Rescued Paws hosts adoption and awareness event

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Rescued Paws at Alpine Foundation hosted an adoption and fundraising event in Strathmore on Oct. 1 called Pawsitive Movement for paws, to raise awareness and money for the organization.

“We are the local rescue for dogs in the Strathmore area. We have roughly 16 dogs in our foster program right now that we are just basically trying to find suitable fosters for, as well as to rehome,” said organization/owner, Kyla Janes. “We are also trying to raise money because we are at the point where we need to expand and start building a building.”

Janes added there has been a large influx of dogs in need of fosters and forever homes in a relatively brief amount of time. 

The goal for Pawsitive Movement, as well as similar occasions which are in the pipeline, is to increase awareness of the organization for incoming dogs, as well as to encourage locals to consider fostering and rescuing. 

“We have, I think, in the last six weeks, had 15 dogs come in. A lot of them have been rehomed at this point or put into fosters so we can still help some other dogs, but we are finding more and more dogs that are being surrendered for just dropped off,” said Janes. “Up until now, we have been a sort of silent rehoming group within my business, but what we are trying to do right now is create awareness and a presence within the town.”

For those who are first time dog owners, especially who are thinking of raising a puppy, it is important to be aware of the commitment, as well as the needs of the animal you are bringing home. 

Janes did not wish to discourage folks from considering adoption, but rather to encourage them to research ahead of time and speak to other dog owners about how best to care for their pet. 

“There are a lot of first-time dog owners and there are a lot of questions that people are just Googling and thinking it is really easy to raise a puppy,” said Janes. “We suggest that you need to socialize your dog and coming to puppy classes, doing pack walks, doing stuff like that — just exposing your dog and having them out into public is really important.”

Inversely, she explained that bringing a dog home can be an extremely rewarding experience.

“There is a lot of mental support there. With PTSD, anxiety, stress, it helps to lower all of those, and your mental health is usually a lot better. Dogs, and pets in general, can help a lot with mental health, and benefit your family life as well,” explained Janes. “The benefits of fostering or adopting from a rescue is that you’re not only helping dogs that may have been potentially left on the side of the road, but you’re saving a life and helping yourself.”

Pawsative movement allowed potential fosters or adopters a chance to meet some of the dogs available for adoption, as well as to take them for a group walk, of which all local dog owners were also welcomed to bring out their own canine family members.

Janes said to keep an eye out for more local adoption and awareness events that will continue to pop up throughout the community.