For dogs, cats and other domestic animals, Orlando can be two very different places. On the one hand, dozens of off-leash parks, hiking trails and pet-friendly dining options offer endless opportunities for animals and their two-legged family members to enjoy each other’s company. In that sense, it’s a perfect pet paradise.

On the other hand, tens of thousands of area pets get little to no human companionship at all. Instead, they’re surrendered to shelters or abandoned as strays, collateral damage in Orlando’s ongoing homeless animal crisis.

Thankfully, numerous rescue organizations are going the extra mile to ease homeless pets’ sorrow—and helping local residents be heroes to animals in need in the process.

Pet Rescue by Judy

This no-kill rescue in Sanford, located directly behind Paw Park, started nearly 30 years ago when founder Judy Sarullo adopted her first dog. She and her husband were volunteering at a local animal-control adoption event and found that no one seemed to want an Old English sheepdog. Because the pooch was older than the others, Sarullo knew the dog would soon be euthanized. So, she adopted it, and in her care, the dog lived another eight years.

Since then, Sarullo’s involvement in animal rescue grew into a passion that eventually evolved into an organization. “I’m like the proverbial dog on a bone,” she says. “I’m relentless, tenacious. Our organization even went to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to help dogs in need.”

Sarullo’s goal is to educate the public on the “extreme seriousness” of not spaying and neutering. Having recently opened the only no-kill shelter in Central Florida, her next goal is to open a low-cost spay-and-neuter clinic adjacent to her facility.

“There are many wonderful foster groups [in Central Florida], but they don’t have a shelter or facility,” says Sarullo. As a result, those organizations are limited in how many animals they can take in. It also helps explain why her organization has made such a large impact, having saved more than 65,000 dogs and cats. “Everyone is doing their best. It’s just that the amount of new throwaways, surrenders and puppies and kittens never ends.”

Pet Rescue by Judy’s website currently lists dozens of cats and dogs available for adoption. In addition to adoption services, the organization offers foster programs, including its Dog for a Day initiative, as well as volunteer opportunities and kids’ programs. PetRescueByJudy.com

Poodle and Pooch Rescue of Florida

Founded in 2008, this organization has since expanded beyond specializing in only the cute and curly to rescue more than 2,800 dogs of numerous breeds.

Vice President Kim Strauss, who’s also a dog trainer and rescue advocate, has worked in various volunteer rescue capacities for many years. “At the time of formation, we were more focused on poodles, rescuing no more than 20 to 25 dogs,” she says. “Now, we take in dogs ranging from tiny Yorkies, Maltese and poodles to bulldogs and Labs. We pretty much try to save the dogs that need saving.”

Strauss says the organization has had a strong impact on the Orlando and greater Central Florida area as it rescues the “leftover” dogs from many surrounding shelters and Animal Control. “We take owner-surrenders when we can and try to assist with dogs coming in from other sources such as hoarding or breeding cases.”

After the all-volunteer nonprofit rescues a dog in distress, it provides any required veterinary care, matches the animal to a foster family and, when it’s ready, finds the right family for adoption. The organization’s greatest need is for donations to further fund the recovery of dogs who require extra surgeries, treatments and attention. Along with a long list of adoptable dogs, special-needs pups are profiled on Poodle and Pooch’s website with descriptions of how the public can help. PoodleAndPoochRescue.org

The Doglando Foundation

Founded in 2011 to promote responsible canine ownership within the Orlando community, this nonprofit is known throughout the region for programs and events that seek to improve the welfare and wellbeing of dogs. The foundation is an offshoot of University of Doglando, a mission-based dog-training and daycare center. Its education, donation and adoption programs, such as the Full Tummies pet-food distribution service, Fetch & Give homeless assistance and Puppy B.R.E.A.T.H., help to save the lives of highly adoptable dogs and end canine hunger.

Puppy B.R.E.A.T.H. provides relief to shelters by rescuing pregnant dogs and giving them a safe, comfortable and stress-free environment to give birth and raise puppies. Specialists focus on neonatal development, early training and socialization, so puppies born into homelessness are better able to find loving homes. An adoption application is available via the Puppy B.R.E.A.T.H. section of the organization’s website. DoglandoFoundation.org

Spay N Save Animal Clinic

In an effort to reduce the overpopulation of homeless cats and dogs in the Orlando community, Spay N Save offers high-quality spay and neuter surgeries at an affordable fee. Since opening its doors in 2012, the nonprofit has performed more than 25,000 surgeries in Seminole County.

While not a full-service veterinary clinic offering long-term medical treatment, the organization offers basic wellness examinations, testing and vaccines. SpayNSave.org

Paws Like Me

Though it’s not a nonprofit organization, this pet-matching adoption website still has an altruistic goal. Described as “eHarmony for pets,” and founded by Marianna Benko of Orlando and Elizabeth Holmes of Cocoa, the service asks users a series of personality and lifestyle questions in order to pair them with the perfect pooch. Answers are run through an algorithm that scans through hundreds of dogs listed in databases of government shelters, rescue groups and nonprofit organizations. Users then receive a score that best aligns with their four personality quadrants of energy, confidence, focus and independence.

It’s free to list pets on the site, since individuals seeking to re-home or surrender can often be in financial difficulty. The company only collects a fee from adopters, which covers pet insurance, product discounts and guidance. Paws Like Me donates up to half of each adoption fee it collects to the rescues and shelters that it works with across the nation.

Cat lovers, don’t worry: Paws Like Me is currently working on expanding their services to include felines by developing an algorithm that “predicts people-to-cat compatibility.” PawsLikeMe.com