Published on: Friday, June 17, 2011

By Greg Masters

Wren, a 52-pound Labrador mix, strained against her leash outside the Beltsville Petco on a hot Saturday afternoon. She and about ten other dogs lined the sidewalk, waiting for homes.

But no one filled out an application or showed any definite interest in the dogs at the adoption show, said Sue Silver, dog coordinator for Partnership for Animal Welfare. In all likelihood, all of the dogs will soon return to a local Petco or PetSmart to try again.

Volunteers for PAW, a Greenbelt-based nonprofit cat and dog rescue group, want the dogs in their care to put their best paws forward at adoption shows. But that is particularly hard for Wren to do.

“She’s terrible at these shows, barking at the other dogs,” Wren’s foster caregiver, Bob Klein of Ellicott City, said.

As he spoke, Wren jumped and sent a chair skidding. “Case in point,” he said, laughing.

“This is a stressful environment for them,” said Suzanne Mattingly, of College Park, PAW’s dog medical coordinator. 

Wren was rescued from the Prince George’s County animal shelter last year after giving birth to puppies. Now in her second foster home, Wren has been with PAW longer than any of the other dogs at Saturday’s show.

PAW, which holds adoption shows at Petco and PetSmart stores in suburban Maryland several times a month, has seen a sharp drop in the number of adoptions this year, Silver said.

“It’s not just this rescue,” Silver said. “As far as I know, adoptions are down at a lot of rescues this year.”

Silver sees a relationship between the number of adoptions and the economy. In 2010, PAW adopted out nearly 100 dogs.

“Last year when the economy was really, really bad, we did really well,” Silver said. “This year it’s going right down. We’re having a very hard time. And the economy is improving.”

“My theory,” she added, “is that when the economy is really bad, people are not going to spend a lot of money on purebred dogs. They’re coming to the rescues.”

Besides caring for 25 to 30 dogs, PAW volunteers act as foster caregivers for 10 to 15 cats. While about half the dogs have foster caregivers like Klein, the other half are kept in kennels at special rates.

At the adoption show, Silver stood next to Addie, a German Shepherd/Doberman mix.

“See how skinny she is?” Silver asked. “She’s not doing well in the kennel. And we don’t have enough fosters to go around.”

Addie was rescued from a shelter in Cumberland just after Christmas.

“It was a high-kill shelter, but they’re trying to work with rescues to get more dogs out,” Silver said. “That’s important.”

“We are desperately in need of good fosters,” she added, while acknowledging the challenge of fostering. “You have to look after the dog and then give it away. It’s hard for people to do.”

About half the dogs at Saturday’s show were rescued from Prince George’s County animal shelter.

“I don’t know the kill rate (at the shelter),” Mattingly said. “I don’t think I want to know, but it’s really high.”

Mattingly said it is a challenge to keep up with the number of relinquished pets that owners bring to the Prince George’s County shelter.

“I walk out with two new PAW dogs, and there’s the new intake door, and I see two more going in. It’s very disheartening,” she said.

For Wren, meanwhile, the challenge is self-control. After seeing her jump and bark in excitement, one passerby remarked, “I understand. How would you feel with all these dogs and people walking around?”

“I agree,” responded Klein, “but it’s a shame for her.”