What to Do If Any Rat Rescue Can't Take In Your Rat

Updated

Any Rat Rescue is a small, all-volunteer foster network, not a shelter, so its ability to accept surrenders is limited. If it can't take your rat, the organization's own guidance is to contact the Arizona Humane Society if you're in the Phoenix area, or the Humane Society of Southern Arizona if you're in Tucson. You can also ask to be placed on Any Rat Rescue's waitlist for foster space — the rescue says it keeps one and does its best to help.

Why Capacity Is the Limiting Factor

Any Rat Rescue has operated in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 2004 and describes itself as a no-kill rescue that accepts any domestic rat regardless of health, age, or temperament. It places roughly 200 pet rats a year. Because animals are housed in a network of caring foster homes rather than a single facility, the number of rats it can take at any moment depends on available foster space — which is why the rescue states plainly that surrender capacity is limited.

That structure is also why the referral step exists: when the Phoenix-area network is at capacity, the rescue directs families with urgent need to the Arizona Humane Society rather than leaving them without an option.

Step-by-Step: What to Do

  1. Contact Any Rat Rescue first and describe your situation. The rescue asks people to contact it for more information. Explain how many rats you have, their age and health, and how urgent the timeline is — that information determines whether foster space might open up.
  2. Ask specifically about the waitlist. The rescue maintains a waitlist for foster space. Getting on it doesn't guarantee placement, but it keeps you in line when capacity frees up.
  3. Use the regional referral if you're at capacity or urgent. Phoenix area: Arizona Humane Society. Tucson: Humane Society of Southern Arizona. These are the two referrals the rescue itself names.
  4. Keep following up. A volunteer-run network has no large intake staff; a polite check-in keeps your request visible.

Referral Options at a Glance

Your situation Where to go Notes
Phoenix area, rescue at capacity, urgent need Arizona Humane Society Referral named by Any Rat Rescue
Tucson, urgent need Humane Society of Southern Arizona Referral named by Any Rat Rescue
Not urgent, willing to wait Any Rat Rescue foster waitlist Space depends on foster homes; no guarantee

A Practical Alternative: Meet the Rescue in Person

If your goal is to rehome rather than surrender, attending a Meet and Greet lets you talk with volunteers directly and learn what the rescue can currently handle. Upcoming events listed by the rescue include:

  • Petco Tempe in-store Meet & Greet — Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, 11 a.m.–2 p.m., 1835 E Guadalupe #112, Tempe, AZ 85283. Free.
  • PACC911 Adoptathon at All Saints Episcopal Church — Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., 6300 N Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85012. Free.
  • LovePup Family Fest at Vertuccio Farms, Mesa — Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, 4–8 p.m., 4011 S Power Rd., Mesa, AZ 85212. Admission is a free pet food/supply donation, or a cash or CashApp donation.
  • PACC911 Adoptathon at Franciscan Renewal Center — Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., 5802 E Lincoln Drive, Paradise Valley, AZ 85253. Free.
  • PACC911 Adoptathon at Pet Supplies Plus, Scottsdale — Sunday, Dec. 6, 2026, 10 a.m.–2:30 p.m., 31319 N Scottsdale Rd. #125, Scottsdale, AZ 85266. Free.

Any Rat Rescue is a rescue partner of the PACC911 animal welfare community (pacc911.org), which is a further route to nearby organizations if the rescue's own network is full.

What Not to Assume

The rescue's published information does not state fees for surrendering a rat, nor does it promise that a waitlist request will be fulfilled. Treat the waitlist as a request for help, not a reservation, and have the humane-society referral ready as a backup if your timeline is short.