10/09/2026
After a long and very successful run of 29 years, it is with heavy hearts that Metropolitan Maltese Rescue announces our closing.
Metropolitan Maltese Rescue was begun in 1998 by a thoughtful, caring, altruistic group of New Yorkers who loved the Maltese breed. At the group’s inception, the Maltese breed was highly popular in NYC, and thus many were populating our local shelters, as shelter intake always reflects the breeds found in the local population. Our founders were concerned about this situation, and wanted to help the dogs in our area, both by pulling dogs from the shelters and taking dogs in directly from surrendering owners, so they never had to enter a shelter.
Metropolitan Maltese Rescue has taken-in 1,283 Maltese and Maltese-mix dogs (with a few other breeds or mixes occasionally as well) during the group’s existence. These dogs all came right into foster care in the homes of our volunteers, where they had a safe and enriching environment of love, good food, proper grooming, and medical and behavioral care when warranted. They were gotten to be known as individuals and as family members and with their individual personality and needs in mind, we found the absolutely right match of adoptive home for each dog.
All of our good work was done staffed only by volunteers and charitable donations from the public. Without you, we couldn’t have existed. We want to thank all of those who over the years have served or helped Metropolitan Maltese Rescue: our volunteers, our donors, the veterinary teams and groomers who helped our dogs, our adopters, and the public who cheered us on and spread the good word.
We are proud of all we have accomplished. As said by Margaret Mead: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
