Nonprofit changes lives, furry and otherwise

It is not an overstatement to say that Furry Farm Rescue changes lives.

“We adopted from them five years ago,” foster parent turned adopter Kelly Costello said. “It’s the best thing I have ever done in my entire life. I lost my daughter to a drunk driver, and I know it sounds silly, but it’s really helped me with the grieving process.”

Costello was encouraged to foster a puppy by a friend, even though she had never really had animals. Her parents weren’t pet people, and she had a busy work life that prevented her from caring for a pet.

Now retired, Costello decided she’d foster through Furry Farm Rescue and see if a dog was a good fit.

“It’s a wonderful way to get your feet wet and see if you are up to the task,” Costello said. “When people don’t know what they’re getting themselves into, it’s good to be guided.”

Furry Farm requires a puppy and dog discipline training course for adoptions, so puppy parents are trained and prepared to take on a dog.

“Also guinea pigs, goats, horses, rabbits, you name it,” Furry Farm founder Stephanie Devine said. “If we have a home we’ll foster them. We’ve done a series of goats, and we have a feral cat program. But we focus on dogs, that’s our priority. We concentrate on dogs that need extra, like medical attention or special care.”

Buddy, Costello’s lab and Staffordshire terrier mix, was an emergency rescue with his four siblings. The dog was four months old and at least 10 pounds underweight when Costello received the animal, and had white fur around its eyes, a sign of malnutrition.

Devine partners with a network of local support services, like local veterinarian Dr. Laura Talaga of the Northwestern Spay and Neuter Alliance, who helps with low-cost spay and neutering procedures for all animals. Or Method K-9 owner Stephanie Vichinsky, who specializes in training aggressive dogs.

“The shelters don’t always have the budgets to tackle the most challenging animals,” Devine said. “We can do a surgery. A lot of times we’ll take in dogs that were hit by a car and need surgery and a rescue.”

Furry Farm Rescue has been using a foster-to-adopt program since it was started out of Devine’s home in Rathdrum in 2017. Devine started the nonprofit from a passion, and she and her team volunteer a significant amount of time and resources to housing animals.

“This is my life,” Devine said. “Most of my free time is spent with adoptions.”

While there is an adoption fee that varies based on age, it covers the cost of expenses. Furry Farm also covers operating costs through community donations and support, like kennels, blankets or toys.

“It’s a labor of love. No one is compensated,” Devine said. “We do provide supplies our foster homes need. But we have to have limitations, right? We can’t say yes to everybody. We need more community involvement in general.”

Furry Farm Rescue can foster around 14 dogs in its care at any given time. The organization orchestrated 120 adoptions for cats and dogs in 2022.

“Return rates to shelters are pretty high,” Devine said. “And our return rate is under 3%. It’s not first come first serve, it’s best fit for the dog.”

Devine and her team of volunteers interview all prospective adopters and inspect people’s homes to pair people with their best partners.

“If people can’t be patient enough to work through our paperwork, they probably won’t be patient with a dog,” Devine said.

But for people like Costello, who haven't had a pet, that process is also helpful.

“I would recommend Furry Farm Rescue to anybody,” she said. “They really did their due diligence. I think it’s a great way to step into being a dog owner. What I really loved is we were able to step into it as fosters. That’s really important because people don’t know what they’re getting into.”

And while the cost was nominal, the reward for Costello was huge.

“Rescue dogs, they appreciate the fact that they’ve been rescued,” she said. “And they just give you back 1,000 times more than you give them. He’s just a huge part of our life.”

Costello isn’t a perfect puppy parent, but she does the best she can with the lessons she got from Furry Farm.

“He is spoiled,” she said. “But he deserves it. He’s a really well-loved dog.”