Happy Feet Pet Rescue helps pets find fosters and forever homes.
Your new best friend is just around the corner in Holt.
Happy Feet Pet Rescue, a 501(c)(3) organization focused on foster pet care, recently opened their new building in Delhi Township. This new space is their “Command Central,” where they house incoming pets, look after pets when fosters are sick or out of town, and more. The building has separate play areas, pens, and kennels for cats and dogs – including a television set to a relaxing channel for dogs to watch.
Co-president Patience Cole started Happy Feet Pet Rescue with her co-owner after both worked at a different organization and wanted to focus more on the rescue community. “We really wanted to do a lot of community outreach, owner surrenders, and the like. We wanted to focus in and make that our niche,” she said. “So we started Happy Feet Pet Rescue so we could focus in more on the local community.”
Happy Feet Pet Rescue aims to raise awareness on pet ownership, assist in temporary homes for dogs and cats, and help match rescue animals with the best homes possible. Their priority is caring for each animal in need, without judgment to help both the animals and humans involved.
“In our society, sometimes we look at people who surrender their pets as pariahs. We didn’t want it to be like that. Sometimes life happens, and sometimes everybody needs help. We wanted to create a judgment free zone,” Cole said. “If you needed to surrender your pet, it doesn’t matter to us why. That’s a decision you’ve come to, and if it’s in the best interest of everybody, then we want to be able to help when and where we can.”
Happy Feet Pet Rescue has each owner surrendering fill out an application, letting them know what the pet is like, what their vetting status is, are they good with other animals or children, and more. This allows them to match the pet up with the appropriate foster home.
“It’s really important to us that we are very intentional about where we place our animals, and that we are holding them long enough to get to know them, and place them in the appropriate homes.”
Once the pet is placed in a foster home, they are required to stay there for at least two weeks to ensure their vetting is up to date and to get to know the pets. “Day one and day twelve, that pet is going to be different. It takes them time to decompress and settle down,” Cole said. “A cat may be huddled up in a corner under a bed shaking the first seven days. But on day twelve, it might be bouncing off the walls like a lunatic.”
Cole sees adopting from a foster rescue like Happy Feet as an advantage for new owners. “When you adopt from us, you know you’re getting a pet that has been in our homes,” she said. Fosters can fill them in on their new pet – their likes and dislikes, personality, and any unique characteristics.
For future pet owners, Cole suggests thinking hard about their ideal pet and how the pet would fit in their life. “Ask a lot of questions and get to know everything you can about that pet before you commit to adoption,” she said.
To learn more about Happy Feet Pet Rescue and to get involved, visit their website at www.happyfeetpetrescue.com and follow along on Facebook and Instagram @HappyFeetPetRescue. The best way to get in touch is through email at HappyFeetPetRescue@gmail.com.