Dogs and their fosters waited patiently out in the summer heat in hopes of finding their “fur”ever homes. Last Chance Animal Rescue hosted an adoption event outside of Petco in Patchogue on Saturday, July 30, with 12 puppies and adult dogs up for adoption.

All of the dogs were rescued from kill shelters and brought into foster homes in order to get to know the dogs and tell potential adopters about them, according to Janet Dougherty, an event leader and volunteer at Last Chance Animal Rescue.

Dogs that are up for adoption have all been spayed and neutered, up to date on all their vaccines and flea, tick, and heartworm preventatives. Additionally, they have all been microchipped.

Last Chance Animal Rescue was founded by Whitney Knowlton in 2008 and has found homes for over 10,000 dogs and cats with their adoption program since, according to the Last Chance Animal Rescue website.

If an owner dies, becomes unable to care for a dog they adopted, or if a dog has complex medical challenges or medical needs, the dog can be taken back into the care of Last Chance Animal Rescue, as Knowlton established St. Francis Farm, an animal sanctuary in Carlisle, S.C., in 2013.

“Once we commit, they are always a Last Chance dog,” Dougherty said.

One dog named Ziti was adopted at the adoption event on Saturday, but Dougherty said most of the adoptions occur outside of these events, as potential adopters go home and fill out applications online through the Last Chance Animal Rescue website.

Last Chance Animal Rescue is looking for an indoor location to host their adoption events once it gets colder outside.

“For years we had events [at Petco in Patchogue] every Saturday, as well as a second adoption event at another Petco. Since COVID-19, we have one adoption event on Saturday and it is usually outside Petco in Patchogue. However, when they redid the store and added a vet attached to them, they no longer had room for us to have indoor events,” Dougherty said. “Therefore, we have events there in the spring through beginning of fall, depending on when it starts to get much colder.  Last winter, we were able to move to Petco in Lake Grove because they had room for us inside, but they closed for good in the spring.”

If you are looking to adopt, foster or volunteer, you can visit lcarescue.org.