Connecticut has taken in hundreds of rescue dogs from the South, thanks to animal groups operating in this state.
The Rescue Dog Village is just one organization here in Connecticut, and part of a growing trend, that is helping to save the lives of dogs from out of state that would otherwise be euthanized, according to a report in the Connecticut Post.
However some in-state rescue groups, such as the Animal Rescue Foundation, question the need to rescue out-of-state dogs when there are so many in Connecticut that need help.
"People think when they're adopting a dog from down South they're doing a greater good," Nicole Cammack, one of the directors of Animal Rescue Foundation in Terryville that has 20 dogs, told the Post. "It really does hurt us. People don't realize that," she said. "It's important to fix the problem at home (in Connecticut). There's a homeless animal epidemic."
When I decided to start fostering dogs for a rescue, I looked for one that did adoption days for local dogs. Of the many rescue groups I looked into all but two imported most if not all of their dogs from the South. I wound up working with one of the rescues that saves dogs from the high-kill shelter in New York City. Yes, I do feel sorry for all the dogs killed in the southern shelters as I do for the dogs killed here. But do not believe that sending these dogs up North is the only or best solution to that problem. The best solution is to improve the situation down South. And don’t believe it when they say the dog problem down there can’t be fixed. If Foothills Humane Society in North Carolina could improve in a few years from less than 60% of the animals making it out of the shelter alive to 97% in 2011 other shelters can also do it.