Salem Doggie Meet-And-Greet Hopes To Pair Pups With Perfect Adopters

SALEM, MA — For the past 12 years, Marblehead resident Liz Weinstein has worked with dozens of local volunteers and hundreds of foster families across New England with the goal of finding forever homes for dogs in need of adoption.

There were times — such as the COVID-19 pandemic when many people worked from home and were searching for companionship — when it was easier to place dogs in states like Massachusetts as shelters in other parts of the country remained full. But in recent months, even local adoptions have sputtered just as shelters in the southern part of the United States are critically overextended.

"Adoptions have slowed a lot lately," Weinstein, the Meet & Greet Director for Great Dog Rescue New England, told Patch on Tuesday. "Summer is usually slow anyway but every rescue is swimming upstream. Our southern rescues are really on the front line. There is such an overpopulation down south."

Great Dog Rescue New England, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, helps bring abandoned or rescued dogs from other parts of the country —mostly in the South — up to New England where they are fostered and made available for adoption. Local volunteers vet applicants and then try their best to pair them up with the right pup in hopes of making a lasting connection.

"We don't want to take a dog out of a bad situation down South and put them in them another bad situation," she said. "(The application and interview process is) thorough but it's not invasive. We want to place a dog with the right owner. We don't want to place a dog with someone who is great for a couch potato with a dog that needs to go on a hike for two hours a day.

"We want to properly set people up as parents."

As part of that process, and since its dogs are fostered instead of at a shelter that can be visited in groups, Great Dog Rescue New England occasionally pairs up with local businesses for "Meet & Greets" like the one being held at Creature Comforts Doggie Daycare on Broadway in Salem this Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.

Those 10 years old and older can come and meet several dogs to see if they make a "love connection" with a potential adoptee.

"Every month it's different dogs and different people," Weinstein said. "You never know what you are going to get."

Weinstein said the age restriction is to keep things calm for everyone and make sure the adoption clinic does not turn into a "petting zoo." She said no dogs are sent home with prospective owners on the day of the meet-and-greets but that if a connection is made representatives are there to begin the approval process for a hopeful adoption.

The available dogs are featured on GDRNE's Facebook page and webpage, which also includes the application process.

"Everyone wants the beagles, which is wonderful, and a lot of people want puppies," Weinstein said. "But there are lots of other dogs that make great pets too."

The benefit of the local fostering model is that GDRNE volunteers get a chance to see the dogs in homes and better determine their ability to be comfortable around children or other pets — as opposed to shelters when they are often on their own, or if they are sight-unseen coming from a different part of the country.

"Some people think that all rescue dogs are broken dogs," she said. "But they are not broken dogs."

While GDRNE's main goal is to adopt out as many dogs as possible — "We are the only business whose goal it is to go out of business," Weinstein said. — the inevitability of more dogs in need of homes means that along with adopters the organization also needs more homes willing to foster dogs coming in on transport, or puppies until they are old enough for adoption.

"Without enough fosters, we can't bring the dogs up," Weinstein said. "That's the story with every rescue. We've had a great experience with families with kids where, once the kids know they are not keeping the puppies, they provide a great environment for a dog foster."

She advises those considering fostering for GDRNE not to do it "because you are dog shopping for your home" but did allow that about 75 percent of those who regularly foster for the organization eventually adopt one of their fosters.

"It's hard not to," said Weinstein, who has four dogs of her own.

Those interested in fostering or adopting a rescue dog can learn more information about Great Dog New England Rescue here or stop by Creature Comforts Doggie Daycare in Salem on Saturday.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)