Orange dogs need foster care

June 17, 2009 12:36 am

Russ Fornier of Buffalo, N.Y., loads a dog onto the PetSmart Rescue Waggin' for transport to a shelter in Eaton, N.J. Fornier travels to various Mid-Atlantic shelters to transfer dogs to areas where chances of being adopted are better.

Jodie Martin (left), Beth Hamilton (center) and Kim Bollman get 3-year-old Josie ready to be transported from the Orange County Animal Shelter to New Jersey, where Josie stands a better chance of being adopted.

Katrina Carpenter hugs Blackjack goodbye as Kim Bollman looks on.

BY ROBIN KNEPPER

The Orange County Animal Shelter is looking for people to take in its dogs for two weeks starting at the end of the month while the facility's 50 kennels get a needed fix-up.

"We'll be resurfacing the concrete floors and cinder-block walls," said shelter Director Beth Hamilton. "The work will start on June 29 and we need to find temporary homes for the dogs by Saturday, June 27."

Hamilton isn't sure right now how many homes will be needed since offers from neighboring kennels are coming in, but she wants to be sure all the dogs have a place to go.

Thirty-two dogs from the Orange shelter were transported to a shelter in New Jersey yesterday by the PetSmart Charities' Rescue Waggin' program in hopes of finding them new homes.

The concrete floors of the kennels are no longer repelling water and urine, according to Hamilton, so the frequent washings necessary to keep the kennels clean leave floors "that take forever to dry."

The floors will be pressure washed, then covered with an epoxy/aggregate coating recommended after a state inspection of the shelter last year. The walls will get an epoxy coating, too, covering the wear and tear from jumping canines.

The work will be funded by a $16,290 grant from PetSmart Charities, said Hamilton.

"The Board of Supervisors has directed us to seek alternate funding and we're very happy about this," she said.

Anyone interested in providing foster care for a shelter dog will be asked to fill out an application and will need to have a fenced yard or keep the dog inside.

The shelter can provide food, crates, bedding, leashes, collars and toys, if necessary.

All shelter dogs have been neutered or spayed and have up-to-date vaccinations.

Once the work starts on the dog kennels, the public will be barred from the kennel areas and adoptions will be suspended. However, appointments may be set up through the petfinder.com Web site, Hamilton said.

Intake during that time will be limited to picked-up stray dogs and people looking for lost dogs will be assisted, said Hamilton.

Robin Knepper: 540/972-5701
Email: rknepper@earthlink.net

Anyone interested in providing foster care for an Orange County Animal Shelter dog must fill out an application.

You must have a fenced yard or keep the dog inside. The shelter can provide food, crates and other dog-care items, if needed.

For more information, contact the Orange County Animal Shelter at 540/762-1124.

The Rescue Waggin' is a transport program funded by the nonprofit PetSmart Charities, which moves adoptable dogs from overpopulated shelters to shelters in other cities that have more space and potential adopters.

The Orange County shelter is one of 53 nationwide that participate. The program has saved the lives of more than 271 dogs in Orange since the county shelter joined the program a year ago, shelter officials said.