New Hampshire

Helping Shelter Animals Who Can't Be Adopted

Our national Clear the Shelters event is this Saturday, and there are some dogs at the NHSPCA that desperately need your help, but they're not up for adoption.

Taking home a different pet will have a trickle-down effect that could save some animals' lives.

Freda and Jill are two German shepherds that have become best friends. Since January, they've spent every day in a kennel together at the Stratham shelter.

"Being raised in a kennel environment is very difficult," said NHSPCA Executive Director Lisa Dennison. "None of them should be sheltered for that long."

They're part of a group of 36 shepherds all being held as evidence in an animal cruelty case out of Bristol.

"These animals are in protective custody. They are not available for adoption, and we don't know when they will be," Dennison explained.

Until then, the burden is on the shelter to pay for their care, and the bills have racked up over the last eight months.

"It's been almost a quarter of a million dollars, $250,000," Dennison said.

They've burned through their rescue fund and are relying on the public's generosity.

"That fund is not only for these shepherds, it's for all animals of cruelty and neglect, both large and small," Dennison explained.

Even though the German shepherds aren't up for adoption, Dennison says when you take home a different pet, your adoption fee will help the shelter care for all the dogs stuck in holding.

"That adoption fee becomes part of our resources that we can then reallocate elsewhere," she said. "Reducing the population here helps overall."

During our Clear the Shelters event on Saturday, you'll be able to take your pick.

"We will have 31 cats and 15 kittens, 11 dogs, of which some are puppies, two hamsters, two mice and three rabbits," Dennison said.

Finding your new best friend will help other best friends, like Freda and Jill, as they wait for a judge to decide their fate.

"We long for the day when they will be released," Dennison said.

Doors open at the NHSPCA on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Contact Us