Send us a love letter. Submit a Mutual Rescue story. Purchase, read, and share our book. Watch and share our films. Sign up for our periodic updates. Follow us on social media. Comment on our posts and share our content. Participate in Doggy Day Out at your local animal shelter and share your experiences with us. Encourage individuals and corporations to explore sponsorship opportunities with us. Host a charitable event that includes our films. Make sure animal-welfare organizations in your community know that we are a nonprofit national initiative that directly benefits local animal shelters. Support local shelters by adopting, volunteering, and donating.

We define rescue animals as companion animals who needed a home and were adopted from animal-welfare organizations, found abandoned or wounded, removed from a dangerous or abusive environment, or given a new home before they would have ended up homeless or in a shelter.

True stories that demonstrate a clear mutual rescue theme—how the person and companion rescue animal each profoundly benefited from their bond—are accepted continuously at through our submission form. Mutual Rescue shares written stories online and creates short films of selected stories.

Following the release of our first film in 2016, we received more than 400 story submissions. The top contenders were judged by professionals in animal welfare, science, and the visual, literary, and performing arts sectors.

Mutual Rescue is a global initiative under the legal umbrella of Humane Society Silicon Valley, a nonprofit animal-welfare organization. Its funding is independent. Donations are tax-deductible. Mutual Rescue supports community animal-welfare organizations through funding from national sponsors, program support, and sharing its creative content.

Valentine’s Day 2016, to celebrate the love between people and their companion animals, and to affirm the transformative power of mutual rescue. Created by Carol Novello and David Whitman, whose paths first crossed in the summer of 2015, thanks to their friend Sally Hazard Bourgoin.

Our films are available online on Mutual Rescue’s website and social media channels. Additionally, many have been shown at film festivals and charity events around the world.

Our goal is to help local animal shelters and rescue groups everywhere. If you would like to screen a Mutual Rescue film at your charitable live event, please tell us more about the opportunity.