Animal Rescue Service Foundation

What Animal Rescue Service Foundation does

Stiftung Tierrettungsdienst (Animal Rescue Service Foundation) is a Swiss nonprofit foundation headquartered in Winkel, Switzerland, founded in 1993 to provide professional animal rescue services. It operates a 24/7 emergency hotline (0800 211 222) serving pet owners and the general public across Switzerland, with a 66-employee staff complemented by a network of over 100 trained volunteers, and a fleet of specialized rescue vehicles. In 2025 alone the foundation reported 18,589 rescued animals and 2,090 animals taken into care at its Tierheim Pfötli shelter.

The foundation's service portfolio spans the full animal welfare value chain under several sub-brands: Tierrettung (24-hour emergency rescue), Tierheim Pfötli (temporary shelter and care), Tiervermittlung (adoption/rehoming), and Campus trd (education). Through Campus trd it runs specialized professional training programs including FBA Tiertransport certification for animal transport and the Lehrgang Tiertransport-sanitäter:in (TTS) course for animal transport rescue paramedics, delivering 239 course hours in 2025. The underlying technology stack is operations-focused — physical rescue vehicles, equipment, and call-center infrastructure — with no disclosed digital or AI components.

The foundation is funded primarily through diversified donation channels: regular giving, philanthropy/major gifts, legacies and testaments, corporate partnerships (Unternehmen), animal sponsorships (Patenschaften), event-based giving, and material donations. Earned revenue is generated through the educational programs (Campus trd, FBA Tiertransport, TTS). There are no institutional investors, parent company, or public listing; the foundation operates independently under its charitable mission.

Name

Animal Rescue Service Foundation

Legal name

Stiftung Tierrettungsdienst

Website

https://tierrettungsdienst.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Stiftung Tierrettungsdienst is a Swiss nonprofit foundation that operates a 24/7 nationwide emergency animal rescue hotline, shelter (Tierheim Pfötli), and adoption services, and delivers professional animal-welfare training programs (Campus trd) to the Swiss public and pet owners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Animal Welfare Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Rescue, Transport & Emergency Animal Response (BPAGAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Animal Shelters & Adoption Services (BPAGAIAA), Education & Community Outreach (Responsible Pet Ownership) (BPAGAIAK)

Keywords

• Animal rescue services
• Animal shelter operations
• Animal adoption services
• Professional animal training
• Animal welfare education

Headquarters

HQ city

Winkel

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Philanthropy: The foundation relies on charitable donations from individuals, corporate sponsors, and major donors. Multiple donation channels are offered including one-time donations, event-based donations, sponsorship programs, and material donations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The foundation operates 24/7 emergency animal rescue services throughout Switzerland via a dedicated hotline, accompanied by a physical animal shelter (Tierheim Pfötli) that provides temporary care and rehoming for rescued animals. It also runs a professional education division (Campus trd) offering certified vocational training in animal transport (FBA Tiertransport) and animal rescue paramedicine (Tiertransport-sanitäter:in), serving both the general public needing rescue or adoption services and professionals seeking industry certification.

Product overview

Stiftung Tierrettungsdienst operates as a multi-faceted animal welfare organization combining emergency response, shelter operations, and professional education. The core offerings include 24-hour animal rescue services (Tierrettung), the Pfötli animal shelter for temporary animal care (Tierheim Pfötli), and animal adoption services (Tiervermittlung). The education division (Campus trd) provides professional training programs including FBA Tiertransport for professional animal transport certification and the Tiertransport-sanitäter:in course for paramedic-level animal rescue training, complemented by additional courses and shelter tours. The organization functions as a unified platform combining emergency response, shelter management, rehoming services, and educational programs under one foundation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tierheim Pfötli: Animal shelter providing temporary protection and care for rescued animals, preparing them for adoption.
• Campus trd
• FBA Tiertransport
• Lehrgang TTS (Tiertransport-sanitäter:in)

