Roughneck Rescue & Sanctuary exists to provide select dogs in need with a safe place to heal, rebuild trust, and experience the life they deserve.
We rescue, rehabilitate, and provide lifelong sanctuary when space, resources, and circumstances allow. Some dogs are able to move on to new homes. For others, Roughneck becomes home for life.
Our Core Commitments
Rescue. Rehabilitation. Sanctuary
Roughneck Rescue & Sanctuary is built on three core commitments, giving select dogs the time, structure, safety, and care they need to heal and thrive.
Rescue
Rehabilitation
Sanctuary
Providing select dogs in difficult situations with a safe place to land and the chance to begin again.
Providing structure, patience, and care to help dogs heal, build trust, and move toward a more balanced life.
Offering lifelong safety, love, and quality care for dogs who may never be traditionally adoptable but still deserve a home.
Why Roughneck Exists
Roughneck Rescue & Sanctuary began with a simple idea: create a safe place for dogs who had nowhere else to go.
Danny and Kelly met in 2011 through their shared love of rescue dogs. Danny had already devoted years to working with difficult and unwanted dogs, and Kelly began volunteering alongside him. Somewhere along the way, long walks with the dogs turned into conversations about creating a place of their own — a home where rescued dogs could be safe, rehabilitated, and simply allowed to be dogs.
They found a small property in Belleville with five acres and a pond. It needed a lot of work, but they knew it was the place. Kelly cashed in her 401(k) to help make the dream possible, and Danny remodeled the house and fenced the property himself. Danny and Kelly married in 2017, and Roughneck has remained at the center of the life they’ve built together.
Before long, the house and property were filled with dogs.
Today, Roughneck is still their home — just one where dog beds line the walls, the pack has room to run, and the dogs are part of everyday life. Some eventually find new families. Others stay for the rest of their lives.
Every dog who comes to Roughneck is given the same promise: you will be safe, you will be cared for, and you will never again have to face life alone.
From their first day here until their last, they are family.
Rehabilitation takes time. Sanctuary is a lifelong commitment.
Layla: A Second Chance
Layla came to Roughneck as a stray — thin, flea-infested, missing fur, and badly in need of medical care.
With daily medicated baths, ongoing treatment, two surgeries, and a lot of patience, Layla slowly healed and became the healthy, happy dog she was always meant to be.
This is what rescue can do.
The Dogs of Roughneck
Our Current Residents
Meet the dogs who call Roughneck home today and are living safely as part of the pack.
Some dogs come to Roughneck, heal, and eventually find loving new homes of their own.
For dogs who aren’t adopted, Roughneck is home for life — a place where they are safe, cared for, and loved for as long as they’re with us.
Rescued & Rehomed
Forever Roughnecks
How You Can Help
Donate
Your gift helps cover food, veterinary care, medications, utilities, and the everyday needs of the dogs who call Roughneck Rescue home.
You can help simply by telling others about Roughneck and sharing our dogs and our story.
Help us with the specific food, cleaning products, bedding, treats, and other essentials we use every day.
Share Our Mission
Send Supplies
Your support helps fund behavioral rehabilitation, medical care, food, and the everyday needs of the dogs in our care.