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By DONNAMY STEELE | Special to the Reporter

ALABASTER – Since opening in 2019, Allie’s Hope for Paws has placed 54 homeless dogs into foster homes. To keep the process going, assistant director Jade Giles said the organization is in need of donations and more foster families.

When COVID-19 hit, Giles said the number of foster families willing to take a pet into their home and lives became limited. As a result, finding foster homes is the organization’s main concern.

“We really need homes that are able to work with puppies right now,” Giles said. “We need people who are willing to potty train and work on crate training, basic obedience training and teach puppies how to be a good dog and not chew up furniture and play with toys instead of chewing on slippers. We haven’t been able to take in as many dogs as we would like to because of lack of fosters.”

Allie’s Hope for Paws Rescue started its journey in 2019. They are a foster based animal shelter, meaning that they can only hold dogs based on the number of foster homes they have available to them.

Giles said the idea for the mission sparked when they realized how overcrowded homeless animals were in shelters.

“Seeing the overcrowding, massive number of homeless dogs in shelters and the overpopulation in our state due to lack of spaying and neutering are the main things we want to help reduce,” Giles said. “We want to take dogs in our community who are homeless and neglected and give them better care and a perfect home.”

This organization runs on local support and donations, Giles said. Without the necessary funds supplied, the nonprofit would be unable to pay for the basic needs of each pet.

“We need everything from food donations to money donations to cover our vet bills,” Giles said. “It costs us roughly $300 just on basic things like shots, heartworm testing, microchipping, spaying and neutering. When we get dogs that are heartworm positive, that always costs much more because they always end up needing different treatments that are expensive.”

Leashes, collars and dog crates are just a few of the many other essential items the organization is in need of. Each item that is purchased can be used by foster families associated with the Allie’s Hope for Paws, Giles said.

“Anything we need to foster, we purchase,” Giles said. “So if you ask me today ‘Can I foster a dog?’ I’m going to say yes, let’s see what requirements you meet.”

Giles said some dogs require a full length fenced in yard and some can be leash walked, while some of the puppies might need pee pads and others might be house trained.

The supplies are given on a case-by-case basis, meaning that each dog has its own specific needs that are met by the foster program and families.

Once the pet is placed with a foster family, the family does not have to provide anything more than love and care for the pet, Giles said, unless they choose to purchase extra toys or supplies.

“Once you meet those requirements, everything you need to take care of that dog in your home is provided for you,” Giles said. “We’ve had people offer to use their own things at home or buy more, but for the most part we provide you with those things if you don’t already have them. We always provide whatever it is the special need of the dog is.”

According to Giles, the number of dogs the organization is able to foster at a time relies on the number of families who are willing to foster with them.

Each dog is microchipped, up to date on vaccinations and given a clean bill of health before they are considered an adoptable pet.

The $150 adoption fee helps cover the expensive process. To foster or adopt a pet, visit AHFPdogrescue.com and fill out an application. Donations are collected through PayPal at PayPal.Me/AHFPdogrescue or VENMO at AHFPDogRescue.