GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. - Shelters across the country have dealt with an increase in pets surrendered after the pandemic, and with the overflow, the importance of foster parents for animals has grown.

Marisa Burntitus is fosters dogs in Berkshire County, making sure dogs can get a new life. Kerey, her current foster, came from Perfect Pets Rescue in Georgia, where they save dogs and cats from high-kill shelters in the South and transfer them to their fosters based in New York.

"They rescue them and they ship them up here to us, and I pick them up out in Kingston, and then I essentially give them a home rather than living in a pound until they find their forever home," Burntitus said.

Burntitus takes care of dogs like Kerey, making sure they have what's needed to keep them healthy and safe until adopted. She has fostered four dogs in the past two months. 

There's a process Burntitus had to go through before being able to foster dogs.

"To be a foster it's like adopting a dog," she said. "You'll fill out an application, they check your vet references and your personal references, just to make sure you'll be a good home for the dog , and then you're approved. And we are all in a Facebook group together, we chat about the dogs, figure out transports, pickups, things like that, and it's really a great community of support and of dog lovers, of people who just want to help basically."

Burntitus said Kerey is great with people and cats, and is ready to find his new family.

"He is very loyal, very loving, he loves to snuggle," she said. "He did great on a walk yesterday, he does well on his leash. He's definitely doing great with potty training and learning to go outside and he loves hanging out with us at night. He'll lay on the couch with us, he'll kinda snuggle and hang out."

Burntitus plans to keep finding homes to as many dogs as she can.

The need for foster homes for dog's is always there, and anyone interested in signing up to volunteer or wanting to adopt a pet can check out Perfect Pets Rescue for more information.