“I can’t recommend Peggy enough. Her amazing attitude, knowledge of the market, and experience in the business makes her an absolute gem in the industry”.
No. 19 Vol. 8
www.mypaperonline.com • 973-809-4784
August 2023
Furever Safe
C
By Henry M. Holden amille doesn’t like dogs. She is madly in love with them. So in love she created Furever Home Dog Rescue (FHDR) in 2009. “Before this, I was a personal trainer for many years. But I love dogs, and I always thought that I needed a physical location to try and get dogs adopted. Then I met a lady who fostered dogs.” Camille started fostering with just one dog. Then she began thinking maybe she could get other people who loved dogs to help. FHDR does not have a local shelter for the dogs. They are flown to New Jersey from North Carolina and Texas. Then our foster families provide a temporary home for these pups until they are adopted. “So, I started recruiting fosters. I’m very hands-on. I do pretty much everything myself. I do have volunteers that are also fosters. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun. Camille averages about 100 dogs a year. Over the past 15 years she is responsible for the permanent adoption of roughly 1,500 dogs. “I usually have eight to 10 dogs at a time. I have people on my email list that when the dogs arrive here, they will do everything needed to make the dogs comfortable. If the dogs are in crates, they will have to be washed and bleached and sometimes they must be shipped back to the shelter.” Camille has had her ups and downs in this business. “Right now, it’s slow with adoptions. The Christmas season is a very busy time, and adoptions are usually high. In May and June adoptions are slower because kids are graduating from school. Other activities are also going on. “Adoptions are on the slow side, and I think it has to do with Covid. Some adopted dogs during the Covid just to keep the kids company. At the end of it, many dogs were returned. The world opened again, and people did not have time for the dogs. It was sad.” During Covid, Camille had dogs up for adoption. “I’m a small rescue organization, but I was getting 50 to 100 inquiries every day. I could not keep up with the demand.” Some of the dogs came back with behavioral issues because they weren’t trained properly in the beginning. “I was worried about this happening. People were inundating the rescue organizations returning dogs.” The pups are temperament tested by the shelters and fully vetted by licensed veterinarians prior to being considered for Furever Home Dog Rescue.
Photo credit FHDR
“All our pups are placed in foster homes prior to adoption where our fosters provide further evaluation and house training. “Fosters usually hold a pup from a week to a month or two, on average. We are always looking for more foster families willing to open their homes to foster a pup until they are adopted to their furever homes. “Fostering is a rewarding experience, and you will help save a dog’s life. There are puppies, young dogs and older dogs of different breeds that need foster homes. Our foster families choose the type of pup they want to foster.” Camille will send an interested party an application. If they meet the initial requirements she will call and speak with them. “If all goes well, I will call them, for references. When I get it down to one approved applicant, we set up a meet and greet. This is not an adoption session. “Our adopters meet with the foster family to gain valuable insight into the pup’s behavior toward training, food, interaction with children, other dogs, cats, and other important intangibles. “They meet the dog and have any questions answered. Then we determine at that point if it’s a good fit or not. The good thing about putting a dog in a foster home is I get a chance to see the dog and watch how he acts in a home setting. In a shelter they would act differently. Do they get along with kids? “If I have a dog in a foster home and it doesn’t get along with the other dog, that’s already there, I know that we can’t put this dog in an environment that already has a dog.” FHDR’s adoption process is very thorough and home visits continued on page 2
Michael M.