About Us

We are NOT a shelter, our dogs in short-term, long term and Purple Leash program are cared for by loving foster families in their homes.

Who we are

Chatham Kent Animal Rescue (aka CK Animal Rescue) is a registered Canadian Non-Profit Organization. Our office is based in Chatham, Ontario and operates throughout southern Ontario.

Registered Charitable No. 852128701 RR0001

Foster families and volunteers are always needed!

Share the journey of saving lives with us. The pay is terrible but the rewards are life changing!

Click Here to watch a video about our rescue!

What we do

  • Take in local owner-surrendered dogs and cats and dogs from high-kill shelters that are scheduled to be euthanized.
  • Place dogs and cats into approved foster homes until loving adoptive homes are found.
  • Provide permanent foster homes for dogs that are deemed unadoptable due to abuse, disability or advanced age.
  • Provide short-term foster care for dogs and cats through our Purple Leash Program for owners who are being hospitalized or fleeing domestic abuse.
  • Provide classroom presentations to teach school-aged children about compassion and kindness towards animals.

A message from our Founder and President

Hi, my name is Nancy Ball, Founder and President of CK Animal Rescue. I have always loved animals since I can remember. I had pets while growing up and later on when my family was home. Once our children were grown and having families of their own, I started reading about the plight of senior dogs in shelters. In August 2008, I was on a mission…..to save one senior dog from our local shelter. Senior dogs are often overlooked because potential adopters have a fear the animal will have health issues resulting in high vet bills or the senior dog may not live long and they don’t want the heartbreak. One dog caught my attention at our local shelter. His name was Oscar, a senior Collie/Retriever mix who instantly became part of our family. We adopted him within four days of seeing his gorgeous face. His personality was gentle, kind and loving. He went to work with us every day until he became ill. We lost Oscar due to kidney failure on February 1, 2010. Oscar lived a wonderful life during his time with us and we miss him every single day. Ending up in a shelter for a senior dog is devastating. This is not the way a senior dog’s life of loyal dedication and love should end. Please consider giving a senior dog a warm bed to live out the rest of his/her life.

Shortly after creating an account on Facebook, I started seeing pictures of dogs on urgent lists, meaning they had little time to be adopted or rescued. After reading plea after plea for a group of dogs in Missouri, I couldn’t sit back and do nothing. I personally sponsored the rescue of 14 dogs from a shelter in Joplin, Missouri. Another rescue came forward with the donation paid and saved all 14 dogs, 5 who later came to my home where I found wonderful families for each one.

This created a sense of urgency where I wanted to do more. After placing messages on Kijiji to ask if anyone in my area shared the same compassion as I did to form a local rescue, we had our first orientation meeting in October 2010. It has taken a lot of time and work, with the help of many dedicated volunteers, to form our rescue organization, CK Animal Rescue. I’m very proud of our accomplishments since that first meeting where a small group of animal lovers came forward to hear what I had to say about my passion to save dogs from high kill shelters. I will be forever grateful.