PRINCETON, Minn. — With two dogs at home, Azure Davis feels a deep connection with her four-legged friends.
"Every day I come home from work and they’re excited to see me. They’re always going to be excited to see me," Azure laughs.
That love of animals is something she's turned into a career as the Founder and Executive Director of Ruff Start Animal Rescue. Ruff Start is a foster-based animal rescue that's based all over central Minnesota. They're in the business of saving animals and finding them their forever homes.
"We’ve worked with out-of-state shelters, owner surrenders, local impounds. If an animal needs us, we are there," she says.
The year 2020 has been quite the year for Ruff Start Rescue. Azure says they are set to save over 3,100 animals this year - which she says is a record for them. They're doing that, she says, with the fewest donations the rescue has take in during a given year, due to the COVID pandemic.
"They’re helpless. They don’t have a voice and if humans don’t help and step in and do something nobody is going to," Azure says about the animals they rescue.
Azure says they've saved over 15,000 animals since the rescue began in 2010.
Azure says Ruff Start Rescue is always looking for people interested in fostering animals. You can learn about fostering, making a donation and exploring the animals they have up for adoption on their website.