Animal Care
Clinic Services and Information
At Underdog Animal Rescue & Rehab, we want to support pet owners on the Navajo Nation by providing monthly veterinary clinics. Our clinics offer spay and neuter surgeries, sick and injured pet care, and vaccination clinics.
Upcoming Clinics:
- February 20-22: Upper Fruitland, NM
- March 20-22: Red Mesa, UT
- April 17-19: TBD
- May 15-17: Upper Fruitland, NM
- June 19-21: Waterflow, NM
- July 17-19: Navajo, NM
- August 21-23: Red Valley, AZ
- September 18-20: Sheep Springs, NM
- October 16-18: Red Mesa, UT
- November 13-15: Sanostee, NM
- December 11-13: Nenahnezad, NM
Surgical Services
To schedule an appointment for spay or neuter for an upcoming clinic, please read the following information:
- Appointments for each clinic are opened 3 months in advance.
- Click the link below to schedule an appointment. Select “custom address” to enter your address in the form.
- If the date you are hoping for is not coming up, that means we are fully booked for appointments that day. Appointments are first come, first served. Please contact us if you have an emergency or extenuating circumstance.
- Surgery is a suggested donation of $25 per cat and $35 per dog which includes vaccines and a microchip.
- Please contact us with any questions or if you need financial assistance by texting 435-260-7982 or emailing .
Click here to schedule an appointment:
Schedule a Spay or Neuter at a clinic
Vaccine Clinic Services
Underdog’s vaccine clinics are drive through clinics with no appointment needed. Below are the services offered at our vaccine clinic along with the suggestion donation.
$20 program support fee requested per pet. This price includes DHPP or FVRCP vaccine, rabies vaccine, dewormer, flea and tick prevention. Microchip additional $15
Sick and Injured Pet Clinics
Underdog has a veterinarian available at every clinic to see sick and injured pets from 9 am to 4 pm. No appointment is needed. Please be patient as pets with emergency conditions will be moved to the front of the line to be evaluated first. Donations are appreciated for services.
Volunteers
These clinics would not be possible without the support of the amazing communities we work in and our dedicated volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering at a clinic, please email . No experience is needed to volunteer- we have a role for everyone!
Help Sponsor Our Spay, Neuter, and Vaccination Efforts
For just $40, you can support the spay/neuter, deworming and vaccination for a dog at our Underdog Rescue clinics on a reservation. You can prevent the spread of diseases and tragic deaths. You can help dogs live longer and healthier lives. You can support our "pack."
Did you know that a single female dog, her mate, and their pups can produce over 67,000 offspring in just 6 years? In 2016, it was estimated there were over 250,000 stray dogs and puppies roaming the Navajo Nation. The number is so high because the majority of dogs are unaltered. The biggest reason these dogs go unaltered is that many Native Americans cannot afford these simple surgeries. Underdog is here to help!
Underdog Rescue and Rehab is committed to addressing affordability and access to spay/neuter surgeries. Each month we aim to host a spay and neuter clinic on the reservation to help with population control. At each clinic, we will alter about 120 dogs and cats. We go to communities that are far from veterinary services with the goal of reducing future unwanted pets.
Underdog Rescue also helps Native communities care for their pets. We frequently receive calls about families feeling overwhelmed by the number of pets they care for and the cost of caring for them. We know the cost of spaying or neutering is less than the cost of feeding a litter of puppies, so the more dogs we can spay and neuter, the more dogs stay in homes that can adequately take care of them without all the unwanted puppies.
Would you like to sponsor a spay, or an entire spay/neuter clinic? Please email us at or follow the link below. Underdog Rescue thanks you for your generous contribution to the animals in our care!
When Underdog Rescue had their first vaccination clinic, 250 people came through in two days. Now they're doing six clinics a year and could hold even more if the money was available. They could be doing this every other weekend and they would have a turn out.
It's obvious the people love their animals and they just need some help.
