Foster families help save dogs

By INGRID CANTERBURY / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Brian Curran walks a family of dogs that he and his wife, Wendy, fostered for the Grreat Dog Rescue. After spending a few months at the Curran residence, the dogs were adopted out to families in the New England area. (Photo provided)

Superheroes, of the everyday sort, are coming to the rescue of pets all over Tennessee and surrounding states through the Grreat Dog Rescue. Everyday people with some space in their home, and in their hearts, can be foster families for stray dogs bound for permanent homes.Fostering a pet can be a rewarding experience for both pet and foster parent. The foster pets learn the basics of living with people, from eating, to walking on a leash, to bathroom habits. Foster parents in return get to be heroes, saving the lives of animals for whom they are the last hope.

McMinnville’s Wendy Curran has fostered dogs from the local animal shelter that were placed with the Grreat Dog Rescue. “It’s a wonderful way to actually keep animals moving and keep them away from humane societies,” said Curran.

She added the longer animals are confined together in shelters, the more prone they are to catch diseases and infection. “As fast as they come in, they like to try and get them out,” she said.

Since 2002, the Grreat Dog Rescue has placed over 700 dogs with permanent families in Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia, Kentucky and the New England area. Photos of dogs in need of rescue are placed on the Grreat Dog Rescue Web site so families from all over may browse for the right pet.

Betty Dorsey of the Grreat Dog Rescue, centered in Knoxville, said, “We adopt to all the surrounding states or locally, wherever we get the best match. Recently we adopted a dog to Ontario, Canada.”

Dorsey said the organization exchanges pictures and information about the dog with the family.

“We wanted them to adopt us by the time it was all said and done,” Dorsey said.

Once a dog is spoken for, families fill out an application for adoption and a representative from Grreat Dog Rescue interviews the family and visits their home. This ensures adoptive families will be responsible for the care of the pet and that they are sincere about providing a permanent home.

“They check to make sure they have a confined yard, that someone is going to be home with the animal every day, that they are not going to be crated or locked up all day on their own, that they are going to be cared for, loved and wanted,” said Curran.

During the foster period, dogs are evaluated for overall temperament and compatibility with other dogs, cats and children. The time a dog spends with its foster family can vary from a couple of weeks to several months until a family is found and dogs have been to the vet. Medical bills for the dogs are covered by the rescue, with money from donations and standard adoption fee. Families who adopt the dogs permanently can come to pick them up, or dogs can be taken by transport to their new home.

Curran believes the Grreat Dog Rescue is a great way to get involved in the community.

“Get your heart involved, get your lives involved. Do something good and let yourself bless others,” she said.

Interested parties can visit the Grreat Dog Rescue at www.grreatdogrescue.com. At the Web site there are links to other dog rescue organizations, as well as rescue links for a variety of other animals from cows to birds.