Perfect Pets Rescue hosts adoption event in Pine Plains

Perfect Pets Rescue hosts adoption event in Pine Plains

Alicia Dillinger visits with puppies Amber, left, and her brother Buff at the Perfect Pets Rescue Adoption Event at the Pine Plains Lions Club on Sunday, Nov. 10.

Photo by L. Tomaino

PINE PLAINS — On Sunday, Nov. 10, Poughkeepsie-based Perfect Pets Rescue held an adoption event at the Pine Plains Lion’s Club. Dogs who were available to adopt and their foster parents were there. Volunteers from Stissing Mountain High School’s FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) were on hand to help out with the dogs.

The dogs available at the event were Bessie, a black lab mix, and two young mixed breed puppies named Buff and Amber. Besides these three, Perfect Pets has more dogs available on their website.

One person who stopped by was Dan Hubbard who came all the way from Maryland to adopt a dog. He had seen another dog from Perfect Pets on Petfinder, but that dog had been adopted and he then found Bessie. Why did he come all that way for a dog? “The Baltimore area has a lot of dogs, but mostly pit bulls, about 98%,” he guessed. “I’m more of a lab guy and they are hard to find.” He didn’t want a purebred saying, “I’m not a purebred kind of guy.”

Perfect Pets does not have a shelter. Instead, it uses a network of foster homes to care for the adoption animals.

Leslie Gorden, who fosters dogs for the rescue, said she began fostering when she was looking for a second dog. She decided to foster dogs instead. “Fostering is very satisfying, knowing they are going to a good home and are off the euthanasia list,” Gorden said. One of the things she enjoys when the dogs come to her house is “Watching them decompress and come out of their shell and become their true selves.” Her dog enjoys it too and “another dog helps them adjust quicker.”

Jen Blackburn, who also fosters, echoed Gordon. “I really enjoy it. I like helping the rescue and I am happy to see the dogs go to nice homes and to get new fosters” and start the process again.

“Fostering is very important,” said Debra Hirsch, a volunteer with Perfect Pets who handles application screening and helps wherever needed. “Our rescue (and every other rescue) needs fosters.”

Potential fosters must fill out an application and be approved. Perfect Pets supplies food and takes care of veterinary bills for the dog being fostered.

They get most of the dogs and cats they foster from shelters in Georgia where euthanasia rates are very high.

What else can people do to help if they can’t adopt or foster? Monetary donations or donations of supplies (dog food, collars, leashes, pet beds, crates) are welcomed. Perfect Pets also welcomes “help with paperwork, processing applications, dealing with the media, transportation, or helping at adoption events.”

To find out more information about adoptable dogs and cats, fostering, volunteering, donating, adoption events, and for contact information, go to: www.perfectpetsrescue.org.

Latest News

Back to school
Photo by Leila Hawken

AMENIA — The first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School went smoothly, with teachers enthusiastically greeting the eager young students disembarking from buses. Excitement was measurable, with only a few tears from parents, but school began anyway.


Keep ReadingShow less
Millerton’s Demitasse shutters Main Street storefront, goes digital

Demitasse owner Hayden McIntosh Geer said she is excited by the shift to online sales.

Photo by Hayden McIntosh Geer

MILLERTON — Some might have argued that launching an in-person retail business during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t advisable. But against all odds, Demitasse in Millerton managed not only to build a thriving, mission-based brand in a small storefront on Main Street, it developed a loyal customer base and provided a welcoming space for visitors. Last week, Demitasse announced it is closing-up shop and moving fully online.

“We are excited,” said owner Hayden McIntosh Geer, who opened Demitasse with her husband, Richard, in 2020. “Though we will miss our customers and the camaraderie on Main Street, it feels right and there was no second guessing.”

Keep ReadingShow less
New Millerton police cruisers arrive to replace fire-ravaged vehicles

Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik shows off the new gear. Brand new police cruisers arrived last week.

Photo by Aly Morrissey

MILLERTON — The Millerton Police Department has received two new patrol cars to replace vehicles destroyed in the February 2025 fire at the Village Water and Highway Department.

The new Ford Interceptors are custom-built for law enforcement. “They’re more rugged than a Ford Explorer,” said Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik, noting the all-wheel drive, heavy-duty suspension and larger tires and engine. “They call it the ‘Police Package.’”

Keep ReadingShow less
Fashion Feeds on track to raise $100,000 for Food of Life Food Pantry

Erin Rollins of Millbrook in the Fashion Feed booth, open year round, at the Millbrook Antiques Mall. All proceeds from Fashion Feeds go to the Food of Life Pantry.

Photo by Aly Morrissey

MILLBROOK – In a time when optimism and unity can feel elusive, sometimes a walk down Franklin Avenue is enough to feed the soul. With Millbrook Community Day just around the corner, one highlight will be Fashion Feeds, a community effort led by Millbrook native Erin Rollins, whose mission is to fight local hunger.

The concept is simple. People donate new or gently used designer fashion, which is sold at affordable prices, and all proceeds benefit The Food of Life/Comida de Vida Pantry at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Amenia.

Keep ReadingShow less