Northwest Minnesota Aussie Rescue

To ensure that every Australian Shepherd has a second chance at finding a forever home that will provide a warm and loving environment.

Northwest Minnesota Aussie Rescue has found homes for over 600 dogs in the last 10 years; 139 in 2024 alone.  Our dogs come from owner surrenders, strays found with no collar or microchip, shelters, abusive homes, and breeder surrenders.  Some are happy-go-lucky puppies and others have been abused or are puppy mill survivors.  Many of these dogs would otherwise be destroyed.  Most of our dogs are Australian Shepherds or Aussie mixes, but have also found a niche with Corgis.  Our adopters come from all over Minnesota as well as surrounding states.  

We take these dogs and give them the veterinary care they need, followed by what they need most - love and attention with one of the volunteer foster families in our organization.  Our foster families care for these dogs - often with their own dogs - until their personalities are known and they are well socialized.  Some are adoptable in a short time while others need more care before going to their forever home.  And we have a few dogs that are not adoptable; they live out their lives in a sanctuary home.

Not only do we help find loving homes for dogs in need, we offer constructive advice to families thinking about surrendering their dogs and give them tips on how to make their homes a successful Aussie home.  And we are there for our adoption families throughout the lives of our dogs with the advice and support they might need.

While our foster homes and other volunteers are not compensated for their efforts, our veterinary expenses are significant.  We keep our adoption fees low to make sure a loving home, and not a high income, is the primary determinant.  As a result, our adoption fees do not fully cover the out-of-pocket costs we have to properly care for our Aussies.  

At our rescue, we see many dogs who have faced heartbreaking circumstances.  Freckles, a young Aussie, is a sad story with a (thankfully) happy ending.  His owner was placed in a nursing home and – with no other place to go - Freckles was put in a commercial kennel facility.  He was there for months.  At the kennel, he was intentionally underfed (the kennel was reported to licensing authorities).  He weighed only a bit more than half of what he should have weighed.  When we learned of his situation, we brought him into our rescue.  

Once Freckles entered our rescue, we immediately got him the medical care he so desperately needed. His weight was dangerously low, and the slow process of bringing him back to health began. With proper nutrition and the love of our fosters, Freckles regained his strength and began to trust again.   Here's Freckles when he arrived at NWMAR. While in foster, we were able to address some of his socialization and resource guarding tendencies; though we felt he still needed to be in a single dog home.  It took over 2 years, but the right adopter came along and Freckles is now a very velcro Aussie in a loving home.  Not all of our dogs are with us that long, but some need to be.  They stay with us until they find a forever home. And here's Freckles with his adopter.

Unfortunately, there are so many more dogs out there like Freckles—dogs who need love, care, and the chance to heal. This is only possible with the generous support of people like you. 

All of us at Northwest Minnesota Aussie Rescue are volunteers.  We take great pleasure in see how both the dogs and the adopters benefit from giving rescue dog a safe, loving, forever home.

Please take a moment to watch our video below.  And please consider a contribution to our veterinary fund to help provide the medical care many of our dogs require.  Thank you.