Contacts unlock on claim
Pickup and drop-off contact details are hidden on the public board. A driver sees them only after they claim the run, and only if you ticked the share box for that contact.
How it works
Everything Fetch does, start to finish.
Whether you're driving or posting runs, this page walks you through the whole thing. No account needed to read it. Takes about four minutes.
Fetch is free. All of it.
Free for rescues. Free for shelters. Free for drivers. There is no paid plan, no premium tier, no per-transport fee, no trial that runs out, and no card required to sign up. Fetch is a program of the Good Boy Foundation, a 501(c)(3).
If you see donation options anywhere on the site, those are optional gifts from supporters who want to help cover text and email costs. They never come from the rescues and drivers using the platform.
The short version
Three steps. That's the whole thing.
Everything else on this page is detail hanging off these three.
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The run gets posted.
A rescue, shelter, or transport networker posts where the dog is, where the dog is going, when, and what the driver needs to know. Takes about two minutes.
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A driver claims it.
Drivers see runs inside the radius they set, on the days they're free. One tap to claim. Volunteer, or name a rate.
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The dog gets where it's meant to go.
The driver posts updates from the road. The rescue gets an email at every leg. When it's done, it's on both of their records.
For drivers
Driving with Fetch
You need a car, a free day, and about thirty seconds of setup. That's the requirement.
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Make your account
Tap I can drive on the homepage. Name, email, password. That's it. No approval to wait on and no application.
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Fill in your profile
This is what rescues see, and it's what Fetch uses to match you to runs. Worth the two minutes.
- Photo and bio, so the rescue knows who's coming to the shelter.
- Vehicle and crate setup. What you drive, what crates you carry, and whether you have a hardshell airline crate. Some pulls require one.
- Phone number. Private by default. There's a checkbox to share it with the rescue you're driving for, and it stays off until you turn it on.
- Volunteer or paid. Pick volunteer, paid only, or either. You can still decide per run.
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Set where and when you'll drive
Enter your home ZIP, then pick how far you'll go: 10, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200 miles, or unlimited. Fetch shows you runs whose pickup or drop-off falls inside that circle. Then tap the days of the week you're usually free.
Most volunteers pick 25 to 100 miles. Start wider than feels comfortable. You can always skip a run, but you can't claim one you never saw.
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Decide how you want to hear about runs
This is the setting that decides whether Fetch is useful or annoying, so pick deliberately.
- Email: off, instant on every match, or one daily digest.
- Text: none, urgent runs only, or every match.
When a rescue marks a run urgent, it reaches you right away even if you're on the daily digest.
The quiet setup: daily digest email plus urgent-only texts. One email a day, and your phone only buzzes when a dog is actually out of time.
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Find a run
Your dashboard shows open transports in your area first, then everything else. The transport board shows every run in the country, and you can search by route, rescue, or location, or filter by date.
Open a run and you'll see the dogs by name with photos, animal control IDs, size, weight, age, breed, and any handling or medical notes. Plus the pickup window, drive time, crate requirements, and why the run matters.
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Claim it
Tap I can drive this. You can add a note to the rescue, flag that you've pulled from that shelter before, and mark whether you're offering it as a paid run.
Contact details for pickup and drop-off unlock once you claim. If something changes, release the run so someone else can take it. Do it as early as you can.
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Ask anything before you commit
Every transport has a message thread. Anyone signed in can post, so you can ask about parking, timing, or the dog's temperament before you claim. The thread stays attached to the run.
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Drive it, and post updates as you go
On the transport page there's a day-of updates box. Pick what's happening, add a photo and a note if you want, and post. Options are: on my way to pickup, arrived at pickup, picked up, on the road, arrived at drop-off, handed off, or a general update.
The rescue gets an email on every single one. This is how they stop texting you.
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Photograph the paperwork
At pickup you'll be handed things. Snap a photo of each and tag it: CVI or health certificate, rabies certificate, vaccination records, pull or release form, intake form, microchip slip, or other. It attaches to the transport, where anyone who needs it can find it later.
Crossing a state line? A CVI and a current rabies certificate have to travel with the dog. Fetch flags this on the run, but check you physically have both before you pull out of the lot.
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That's a dog home
The transport gets marked complete, and it goes on your record, which counts every dog you helped get where they belong.
For rescues, shelters, and transport networkers
Posting transports
If you post runs, Fetch is built for you.
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Create your account and your organization
Tap I run a rescue or post transports. Make your account, then set up your organization: name, type, and location.
Teammates sign up the same way, then choose Join an existing organization and pick yours. Your org is not tied to one person's login.
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Get verified
the Good Boy Foundation verifies organizations. Verified orgs carry a badge on every run they post, and drivers notice it. Email info@goodboyfoundation.org if you'd like to be verified.
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Post a run
From your org page, tap Post a transport. Only six things are actually required: pickup name and address, drop-off name and address, pickup date, and at least one dog's name. Everything else can be added or edited later.
- Addresses autocomplete. Pick from the dropdown and Fetch calculates the drive time for you.
