GiantHeart rescues, rehabilitates, and rehomes large and extra large dogs — Great Danes, Mastiffs, Saint Bernards — the dogs that need the most and get the least.
The weight range of XL breeds. Most shelters cannot accommodate them — not because they are unwanted, but because they take up too much space.
Giant breeds spend more time in shelters than any other size category before adoption or rescue is found.
When shelters fill up, XL dogs are the first declined. Not for behavior. Not for health. Just for size.
"Sometime, even giants need shoulders to stand on."— Giant Hearts Giant Dog Rescue
Dogs 60 pounds and up — the breeds that shelters turn away first.
The tallest dogs on earth, and among the most surrendered. Many end up in shelters after owners underestimate the commitment.
English Mastiffs, Bullmastiffs, Neapolitan Mastiffs — dogs that weigh as much as a person. Most rescues cannot accommodate them.
Named for the Alpine pass, born for loyalty and cold. Nobody has the room they deserve. Too many end up here.
Guardian dogs bred for mountains, surrendered when their protective instincts make them "too much" for suburban life.
Giant, gentle, web-footed water dogs. Rarely aggressive, always overlooked. They take up a full couch and most rescues have none.
Beautiful, short-lived, expensive to care for. When medical bills pile up, owners surrender. Rescues turn away. We do not.
Most rescues save dogs from death row. We do that too. But our real mission is bigger than emergency response.
We believe that every XL dog deserves a life commensurate with their size: space to move, food to match their frame, medical care when they need it, and humans who understand what they signed up for.
Shelters are overwhelmed. Foster networks are stretched thin. And XL dogs — the ones who eat more, shed more, take up more space, and scare more landlords — are left at the back of every line.
GiantHeart changes that. We build sanctuaries and networks specifically for them. No dog is too big. No dog is too old. No dog is too much.
Every XL dog in our care receives:
GiantHeart is building the infrastructure that does not yet exist for XL dogs — sanctuaries, foster networks, donor programs, and community — so that the giants of this world finally have somewhere to go.
No dog too big. No dog too much. No dog left behind.