The Animal Retreat

The problem of “unwanted” or “difficult” animals affects everyone. We aim to help animals thrive in our community.

Our mission is to save lives through storytelling and education. We provide direct care for at-risk dogs and rabbits, sharing our knowledge and skills with you and other animal caregivers.

Changing the world is possible. We can do this one animal at a time. Our team is dedicated to teaching animals and their caregivers the skills they need to live a happy, fulfilled life together. In addition to our educational and outreach services, we provide direct and holistic care to a small number of at-risk animals. 

Formerly Meridian Canine Rescue, our organization has served the Treasure Valley since 2008. We relocated to a 15+ acre property in Emmett, Idaho in 2024

We are different.

1. Start: We got our start as a county animal shelter, and we used to take in lots of dogs. Our goal was adoption: get ’em in, and get ’em out. Over time, we realized that model didn’t work for us. We wanted to provide better care while the dogs were with us and to prevent their entry into the shelter system.
2. Refocus: As the needs of our community and the shelter dog population changed, we made it our mission to save lives through storytelling and education. We down-sized in order to provide comprehensive care for at-risk dogs, developing our enrichment and behavior programs to help them.
3. Specialize: Our team now specializes in caring for the most urgent cases by providing holistic, progressive, customized care for each individual animal. We are committed to their well-being — here and elsewhere. We want them to thrive.ServeWe knew that keeping our population small would allow us to meet the dogs’ needs, but we needed to share our work with others. We began to disseminate our knowledge and skills around the community with a variety of outreach projects.
4. Move: In 2024, we were priced out of our rental facility in Meridian. We took this opportunity — with the help of our supporters — to relocate to a 15+ acre farm in Emmett, where we can fulfill our vision and rehabilitate more animals.
5. Dream: It all began with dogs. But we have decided to expand our services to more species. Rabbits have already joined us in Emmett, and we will soon rescue some of the most vulnerable creatures — farmed animals — who have nowhere safe to go. Plans are underway now.

Our services: 

Our goal is to help people help animals. To do that, we’ve developed a number of free and low cost services for our community. If you are struggling to care for your dog or rabbit, we’re here to help you. We offer a FREE 1 hour online consultation with MCR staff to discuss your dog and to identify strategies for managing and modifying his or her behaviors. We also have classes in different venues and a helpline to support with any questions. 

Learn more about who we are, what we do, and how you can get involved by following us on Facebook and Instagram to see what's happening at the Rescue.