Princeton Animal Rescue Founder Wins Big Award

WAY TO GO!

Exciting news for one of our own!

Azure Davis, the Executive Director of Ruff Start Rescue in Princeton, Minnesota, has been named to the Minneapolis-St. Paul—Paul Business Journal's '40 Under 40' list.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

I remember hearing about Ruff Start Rescue. I moved back to Princeton in 2012 and Ruff Start had been operating for about 2 years. As anyone who tries to start a non-profit, it's incredibly challenging to get started.

Azure started Ruff Start in 2010, and at that time, was saving under 200 animals a year at the time; but every animal's life saved is an important one. Ruff Start Rescue has now saved over 28,000 animals.

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RUFF START RESCUE GROWING AND SAVING ANIMALS EVERY DAY

Ruff Start Rescue now has 40 staff members and a large number of volunteers who are dedicated to saving animals.

Azure's vision is to be commended. She recognizes needs in other states as well. Azure and Ruff Start Rescue were instrumental in saving animals' lives during hurricane relief efforts when the southern shelters were overpopulated with misplaced animals.

AZURE'S VISION

'Ruff Start is a We and Us organization. I never could have done any of this without everyone that takes part in helping this organization save animals every single day," said Azure.

Azure has loved animals ever since she was a child. She's found notes in photo albums that show a not-yet-walking Azure, in love with animals. Azure grew up in the country, and according to her sister, animals were just always in Azure's life. "Because we grew up in the country, animals were just always a part of our everyday life. One week we'd take care of raccoons and the next week it was crows or just any other type of animal we would find that needed our help," said Liz Ferro, her sister.

RUFF START RESCUE'S AMAZING STORY

Watch the video below and listen to the amazing story of how Ruff Start Rescue was started when Azure was just 23. A heartwarming story of a dog that was going to be euthanized, and the amazing story of how Azure saved its life.

Congratulations to Azure, and thank you to Azure and her staff of volunteers for being a voice for animals in need.

If you would like to become a part of this amazing organization, or if you would like to adopt, foster, volunteer, or simply make a donation or ongoing donations, click HERE for more information.

RuffStartRescue/YouTube