K9 Kismet Dog Rescue

Every dog needs something different to find their way home.

Sometimes it’s welcoming a dog into our care who has nowhere else to go. Sometimes it’s helping a family afford the veterinary care that keeps their best friend by their side. Sometimes it’s standing up for a shelter dog who needs someone in their corner. And sometimes it’s standing behind the people already there.

At K9 Kismet, we believe rescue means helping where help is needed most.

We’re a 100% volunteer-run nonprofit serving Long Beach, California, built on the belief that we can change more lives when we support not only dogs, but the people who love them.

Our foster program is intentionally small, allowing us to give every dog who joins our pack the individualized care, time, and attention they deserve. We have a special place in our hearts for the dogs who are too often overlooked: seniors, dogs with medical needs, long-stay shelter dogs, and those who simply need someone willing to see beyond where they are today and believe in who they can become.

But taking a dog into rescue is only one way to change their life.

Sometimes the best outcome is helping a dog stay right where they already belong.

Through our community programs and partnerships, we help families access veterinary care and other resources so they don’t have to choose between hardship and the dog they love. We advocate for shelter dogs, help connect them with fosters and adopters, and work alongside Long Beach Animal Care Services to create better outcomes for dogs in our municipal shelter. 

Our newest initiative, the DIESEL Project, takes that commitment directly into the shelter.

The program provides professional training and enrichment for long-stay shelter dogs while giving the volunteers who care for them hands-on training and practical tools they can use with dogs throughout the shelter.

Because we know changing a dog’s life often starts with supporting the person holding the other end of the leash.

That belief runs through everything we do.

The right help at the right moment can keep a family together. Training can help a struggling shelter dog finally show the world who they really are. Veterinary care can give an old dog more good days with the people who love them. A foster home can become the bridge between a kennel and forever. And one person who chooses to keep showing up can change the entire story for one dog.

We know we can’t save every dog. But we can make sure the ones in front of us know someone is in their corner.

And because K9 Kismet is powered entirely by volunteers, every donation we receive goes directly back into this work. Veterinary care. Lifesaving surgeries. Training. Food. Supplies. Community support. Second chances. Whatever helps us say “yes” when a dog or the person who loves them needs us.

Hope for the dog who needs someone to believe in them.

Healing for dogs and the people who love them.

Home, whether that means finding a new one or helping them stay in the one they already have.

At K9 Kismet we strive to show up when help is needed.

For the dogs.
For their people.
For our shelter.
For our community.