Enjoy a Sleepover With an Underdog
I want to...
Looking to spend the weekend with a four legged friend, but not ready for the commitment of owning a dog? We totally understand. Underdog Rescue offers weekend sleepovers!
This program gives you the opportunity to check out a dog from the Rescue Ranch, and give them a weekend away. We started this program because we know how much our animals benefit from socialization in a more relaxed setting away from the sometimes intense shelter environment. You're more than welcome to take your buddy out to the lake, hiking, camping, home to snuggle on the couch, or out on the town for an ice cream cone! First fill out the foster application below, and one of our staff will be in touch as soon as possible.
Volunteer with Underdog
If you're not ready to foster or adopt, volunteering is a great way to get your fill of puppy love! Underdog Rescue relies on the kindness of volunteers like you to help take care of our day-to-day tasks.
From walking dogs, bathing puppies, attending adoption events, posting flyers around town, and more, we always have something we need help with. If you need community service hours, Underdog Rescue is able to help with that as well. Just fill out an application and our Volunteer Coordinator will be in touch as soon as possible!
Moab is really pet-friendly — we give back so much to our community and we love to share with one another because it's only way to survive when you're so isolated.
I love how many community members have adopted from and been a part of Underdog Rescue and how that has spread and brought a sense of togetherness. Underdog Rescue has created a community within our community of special people with will and tenacity who chose to stick themselves out there.
Foster With Us
Fostering an animal from Underdog Animal Rescue & Rehab is an extremely rewarding experience. Some of the animals we bring into our rescue are lacking the skills they need to become adoptable. You can help by bringing an animal into your home and showing them how wonderful life can really be!
Whether you want to foster for 1 week, 1 month, or longer, we can help pair you with an animal in need of your loving heart and home. Underdog Rescue will provide all food, medicine, supplies (crate, puppy pen, blankets, etc), veterinary care, and ongoing support during your foster period. Just fill out an application, and a member of our staff will be in touch with you as soon as possible!
Great Read! Eight things we learned from Fostering Dogs
Underdog Rescue never turns a rez dog away. We got our first Underdog in June of 2018, I started fostering that Thanksgiving. Now I have just finished my 21st individual or puppy litter of fosters for Underdog Rescue!
Frequently Asked Questions
We know folks are passionate and curious when it comes to our pups, what they're like, and where they come from. Here are some fast facts on some of the questions we commonly receive.
Our rescues come from the Four Corners reservations area that spans Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. We mainly rescue from the Navajo Nation, as it is closest to us in proximity. The Navajo Nation has over 250,000 stray animals that only have a life expectancy of 2 years unless rescued. This is mainly due to poverty and lack of resources in the area. Our dogs and pups are true rescues, meaning that they would most likely not have survived if we did not take them in. Read more about why there are so many strays on the Navajo Nation.
Our “rez dogs” are mixed breeds and we can never guarantee their heritage, so we say they “look like” or “have traits like” to give our best estimates. They are typically energetic working breed mixes, but honestly, your guess is as good as ours! The most common ages we see are young puppies to around 2 years old. While most of our dogs tend to be in the medium to large size range once full grown (40-60lbs), we can make no guarantees as far as what a dog's size will be full grown, and we expect adopters to be flexible in their expectations (particularly when adopting a puppy).
Many questions will be answered in each individual dog's profile from our Adoption section. We don't always have all of this information for each dog, Underdogs are resilient and each unique in their personalities, but the majority of our rescue dogs are good with kids, other dogs, and other animals. Some of them are certainly wary of humans and slow to trust, but the majority of dogs we rescue are quick to forgive and love humans, becoming playful early on and eager to engage.
We've found that Underdogs tend to be very intelligent and trainable. Some may have food aggression from periods of starvation in their past, but this can be simple to manage. They tend to be social with humans and other animals in most cases, and they tend to adjust to home life without too much difficulty in most cases as well. Most puppies will need to be potty-trained by their adopter, while most adult dogs tend to naturally prefer to potty outside and don't often require much potty-training.