Products and services

• Tierrettung (Animal Rescue) 24-hour emergency animal rescue service operating across Switzerland with specialized equipment and trained personnel, dispatched via the 0800 211 222 hotline to respond to animal emergencies including traffic accidents and distress situations. Free of charge to the public and funded by donations.
• Tierheim Pfötli (Pfötli Animal Shelter) Physical animal shelter at the foundation's Winkel headquarters providing temporary refuge, care, and preparation services for rescued animals until they are adopted into permanent homes. Received 2,090 animals in 2025.
• Tiervermittlung (Animal Adoption) Animal adoption and rehoming service that matches rescued dogs, cats, and small animals housed at Pfötli shelter with suitable permanent homes across Switzerland.
• Campus trd (Education Campus) Educational division of the foundation providing professionalization programs for animal rescue and animal protection, serving as the central knowledge base and course catalog for animal welfare vocational training.
• FBA Tiertransport (Professional Animal Transport Training) Professional vocational training program (Fachspezifische berufsunabhängige Ausbildung) certifying practitioners in the compliant transport of domestic and wild animals, delivered by Campus trd.
• Lehrgang Tiertransport-sanitäter:in (Animal Transport Paramedic Course) Specialized paramedic course program for animal transport rescue personnel, designed to further professionalize emergency animal rescue services. The foundation delivered 239 course hours in 2025 across its training programs.
• Weitere Kurse (Additional Animal Welfare Courses) Supplementary educational courses and workshops from Campus trd covering animal welfare and species-appropriate animal husbandry topics.
• Tierheimführungen (Animal Shelter Tours) Guided in-person tours of the Pfötli animal shelter offering visitors direct insight into the foundation's rescue and care operations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 18,589 animals rescued in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Vier Pfoten (Four Paws International): Global animal welfare organization with active operations across Europe including Switzerland, focused on rescue, shelter, and policy work. Comparable as a multi-country incumbent operating overlapping programs but at significantly larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• RSPCA: UK's oldest and largest animal welfare charity running rescue, shelter, and inspectorate operations. Comparable as a national-scale animal welfare nonprofit combining emergency response, sheltering, and education under one organizational umbrella.
• ASPCA: US national animal welfare organization combining rescue response, shelter support, and policy advocacy. Directly comparable service portfolio (rescue + shelter + adoption + education) though operating primarily in the US market.
• Humane Society International: International animal protection organization operating across multiple continents with rescue, advocacy, and shelter partnerships. Comparable as a global nonprofit operating in adjacent rescue/welfare verticals, though at much broader scale.
• Deutscher Tierschutzbund: Germany's largest umbrella animal welfare organization operating member shelters and rescue programs. Comparable through shared shelter-and-rescue service model and membership/donation funding approach, though at much larger national scale.

Emerging players

• PETA: Global animal rights organization with advocacy and rescue-adjacent programs. Comparable mission scope but different operating emphasis (advocacy-led rather than rescue-operations-led), making it a partial-overlap peer.
• Battersea Dogs & Cats Home: UK-based animal shelter and rehoming charity with strong brand and educational programs. Comparable through shelter + adoption + education service portfolio, though with single-site (multi-location) UK focus rather than emergency rescue.

Direct peers

• Schweizer Tierschutz STS: Switzerland's largest animal welfare umbrella organization, operating shelters, advocacy, and rescue-adjacent services nationwide. Directly comparable as a Swiss nonprofit foundation with overlapping mission scope in animal rescue, sheltering, and policy advocacy.

Regional players

• Tierschutzverein Zürich: Regional animal welfare organization serving the Zürich canton area with shelter and adoption services. Comparable as a Swiss regional shelter/rescue peer but with sub-national geographic scope rather than nationwide coverage.
• Fondation 30 Millions d'Amis: French animal welfare foundation supporting shelters and rescue programs. Comparable as a European nonprofit foundation combining shelter funding, advocacy, and animal welfare education, but operating in the French market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TierrettungsdienstCH
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stiftung-tierrettungsdienst/mycompany
• Instagraminstagram.com/tierrettungsdienst_ch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Animal Rescue Service Foundation