Swiping Right on Rescue Pets: Inside the Only Rescues App with Tara

In this episode, Clayton sits down with Tara, the creator of Only Rescues, a mobile app often described as "Tinder for rescue pets." Inspired by the sudden loss of her beloved rescue dog, Max, Tara channeled her grief into building a user-friendly platform that connects over 200 UK animal shelters with prospective pet parents. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Lifestyle Pre-Matching Saves Time: Only Rescues pre-filters pet matches based on user-submitted lifestyle criteria, reducing application rejections and eliminating administrative overload for shelters.

Leveling the Playing Field for Small Rescues: While major national charities receive significant visibility, Only Rescues gives smaller, independent UK shelters a free, modern digital platform to showcase their animals.

Born From Personal Loss: The app's creation was sparked by the sudden loss of Tara’s rescue dog, Max, in 2022, turning deep grief into a mission-driven tech initiative.

Shifting Rescue Trends: Rescues have transitioned from managing the post-pandemic dog surrender spike to dealing with a new surge of surrenders driven primarily by the cost-of-living crisis.

A Free, Sponsorship-Backed Model: The platform remains completely free for both rescues and adopters, sustained through brand partnerships, sponsorships, and merchant initiatives.

BEST MOMENTS

"The best way to probably describe it is that it works a little bit like Tinder for rescue pets." 

"All that I could think about was the grief and not having Max anymore... I became really unreasonable in that time. I wouldn't have a conversation about anything at all that wasn't, 'How can we help rescue dogs and cats?'" 

"When we do the kind of pre-matching, that cuts out a lot of that noise... You're only going to fall in love with pets that you're suitable for in the first place." 

"Instead of looking for a financial return, they're looking to support our cause and what we do... What they want to do is help get more rescue dogs and cats into homes."