The Franklin Animal Shelter is currently at capacity for pets and is looking for people to foster or adopt a cat or dog.

Board member Jennifer Ach spoke to the shelter’s mission.

“We have a mission to find them homes that are safe, secure and loving, and we work very hard to ensure that they are healthy and have a safe environment while they’re here,” she said.

The shelter is small, only able to hold eight dogs and 20 cats onsite, and can be overwhelmed quickly. Toward the end of each month, people with expiring leases or transiting to a new place may not be able to bring their pet. This can cause a flurry of surrendered pets. Animals also come in due to neglect or abuse, and the shelter recovers stray animals, too. Board member Whitney Vachon said the shelter takes responsibility for the pets once they arrive.

“We would like to be a voice for animals who don’t have one,” she said.

The Franklin Animal Shelter holds pets on average two to eight weeks, and some stay longer. They are a no-kill shelter, meaning the only animals to receive euthanasia have certain conditions that significantly diminish their quality of life, or dangerous behavioral issues. But those are often worked out, and board member Lisa Caputo said they do what they can to help the pets.

“There’s some that have quirks that we need to work with, but we try and get some help. Whether it’s bringing them to a trainer or getting a foster home,” she said.

Pets typically leave the shelter through foster or adoption. While the shelter is always looking for people to adopt, they also need volunteers to foster pets. Fostering means someone temporarily cares for a pet from the shelter in their home. The shelter pays for whatever medical or behavioral needs are required for the dog or cat, and also pays for food and other necessities.

Putting pets in foster homes not only alleviates space in the shelter, it can also help pets who need certain environments for medical recovery, or need help behaviorally.

“Typically, you can foster because they’re behaviorally not doing well in the shelter,” Caputo said. “It’s much better to have them at home, get to see the real animal, and then we can better tell people that are interested in adopting what the animal is like in a home.”

The shelter is looking for more foster parents. The application is available at franklinanimalshelter.com.

Ultimately, adoption is important to ensure a pet has a permanent home. Pets ready for adoption, and associated fees, can be seen on the shelter’s website and social media including Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

“We are so grateful to the communities that we serve because they keep stepping up to adopt these amazing animals,” Ach said.

The shelter is also in need of volunteers. Tasks for volunteers include playing with pets, walking dogs and cleaning, as well as office work.

“We can find something,” Vachon said. “I think there’s a lot of ways that you can give your time to our organization.”

The application to volunteer can also be found at franklinanimalshelter.com.

Another way to help the shelter is through donations. Because the shelter pays for all pet needs, including vaccines, any spay and neuter services required, and stabilizing medical care, those expenses can be over $77,000 a year.

“We don’t operate at the scale of other shelters and humane societies in the area, which means that we also need a lot of support from the community in terms of fundraising, volunteer work and foster homes that enables us to operate, to keep the lights on,” Ach said.

The shelter also holds fundraisers throughout the year. Funspot is hosting a Bowl-A-Thon at 6 p.m., on Friday, Dec. 6. Participants can put together teams of four and must register in advance. The registration fee includes two strings of bowling for each team, bowling shoes rental and pizza. After registering online, teams should arrive between 5:30 and 6 p.m. There will also be a 50/50 raffle and a “halftime show.” Bowlers are encouraged to wear ugly sweaters. Sponsorships are also available.

To register, visit franklinanimalshelter.com/bowling.

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