The first step is to complete an adoption application. A team member will be in touch with you within 24 hours of submission to discuss your application.
The adoption fee for puppies is $325 and the fee for adults is $200. We do not charge a fee to fill out our adoption applications.
The dog or puppy will be spayed/neutered, current on DHPP vaccinations, dewormer and rabies vaccination depending on age, treated with a tick/flea medicine, given anti-parasitic medicine, and have a microchip already implanted that is free for the adopter to register. Adopters also receive access to a free 30-day trial of pet health insurance. Underdog Rescue does not profit from our adoption fees; these fees are a contribution toward the medical costs for our rescues.
Yes, as long as you're able to come to Moab or one of our adoption events to pick up the dog in a timely manner.
Our rescue ranch is located at 4561 Sunny Acres Lane in Moab, Utah.
We are open from 9 AM-5 PM and you do not need to make an appointment to visit the dogs, but it is appreciated! We accept walk-ins for meet and greets, these typically last from 30 minutes to an hour depending on if the visitor decides to adopt.
We will not put animals on hold for meet and greets. We will hold an animal for the adopter to pick up for up to 48 hours. We will not hold an animal longer than 48 hours, as we are not certified as a boarding facility, and our goal is to send our rescues to good homes as soon as possible. We always have a long list of intake requests that need our help!
We always need more fosters and volunteers! There are many ways you can help Underdog depending on your skill set and preferences, from remote computer work to on-site animal interaction or even joining the crew for a spay and neuter clinic. You can make a monetary or in-kind donation, and there are also many free ways to support Underdog Rescue. Check out all the ways you can help an Underdog.
An Underdog's Journey
The road to adoption can be ruff! Each Underdog’s experience is unique. While we don’t always have the full history for each dog, we know many of them experience hardship before they come to us. Underdogs learn many new skills on the way to finding their new homes.Here are some of the steps along the way.
Ways to Help Adopt an Underdog
There are five animal control shelters in the region, and every single one of them euthanizes each Friday. Underdog is there at the last minute, the last second — they're organizing and coordinating.
One day we got a call about three-day old puppies that were lying on a concrete floor without their mom. Our volunteer just got in the car and drove. She didn’t even think about, she said, “I'm gonna go get those puppies.”
Adopt an Underdog
Currently Available Dogs
All of our animals are true rescues from the Native American reservations of the Four Corners area. This is an impoverished area where most dogs have typically only known life outdoors, so expect some adjustment time to life in a home (although most adapt quickly to the comfort and safety of a home).
Adoption Fees
The adoption fee for puppies is $325 and the fee for adults is $200. We do not charge a fee to fill out our adoption applications. Please note, we have a $100 up-charge per adoption when hosting adoption events over 200 miles from Moab, Utah.
Your new dog or puppy will be spayed/neutered, current on age appropriate vaccinations, dewormer, treated with a tick/flea medicine, given anti-parasitic medicine, and have a microchip already implanted that includes free lifetime registration. Adopters also receive access to a free 30-day trial of pet health insurance. Underdog Rescue does not profit from our adoption fees; these fees are a contribution toward the medical costs for our rescues.
About Our Dogs
Our “Purebred Rez Dogs” are mixed breeds and we can never guarantee their heritage, so we say they “look like” or “have traits like” to give our best estimates. But honestly, your guess is as good as ours! For our puppies this also means we can only guess at what their weight will be when they are full grown. For this reason, we expect adopters to be flexible in their expectations of size and appearance when adopting a puppy.
What we do know about all Underdogs is that these animals are very smart, make wonderful companions, and are truly grateful and loyal to their new families!
For more details on adoption and our pups you can visit our adoption FAQ page below.
