long as we have fosters to bring them into a home. We rescue puppies, adults, and some senior dogs. Every dog is fully vetted and gets the care needed to be sure they are healthy before they are made adoptable. We also take in some owner surrenders, focusing on dogs whose owners have medical or financial emergencies that force them to relinquish. We look for just the right home for each and every dog. We do home checks of fosters and adopters and dogs are part of the rescue for their entire life - if they ever have to be surrendered, they are to come back to Scratch My Belly. Donate, foster, adopt. Save a life with us today.

I think we need to buy a bunch of raffle tickets!!!! Just sayin… ❤️
09/03/2025

I think we need to buy a bunch of raffle tickets!!!! Just sayin… ❤️

The sad reality of the animal crisis is hitting hard and the animals are paying for it!Please offer to foster to your lo...
09/03/2025

The sad reality of the animal crisis is hitting hard and the animals are paying for it!

Please offer to foster to your local rescue, adopt from a shelter or rescue, donate your time if you can’t help financially. The struggle is very real and we are all in need of help.

Public shelters and private rescues across Southern California are seeing an increase in large dog abandonment and owner requests for assistance. Now, animal advocates and shelter officials say they are at a crisis point with very few options, resulting in higher euthanasia numbers.

Read more: https://www.ocregister.com/2025/08/29/rescue-groups-are-struggling-to-stay-open-while-save-requests-increase/

📷️: Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG

NEXT SATURDAY! Come see us at Elite’s car and Coffee event Golden Hours edition!!! They will have some cool vendors, raf...
08/30/2025

NEXT SATURDAY! Come see us at Elite’s car and Coffee event Golden Hours edition!!! They will have some cool vendors, raffles and food trucks. Our friends at Elite even have a raffle line up with some of proceeds benefiting our rescue 🙌

🚘🚘Ride needed Friday around lunch time! From Carlsbad to Rancho Bernardo. Can anyone help us 🙏 please DM us!
08/28/2025

🚘🚘Ride needed Friday around lunch time! From Carlsbad to Rancho Bernardo. Can anyone help us 🙏 please DM us!

New grocery tote!!! Spreading the message ❤️
08/27/2025

New grocery tote!!! Spreading the message ❤️

It is national dog day and we wanted to wrap up the day with a few of our beautiful adoptable pups needing foster or for...
08/27/2025

It is national dog day and we wanted to wrap up the day with a few of our beautiful adoptable pups needing foster or forever homes! Hope everyone had pawsome day ❤️ love the SMB recruits!

Meet Thor! This sweet 2 yr old boy is ready for a foster or forever home.He is dog friendly and will be great companion ...
08/24/2025

Meet Thor! This sweet 2 yr old boy is ready for a foster or forever home.

He is dog friendly and will be great companion to anyone looking for another dog to be added to the pack.

Want to foster Thor? Complete an application on our website! *assume not potty trained as they all have accidents when moved locations

Our sweet girl Lilycake had a spa day today at ! Many thanks to my sweet friend Leslie and her groomer Ashley for loving...
08/22/2025

Our sweet girl Lilycake had a spa day today at ! Many thanks to my sweet friend Leslie and her groomer Ashley for loving on Lilycake. Foster mom Gigi, said Lilycake is over the bow already 🤦🏼‍♀️🤣. Interested in Lilycake? Send us a DM! Dog friendly and truly the sweetest little girl.

Lizzie needs a temp foster from August 31st to September 8th. Location San Diego. Dog friendly! Please DM us if you can ...
08/21/2025

Lizzie needs a temp foster from August 31st to September 8th. Location San Diego. Dog friendly! Please DM us if you can help 😉

Not all endings are happy ones…. Kadie from Long Beach shelter had a fos...
08/20/2025

Not all endings are happy ones….
Kadie from Long Beach shelter had a foster and a ride lined up and a brand new orthopedic bed waiting for her. sigh…
Her health declined fast yesterday and she was humanely euthanized to avoid further suffering yesterday.

Ember from Kern County had been on our radar for 10 plus days when she was taken into quarantine due to upper respiratory symptoms.
Today we were scrambling to come up with a plan to save her life, the shelter had told us they had sent a distemper test out in the 13th and they were waiting for the results.
We got a couple videos of her today and for a minute we thought she was just a little off due to being locked up in quarantine all these days, but the results came back this afternoon and everything made sense as she was positive already showing neurological signs.

To my dear friend , that is a true rescue warrior, I know your heart is broken as mine. Suzanne thank you for offering to foster Kadie and Kristi we are beyond grateful for your offering to help with transport.

Today was just not our day to win 💔

🆘 🆘🆘 Ember needs a miracle! She has been on my mind and the shelter said her time is up… the odds are not great for a se...
08/18/2025

🆘 🆘🆘 Ember needs a miracle! She has been on my mind and the shelter said her time is up… the odds are not great for a senior chi! Anyone willing to help by fostering? Any rescue willing to take her? Please share her 🙏🙏🙏

Address

Rancho Santa Fe, CA

Telephone

+18583442423

Website

https://form.jotform.us/form/52377166480157, https://www.petfinder.com/search/dogs-for-a

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Our Story

ScratchMyBelly.org is a non-profit that was founded to save dogs from high-kill shelters in Southern California, from homes where an owner has suffered a critical life-changing situation requiring them to give up their dog, and from the streets of Tijuana, Mexico, where dogs are neglected and abused.

Scratch My Belly is a “death-row” rescue - our primary effort in saving shelter dogs is to take the dogs that are going to be euthanized at the last minute - when we are their last hope. We do not go to a shelter to look for the most adoptable dogs and pick the cute ones. We take the ones nobody else wants, when they are desperate and scared and sick. When we are needed most. Our goal is to get the dogs into safe, happy foster homes where they can recover physically and emotionally. We provide all the vet care needed to make sure the dogs are healthy before we go through a process to find each one its own perfect forever home.

We strive to meet the highest ethical standards in rescue and require home checks for both foster and adoptive homes and we take dogs back for the lifetime of the dog. Our foster program includes support with food, crates, beds, toys, leashes, collars, harnesses, baby gates and anything else needed to make a foster home successful. We are contracted with over a dozen veterinarians so that dogs can receive care as close as possible to a foster’s home. Most of all, we focus on quality, not quantity, of adoptions. That means it may take longer to find the right home for a dog, but it also means we have almost no returns.

Join us. Volunteer. Foster. Donate. It takes a village to save each and every life.