VALDOSTA — Becky Morgan, Humane Society foster coordinator, knew because of COVID-19, shelters were going to have an even harder time finding homes for pets.

“We decided to try and pull as many cats and dogs out of the shelter,” Morgan said. “We were able to pull all the cats and at this point have pulled all available dogs.”

By pulling so many animals from the shelter, the available foster homes filled up quickly so Morgan reached out to Dr. Amanda Hall, owner of the Southern Hound Club, a pet boarding business, to see if she could foster dogs there.

Hall gladly took up the chance to help.

“We have the space here,” Hall said. “Boarding is essentially zero because of the pandemic and we have the employees and we wanted to be able to give back and help the animal community as much as possible.”

The partnership was a win-win. The dogs would get a chance to be fostered and receive obedience training and socialization at the Southern Hound Club and Hall could continue to operate the business.

“I had laid off one employee but this is giving her the opportunity to come back to work,” Hall said.

Saralyn Wallace is trainer at Southern Hound Club and said she is excited for the opportunity to give these dogs a unique chance.

“If any of these dogs have behavioral issues, we will be able to work with that in a way that maybe families wouldn’t be,” Wallace said.

Morgan said the Humane Society still needs more fosters as the shelter will begin filling up again.

In the last two weeks, Morgan has pulled 35 cats and 18 dogs from the shelter for foster placement.

People interested in fostering can reach out to the Humane Society directly and leave a message, they can leave a message on Facebook or go to the website and fill out an application and someone will get back with them, Morgan said.

“It takes a village, it takes everyone in the community being able to come together to make a difference in these animals’ lives.”