According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in 2024, approximately 607,000 animals were euthanized, and 5.8 million dogs and cats entered shelters in the United States. Often, animals are euthanized due to overcrowding, a lack of resources in shelters, or medical conditions. Facing overcrowding in November, Multnomah County Animal Services (MCAS) transferred 19.4% of its animals to other shelters and rescues, highlighting the importance of community partner agencies. Volunteers make it possible for shelters and rescues to operate and take care of the surplus of animals —- 8,079 hours of volunteer work helped MCAS during November. Animal shelters and rescues around Portland are trying to combat this issue of homelessness and euthanization by taking animals in to be fostered and adopted.
Agave Dogs Rescue in Portland aims to help dogs at risk of euthanasia, strays, and homeless dogs. States such as California and Texas have a higher animal overcrowding issue, with most of Agave’s dogs coming from those two states. Agave is a foster-based rescue, typically overseeing the fostering of 10-20 dogs at a time. These dogs are placed in committed, reliable, and patient foster homes that will train and care for them until they are adopted. “We value the importance of quality rescue over quantity rescue. It’s possible to overcommit in rescue and accept too many dogs, which can compromise their care,” says Meredith Nolan, founder and director of Agave. Nolan founded this rescue on the premise of ensuring the well-being of dogs in the community, emphasizing how they can enhance their adoptive families’ everyday lives.
Online promotion plays a significant role in getting animals adopted and engaging the community. By posting cute photos on Instagram or Facebook, rescues may catch the eye of a possible adopter, foster home, or volunteer. Websites like Petfinder allow those interested in adoption to search for specific pet traits, helping to create a lasting match.
One Tail at a Time PDX (OTAT PDX), a dog shelter located in Southeast Portland, promotes fostering and adoption through open houses where potential fosters can learn about the process. OTAT PDX is active on Facebook groups and keeps its social media updated to alert the community of events and new dog arrivals.
Different shelters and rescues have different values and beliefs regarding where they get their animals. Animal Aid PDX works with local counties like Multnomah County and Clackamas County to relieve their high stress and demand. Animal Aid’s mission is to “enhance the welfare of companion animals through individualized care and lifelong commitment,” says Dog Program Coordinator Allyssa Elledge. Animal Aid believes in the importance of serving the local community first — they prioritize taking the load off of local county animal departments before taking in out-of-state animals. “Fostering animals from your local community rather than out of state is a great way to support your neighbors and build community connection,” states Elledge.
The adoption process can include home visits — depending on the shelter — and reference checks. This ensures that pets are a good fit for the families that they are placed with and will be well cared for, with force–free reinforcement training and annual veterinary checkups. Occasionally, adopters will decide, upon meeting the animal, that it isn’t compatible with their lifestyle or family, and return the animal to the rescue, where it is placed back in a foster home.
Many rescues and shelters rely on foster homes to care for animals prior to adoption. However, this means shelters may only be able to take in as many animals as they have foster homes. Fosters can be any age, income, or home situation as long as the animal has what it needs to thrive and learn. The shelter will provide all the supplies and cover all the expenses for foster families.
“The goal is not to have a job anymore,” explains April Saban, current programs manager at OTAT PDX. She hopes that there won’t be a need for animal rescues in the future, because big shelters won’t be overflowing. As of now, that isn’t the case. Though individuals may not have the lifestyle or capabilities to adopt or foster a pet, they can still get involved by volunteering, donating to their local shelter, and learning about spaying and neutering. Nolan strongly urges everyone to “visit their local shelter, see the situation, feel the stressed energy from the dogs begging to get out, and ask if there are any volunteer opportunities or ways to help.”
