Dog days of winter
Parker's Animal Rescue in dire straits as puppies keep coming, fosters don't

Dog days of winter

Lisa Parker with two of her recent intakes. Parker takes in between 80-100 dogs a year to be fostered locally, most from the shelter in Espanola, N.M. Lately, there have not been enough fosters to care for them until they get adopted./Courtesy photo

Missy Votel - 01/16/2025

Did you make a New Year’s resolution to better the world for humankind? Or dogkind? Well, here’s your chance to make good on that promise. And even if you aren’t the resolutions type, it’s still a great way to get warm fuzzies – and maybe a few slobbery kisses – from something warm and fuzzy.

Durango’s nonprofit, mostly-dog rescue (they do get the occasional kitten. And parakeet – just kidding) Parker’s Animal Rescue is in dire need of dog fosters.

“I hate the word ‘desperate,’ but we are in a crisis,” PAR’s executive director Lisa Parker said Tuesday. “We haven’t been able to find fosters for two months.”

For those not in the know, PAR, formerly known as Lisa Parker’s Puppies, works on a foster system, where puppies are put into local homes until forever homes can be found. Since starting about 10 years ago, PAR has found homes for about 1,100 animals that may otherwise have met an unlucky fate.

Typically, PAR has about 100 dogs a year that need foster care. However, last year, Parker could only find homes for 80, and so far, 2025 is off to a less-than-stellar start, with only six dogs in foster homes as opposed to the average of 16-18.

“Usually, we kind of wane in November and December; it’s the holidays and people are travelling,” she said. “Then in January, everybody is willing to foster again. But this year, it didn’t happen, and I was like ‘oh sh**.’”

Pardon her French, but particularly worrisome is the arrival of four new (adorable fluffball!) puppies this week for whom she has yet to find foster homes. (For the record, Parker refers to this special variety of dog as “Durango purebreds.”)

“You can make all the pleas you want on Facebook and Instagram, and people are like, ‘She’ll figure it out. She always does,’” Parker said. “But, we’re about to go under. Obviously not financially…but I have four puppies coming in and not one foster. I turned the heat on in my garage, in case I have to take them.”

Parker gets most of her puppies from the shelter in Espanola, N.M. “We’re pulling from shelters that are even higher-need than local shelters,” she said.

Over the last several years, she has built a solid relationship with the shelter there. “They spay and neuter them, they parvo test them, they giardia test them, they deworm them – they do everything. And they drive them to us,” she said. “They’re just doing it right. It’s a good relationship.”

How to save a life

However – and this is where we would cue the Sarah McLachlan song or maybe Primus’ “Too Many Puppies” – without fosters, those fluffballs may not go on to know what it’s like to swim in the Animas River, frolic in the mountains or prance around in a bandanna and answer to a name like “Klondike” or “Everest.”

“Every shelter has to humanely euthanize,” Parker said. “I never use the word ‘kill,’ because it is not fair. It’s just so hard.”

In addition to that, post-pandemic owner surrenders are still at a high level, she said.

Here’s another gut punch: According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), in 2023, about 3.2 million dogs entered shelters in the United States. This was a 0.2% increase over 2022. And while the number of dogs entering shelters is remaining relatively steady, the number of adoptions is not keeping pace. Economic factors like job loss, inflation and housing are making it difficult for owners to keep pets or adopt them in the first place.

That’s the doggy downer. But now for the puppy upper. “Fostering just one time saves a life,” said Parker. She points out that if every PAR adopter fostered just once, that would be 1,000 dogs fostered.

“It’s a great way to give back, and even people who didn’t adopt from us, every person who fosters, that’s huge,” she said. “Our community’s not big, but I think there’s enough people willing to do this.”

For the foster curious, there are oodles of foster testimonials on PAR’s website, www.parkersanimalrescue .com. PAR tries to offer as much support as possible, providing food, leashes, collars, crates, blankies, treats, toys, medical care and vet visits, fill-in day care and puppy play times at their facility, and, most importantly, behavioral advice.

Looking for a forever home

And speaking of the PAR facility, Parker said the nonprofit’s recent capital campaign garnered enough money to buy a larger facility than their existing space on N. Main. The new space could house up to 12 dogs, although she will still rely heavily on the foster model, becasue she feels it is best for dogs to be in a home setting.

“I do want to remain foster-based,” she said. “That’s why our return rate is less than 1 percent. It’s very powerful.”

However, finding a spot for the new facility has been a little like, well, a dog chasing its own tail.

“We have the money, but it’s hard with the zoning,” Parker said. “We’re classified as a kennel, and there’s very little space left for kennels. We’ve put in a dozen feasibility or change-of-use requests but haven’t been able to get into a spot. We’ve been looking for over a year.”

Farther down the road, Parker envisions a second nonprofit, sort of a “puppy pipeline,” if you will, that will connect shelters with space or special demands (say small dogs) with shelters that are overflowing (or, say, have a lot of chihuahuas).

But in the meantime, Parker said even if she has to scale back the number of dogs she can accept, she will continue the good fight – looking for foster and forever homes, for the dogs and her operation. “It’s great. I love it, you’re making a difference,” she said of her 10-year labor of love.

“To see a dog happy and relaxed in their foster home is the greatest joy of my life.” 

And for those would-be fosters still sitting on the fence, maybe it’s time to stand up. It’s just a few weeks out of your life, and who knows? You might even enjoy the warm fuzzies so much, you never sit on the fence again.

“There’s always the option, ‘That went great. I’d totally do it again,’” she said.

For more on fostering (or adopting!) or to fill out a foster application, go to: parkersanimalrescue.com.

 

 

For more on fostering (or adopting!) or to fill out a foster application, go to www.parkersanimalrescue.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Dog days of winter

Parker with some pups at a recent Friday afternoon puppy party. The parties allow the dogs to build social skills and blow off steam while giving potential adopters a chance to meet them./Courtesy photo