LEXINGTON, Ky. — Spark of Madison County has a new Foster for Recovery program to help alleviate concerns for pet owners wanting to start their recovery journey.
Many people face barriers preventing them from focusing on or moving forward in the recovery process. Spark wants to help pet owners in particular begin their journeys without worrying about where their pets will go.
Felisha Centers is a Casey’s Law advocate with Spark. Casey’s Law is a substance abuse intervention program that helps people get into treatment. At the recovery center in downtown Richmond, Centers helps walk-ins and members with all aspects of their services and programs, including resources for pets.
“Most people, if they have food for themselves, before they eat they’ll make sure their pet is fed,” said Centers. While it could be a simple decision for some seeking treatment for substance addiction, choosing to enter recovery can also mean giving up their pet.
It’s why Spark Executive Director Laura Helvey and Kristall Morris, who owns a pet-sitting business, launched a Foster for Recovery program. The program finds temporary pet-friendly homes for owners going to treatment. Right now, the group says more outside support is needed.
“Finding a house with multiple dogs that would be okay with the new dog or finding someone that doesn’t have any pets to foster, to take an animal in when they don’t even have them themselves,” Centers said.
Animals must first see a vet, be spayed or neutered, and have a continued relationship with their owners to ensure they return to their care to be eligible for the program.
“I don’t know why we didn’t think about it previously. You just don’t. And it was like, this is a barrier. This is a true barrier,” Helvey explained. “So Kristall talked about it. She has a pet-sitting business. And we said, okay, we’re going to do this.”
She says it prevents adding trauma for individuals who are already handling a lot. Since June, Helvey, Morris and Centers have worked around the clock to care for multiple pets.
“My house has been full of a lot of dogs for a few months now, and we’ve got all but two of them adopted out,” Helvey shared.
“Those people, they could lose their life within a day, you know, using a substance that could kill them. So that’s, you know, that’s why it’s so important,” Centers said.
They say pet supplies, financial donations and especially volunteers who can foster pets are critical needs right now.