- Contacts are optional and gated. Each phone number has its own "OK to share with the driver" checkbox. Confirm with the person before you tick it.
- Pickup window. Start and end time, so drivers know if it fits their day.
- Every dog, in detail. Name, animal control ID, size, weight, age, breed, colors, photo, and a notes field for personality, handling, and meds. Add as many dogs as the run carries.
- Crate logic. Crate required, airline-approved kennel required, and who's providing it.
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Use the fields that actually get runs claimed
Four fields do most of the persuading. They're optional, and skipping them is the most common reason a run sits unclaimed.
- Crosses state lines. Tick it and Fetch tells the driver a CVI and rabies certificate must travel with the dog.
- Urgent. Emails every driver in range immediately, including the ones on daily digest.
- Why this transport matters. One or two sentences. "Foster arrives Tuesday, she has to be there Monday" is what turns a scroll into a claim.
- Backup plan. What happens if the driver falls through. Write it down before it falls through.
Don't cry wolf with the urgent flag. It's the one thing that reaches drivers who've muted everything else. Save it for runs that genuinely can't wait, and it keeps working.
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Confirm and post
There's a checkbox confirming you've double-checked addresses, dates, times, and contacts. Do the check. A wrong address is a wasted day for a volunteer and a dog who doesn't move.
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Watch it from your org page
Your board sorts itself into needs a driver, has a driver, and cancelled, with a live count of how many drivers have signed up for each run.
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Talk to the driver on the run
Every transport has its own message thread. It stays with the run, so anyone on your team can catch up without scrolling a group chat. Move to text if you'd rather, once contacts are shared.
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Build a list of drivers you trust
On your org page, keep a trusted transporters list. Invite drivers by email with a personal note. When they join through your link, they land on your list.
There's also a switch for driver onboarding: require your approval before any driver can claim your transports. Turn it on if your org has its own vetting process, or leave it off to fill runs faster.
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Change anything, any time
Edit any field on a posted transport. Drivers who already claimed get notified. If the run falls through, cancel it, and it moves to the cancelled column rather than vanishing.
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Follow it home, then close it out
You get an email at every day-of update the driver posts, photos included. Once the dog has arrived, mark the transport complete. It goes on your record and on the driver's.
Who sees what
Privacy, in plain terms
The most common question, answered before you have to ask it.
Driver phone stays private
A driver's number is private unless they turn on sharing with the rescue they're driving for.
The board itself is public
Anyone can browse open transports. That's deliberate, so you can send someone a direct link to one specific run. Only the sensitive fields are gated.
You can gate claims
Turn on driver approval and nobody claims your runs until you say so.
Questions
The ones people actually ask
Is it really free? What's the catch?
It is really free, and there isn't one. Free for rescues, free for shelters, free for drivers. No paid tier, no premium features held back, no per-transport cut, no expiring trial, no card at signup.
Fetch is a program of the Good Boy Foundation, a 501(c)(3). Donations on the site are optional gifts from supporters that help cover text and email costs. They are not fees, and nobody using the platform is ever asked for one.
Do I have to be a registered nonprofit to post transports?
No. Rescues, shelters, and transport networkers can all post runs. Verification by the Good Boy Foundation is a separate thing that adds a badge to your posts. It builds trust with drivers, but it isn't required to use Fetch.
Do I need to commit to a schedule as a driver?
No. There's no minimum, no shift, and no obligation. You claim the runs you can do and ignore the rest. Skipping a run costs you nothing.
Can I get paid to drive?
Yes. Set your profile to volunteer, paid only, or either, and mark it per run when you claim. Payment is arranged directly between you and the rescue. Fetch doesn't process payments and doesn't take a cut.
I claimed a run and something came up.
Release it as early as you can so it goes back on the board and another driver can pick it up. Life happens. The thing that hurts is a run that sits claimed by someone who can't do it.
What paperwork travels with a dog across state lines?
A CVI, which is a certificate of veterinary inspection, and a current rabies certificate. When a rescue marks a run as crossing state lines, Fetch flags it on the transport so the driver knows before they leave. Confirm with the rescue that you physically have both documents at pickup.
Can more than one person from my rescue use the account?
Yes. Have them sign up at the rescue signup page, then choose "Join an existing organization" and pick yours. They'll be able to post and manage transports for your org.
Is Fetch only in one state?
No. It's open to rescues and drivers anywhere in the US, and the board is nationwide. If you're in an area where nothing's posted yet, sign up anyway. You'll be there when the first run appears.
How do I stop Fetch from blowing up my phone?
Go to your profile. Set email alerts to daily digest, or off entirely, and set text alerts to urgent-only or none. You can change it any time. Urgent runs are the only thing that overrides a digest.
Something's broken, or I'm stuck.
Email info@goodboyfoundation.org and tell us exactly where you got stuck. That's genuinely useful. It tells us what to fix and what this page is missing.
Ready when you are.
It costs nothing, it takes a couple of minutes, and there's a dog on the other end of it.