According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, 38% of dog parents get their pups from a shelter or rescue. Hands, Hearts & Paws in Omaha is a foster, home-based rescue - where one volunteer's commitment exceeds the fathomable.
- Jenny Houfek began fostering dogs 14 years ago. To date, she has fostered 466 dogs in her home.
- Jenny has special permissions which allow her to foster for Hands, Hearts & Paws so robustly - often taking in entire litters.
- "They do make messes and they do shed, so I am constantly sweeping and Swiffering and vacuuming and laundry - laundry all the time," she laughed about the upkeep.
Continue reading for the expanded story, as seen on-air.
A familiar face at KMTV, Zach and Kayla Williamson had life... by the tail.
"It was just us for two years and then we got married and I feel like it was the next natural step of our family," Kayla reflected.
That was about three months ago.
"He's very loving. Loves both of us just as much as we love him already," Zach explained.
Named for the Williamsons' favorite NFL team, Chief spent his first weeks with Jenny Houfek.
"I can't do much. I don't have a ton of money, but I have a lot of love, so I can do this. This is one way that I can make an impact on our community and hopefully make a difference," she said.
What Jenny is describing is fostering dogs - which started 14 years ago.
"That first one was a deployment. So, what I do now, is dogs that are in shelters, they're not temporary situations, they are all looking for permanent homes," she clarified.
And in 14 years, Jenny has fostered 466 dogs.
"Mostly, we pull from overcrowded shelters like in Missouri there's a horrible dog problem because people don't spay and neuter their pets," she expounded.
Jenny has special permission from related entities which allows her to do what she does.
"(The dogs) do make messes and they do shed, so I am constantly sweeping and Swiffering and vacuuming and laundry - laundry all the time," she laughed.
Fostering can save a dog's life - that's the greatest and most obvious benefit, but Jenny sees it as a matter of quality of life, as well.
"You see all the time dogs in shelters are super, super sad. When they're in my house, I can get to know their personality. They get to play with other dogs so they stay really, really social," she said.
The Williamsons share that sentiment.
"You could tell how much she knew about Chief already," Zach pointed out.
Not everyone can foster so many dogs. But, Jenny asks: Maybe one? Hands, Hearts & Paws also consistently needs volunteers for their weekend meet-and-greets, as well as material donations including laundry detergent, used bedding and towels.
Additional information is available through the organization's website .
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