Native New Yorkers Program
Update June 24 2025: We are bringing back our reduced fees for our Native New Yorker pups for the summer! From June 24 - August 29, all pups who are identified as Native New Yorkers will have their adoption fees reduced to $150.
Who are the Native New Yorker dogs?
Our Native New Yorkers are dogs who we’ve taken into our care from either Animal Care Centers of NYC (our city open-intake municipal shelter) or the ASPCA (their shelter on 92nd St) who are over the age of 5mo.
Our Native New Yorkers will be clearly marked on our Adoptable Dogs page, so you know exactly who they are and which dogs have their adoption fees reduced.
Why is the native new yorkers campaign necessary?
Our New York City shelters are over capacity, and we’ve been doing our best to try and help. Sadly, we’re seeing the pups we pull from our own backyard hang around a bit longer than we hope, waiting to be adopted. While our dogs from Kentucky seem to get adopted quickly, we can’t understand why these Native New Yorkers are being overlooked. They are friendly, sweet, funny, loving dogs who would make a wonderful addition to any family. So, we are highlighting these amazing New York dogs by reducing their adoption fees in the hopes that they get the attention they deserve.
How can you help?
If you want to adopt one of our Native New Yorkers, the first thing you should do is register to adopt. From there, you have two options:
Come to our next adoption event, finish up your registration on-site, meet the pups who are there that day, and adopt!
Complete the adoption registration process online (this can take about a week), then when you are fully registered, email us at adoptionmeetings@muddypawsrescue to schedule a meeting with the specific pup you want to adopt.
If adopting isn’t possible for you - please spread the word about these dogs. Someone in your network might be looking to adopt a Native New Yorker of their own!
How did the Native New Yorkers campaign start?
In October of 2023, for the first time in our history, NYC Animal Care Centers was forced to close their doors to dog intakes due to a massive spike in their shelter population. We knew we had to help, so on October 20th we brought our adoption van uptown to Manhattan ACC and brought on as many dogs as we could manage - resulting in our biggest single-day transport from within NYC.
Those pups were getting overlooked for far too long, so we launched our Native New Yorkers campaign to shine a light on how special pups can be from our own backyard. We reduced their adoption fees in the hopes that it would entice potential adopters to consider them first.
The following year, the adopters of Amy, an MPR alum and Native New Yorker originally from Animal Care Centers of NYC wanted to make sure that more NYC pups have the opportunity to find a loving home, just like she did. So, thanks to her, we reduced the fee for 60 pups rescued from our local New York City shelter partners!
The Native New Yorker name continues, so that our community can clearly see the pups that come from NYC ACC and the ASPCA.
