BARRE, Vt. (WCAX) – The need for dog foster parents continues to grow in our region, and a new coalition hopes to act as a clearinghouse for rescue groups in order to better handle the influx.
“It has been really rewarding to get involved and meet all sorts of dogs and help them find their forever homes,” said Julie Paye, who fosters dogs in Randolph Center.
Paye says she usually only takes one foster at a time, but that has now changed. “It has become even more of a need now. So, now I have two fosters in our tiny little home. It is just a lot more to manage. We do a crate rotate, one is out at a time. We also have our own personal dog,” she said.
And Paye is not alone. The need for foster pet parents is greater than ever before, according to the group Vermonters Against Animal Cruelty and Abandonment. They say over 100 dogs and cats have been rescued in the last 70 days and that some animal shelters have been forced to stop bringing animals from kill shelters in from the south.
Related Stories:
Heather Bent with Potters Angels Rescue says the state can’t afford more rescues and that in some cases adopters end up having to surrender the animals. “Who is adopting our dogs on their end and transferring them here directly to adopters. Oftentimes the adopters up here do not have any support, they are stuck with the dog. Either the dog doesn’t get along with their dogs or cats or kids,” she said.
With the help of the new coalition, there are more than 20 shelters and individuals across the state that are trying to address the problem. But animal control officers say the question still remains where do these pets go when many rescues have undesired behavioral issues?
“They just have no resources. When you take a dog in from a stray situation in a town, as an animal control officer, you have to hold that dog for a certain period of time. People are putting them in their basements, in kennels, and their garages — in barns — because there are no facilities,” said Renee Falconer, an animal control officer for several Northeast Kingdom towns.
The next step for the group is to start applying for grant funding so they can establish more holding shelters across the state. The group is hoping to start in Franklin County.
Copyright 2025 WCAX. All rights reserved.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