I officially adopted my third Underdog, Rumba, in July 2020 after fostering. She is blind and managed to survive on the rez, and now she trail runs and mountain bikes in Moab. She's also the clinic therapy dog where I work.
She teaches me every day to let go and try new things.
Adoption Events
Our events are fun for the whole family! Stop by to get some puppy love (adoptions can be processed at events), check out our available merchandise that helps us support our rescue work, and learn more about how to get involved with our organization. We love sharing our mission!
Want to Connect?
Come join our Facebook community for Underdog adopters!
Join our Adopters of Underdog Rescue Facebook page
Our Sponsors & Partners
Thank you to our sponsors and supporters. We couldn't do this without you!
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The folks at Underdog Rescue are always on their toes and willing to accept animals facing neglect and environmental issues. They really put themselves out there every minute of every day, 24 hours a day, because the need is so great.
Reservation Communities & The Issues They Face
The Native American Reservations of the Southwest United States include the Navajo, Hopi, Ute, Apache, and Zuni nations and tribal reserves. These lands span the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico.
The Navajo Nation
Underdog Rescue works in several areas of the Four Corners region, with the majority of our work being in the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation extends into the states of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. It is the largest reservation in the United States, covering 27,000 square — roughly the size of the state of West Virginia. The term Navajo comes from the Spanish language, but the Navajo people refer to themselves as Diné, meaning ‘the people’ in their original language known as Diné bizaad, meaning ‘people’s language.’
On the Navajo Nation, before COVID-19 struck, there was over 43% unemployment, and the median household income was $20,000. One in six Diné has a working vehicle. As of 2019, approximately 27% of homes did not have electricity, representing 75% of the non-electrified homes in the entire United States. The Navajo Nation is providing electricity at a rate of about 400 homes per year, making full electrification about 35 years away. Children often use dome lights in cars and kerosene lamps to do homework.
In addition to the lack of electricity, a little over one in three Navajo Nation households do not have a toilet or a water faucet. These families drive an hour or more once or twice a week to fill 250 gallon water tanks to wash, drink, clean, and provide for livestock. Even worse, on the Navajo Nation in Utah, half of all residents haul water for everyday use. Water is a precious commodity, and the wellbeing of livestock trumps the needs of reservation dogs that are routinely shot so they won’t consume drinking water intended for sheep or horses.
Issues Facing the Reservation Communities
For generations, tribal members have been using dogs for work. Dogs are mainly used to herd animals (typically sheep) or guard property. Tribal members house their working dogs outside and often lack the means to build containment, so these dogs are free to procreate with other dogs in the area.
It has been estimated that a single female dog and her offspring can produce over 67,000 puppies in six years, so one can imagine how the stray population grew quickly. Currently, the life expectancy of a stray dog on the reservations is only two years due to disease, lack of food and water, and car vs. dog incidents as dogs roam seeking food. Puppies rarely survive to weaning due to poor nutrition of the mother, lack of shelter from the brutal elements of the region, and predators.
There are only two veterinarians serving the entire Navajo Nation, which makes access to spay and neuter nearly impossible for most tribal members when only one in six has a working vehicle. For those who have transportation, the travel expenses for a 2-6 hours road trip and cost for a spay or neuter at these clinics are too much to afford. These veterinarians are nearly always booked out several months, making it difficult to get females spayed before they become pregnant.
On The Navajo Nation there are only four shelters, and because of the overwhelming stray population, these are all high-kill shelters. Only 7% percent of the animals that enter these shelters will make it out alive, and that 7% is nearly all due to rescues stepping in.
There are just a handful of rescue organizations that do some work in this area, but Underdog Rescue is the only one in the state of Utah that exclusively serves the reservations.
Underdog Rescue had their first vaccine clinic with the help of so many wonderful folks on the Navajo Nation donating space to us at the Monument Valley Visitor Center. They had people organizing within the community to spread the word. With that first vaccination clinic, over 250 people came through in two days.