Have You Heard About the Castle Valley Animal Rescue?

The Castle Valley Animal Rescue is a foster-based, nonprofit organization that is located in Emery County. Last spring, Stacey Price relocated from Duchesne County to Emery County. After being involved with a rescue in the Duchesne area for many years, she was looking for a way to assist locally.

“When I found out there wasn’t a rescue organization already established in Emery County, I was quite surprised,” Price stated. “After speaking with the local animal shelters and seeing to No Kill Utah demographic for the state, I felt compelled to try and change Emery County’s high euthanasia rates.”

That is when Price, along with Cherise Jensen, made the decision to begin the Castle Valley Animal Rescue, which was established in August of 2021.

The rescue was recently notified of its approval to be a 501c3 recognized nonprofit. The rescue is currently a foster-based program and is looking for foster homes for homeless dogs and cats within the county. Price explained that fostering provides the animal with not only shelter and food, but also with love, training and support, in turn making them more adoptable and adaptable.

“We would love to be able to help all of the animals that need saving in our local shelters and are looking for all types of foster homes to help us achieve our goals,” Price shared.

In the future, it is a goal of the rescue to have a facility to house the animals while providing food, shelter, training and veterinary care. Price stated that they would also love to have a place for potential adopters to come and meet the animals beforehand to learn their unique personalities and find the best pet for their situation.

Continuing on the topic of goals, Price explained that the rescue is hoping to bring low cost spay/neuter programs to the area to lower the amount of feral and community cats in Emery County. Price also hopes to create healthier living environments for community cats from the Trap, Neuter, Release program and vaccinations clinics.

“Of course, these are all lofty goals that will take hundreds of thousands of dollars to achieve, but this is just the start,” said Price.

Currently, there are four board members for the Castle Valley Animal Rescue, including Price and co-founder Jensen. The other board members are Shanna Magnuson and Katie Price. These individuals are volunteers that give their spare time before or after work and on the weekends to operate the rescue.

Price manages the day-to-day operations of the rescue with the software and processing the paperwork, maintaining records, and handling IRS and state obligations. Jensen acts as the foster coordinator and secretary. She is in charge of the meetings and minutes while also checking in with the foster families to ensure they are supplied and supported.

Magnuson is the social media advisor and supports the rescue’s cause with area businesses while keeping the rescue informed on events and outreach opportunities. Katie Price is a new addition to the board, helping with transportation, animal care, fundraising and outreach. Price stated that fosters, donors and community members all make a difference in helping them achieve their goals.

While the rescue does not currently have a physical facility, the board hosts meetings in their homes and at local businesses. They can be reached by emailing cvarescue@gmail.com or contacting them via their website and Facebook page, which is updated on the animals that are currently up for adoption, those looking for foster homes and upcoming fundraising events.

With the 501c3 approval letter from the IRS, the rescue is able to pull animals from government shelters and, in the past month, they have pulled five puppies. The rescue hopes to be able to pull all ages, breeds and sizes of dogs, cats and any other animal they are able to find foster homes for in the future.

“Since we are a foster-based rescue, I cannot pull from a shelter until I have a commitment from one of my fosters to house them; therefore, foster homes are essential to our success,” said Price. “If you would be interested in fostering, you can email me for a foster application or request one through our website. To volunteer with our organization, you can simply email me your contact info and what you are willing to help with and we will go from there.”

To donate, contact Price via email or through Facebook to receive the forms needed for the tax deduction on the donations. Physical donations, such as dog food, cat food, beds, toys, crates, playpens, litter and the like, can be dropped off at Naturally Inspired Boutique in Price or by contacting the rescue directly for a drop off location in Castle Dale.