Dick Clark, the Rutland Animal Control Officer (now retired), and a small group of concerned citizens founded Sweetpea For Animals in September 2000 after the rescue of a very sick and scared dog who had been used as a breeding factory. She was given the name Sweetpea — we promised her a better life and she inspired our rescue and its logo.

OD Sweetpea soon gave birth to six tiny puppies, who unfortunately died from an infection within days. After a long recovery period, including a month of intensive care in a local veterinary hospital, Sweetpea was adopted into a loving family at the Treasure Hunt Farm in Rutland. Sweetpea was renamed OD for Other Dog. After an adjustment period, she thrived for several years with her new family and the barn animals including three farm dogs. Sadly, on November 11, 2003 we lost our beloved OD to renal failure. We believe she lived between 12 and 14 years. We are grateful for her life and for those who cared for her. Her inspiration lives on – we promised that no more animals in our area would be seen as “disposable” on our watch.

We have a No-Kill Policy. Once accepted into Sweetpea For Animals, no animal will be euthanized unless incurably ill or dangerous. We are committed to providing medical care, boarding, and training until the animal is adopted into a qualified, loving, and permanent home. We rented, then took a mortgage on a shelter on the border between Paxton and Rutland, MA.

We were renovating the property when we suffered a disastrous fire in November 2015. The office building survived but we now need to rebuild the main animal shelter building. We have renovated the small boarding kennels area in the main building but we cannot succeed without your ongoing help. More than ever, we need financial contributions and the donation of professional services to keep our animal rescue operations running. Rebuilding the main animal shelter will need a lot of money — all of your contributions are very welcome. We still have a good way to go, before our shelter operating fund is stable.