Griffin ’26 supports his local dog shelter.
Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Regional Dog Shelter is based in my hometown of Montague, MA, and serves 21 area towns. Their mission is to “provide a safe, welcoming facility for stray, lost or unwanted dogs and find homes best suited for each dog.”
When a lost dog is brought to the facility, every effort is made to find its family. The staff reaches out to local police, vets, and other shelters, as well as through social media posts, to see if someone has reported a lost dog. While their owners are being located, the shelter cares for them by providing shelter, food, and if necessary, medicine. Sometimes, despite their best efforts, the owners might not be found. In those cases, the shelter seeks to find foster or adoptive families so they can enjoy life in the comfort of a new home. They continue to care for the animals until a suitable home can be found. In 2023, they helped nearly 300 dogs.
The shelter is run largely by volunteers, called the Friends of the Franklin County Regional Dog Shelter. Besides providing the dogs with basic needs, volunteers play with them to keep them happy, take them on daily walks, and go on longer hikes once a week in the nearby forest. Volunteers also help keep the facility clean and maintain the grounds. The shelter relies on community donations to keep it stocked with necessities such as food, cleaning products, and office supplies.
I aim to help this shelter by volunteering my time, buying items on their wish list, and running a community drive to help support the shelter. I also plan on helping support their annual fundraiser called “Mutts in Need” which happens at the end of the summer. More information can be found here: https://www.fcrdogkennel.org/
