Finding Homes for Dogs in Need
Dogs are a special part of any family, so it should come as no surprise that the nonprofit, A Forever Home Animal Rescue Foundation, started as a family affair. Maribel Taylor-Mattox, her sister Carmen, and brother-in-law Ken always felt a calling for fostering rescue dogs, and had spent years volunteering and fostering for other organizations, but they always thought they could create something stronger. In 2002, they did just that and A Forever Home was born.
The organization continues to run out of the homes of volunteers, but their impact has grown rapidly over the past 20 years. Today, A Forever Home, which serves the greater Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia area, is committed to rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming abused, neglected, abandoned, and unwanted puppies and dogs.
Finding the Perfect Match for Every Dog
“Our name says it all. A lot of people emphasize finding a home for the dog, but it’s no good if it’s not a forever home.” – Maribel Taylor-Mattox.
“Our rescue’s mission is to find forever homes and get the right dog, in the right home, on the first try,” says Taylor-Mattox. “Our name says it all. A lot of people emphasize finding a home for the dog, but it’s no good if it’s not a forever home.”
What sets A Forever Home apart from a lot of other rescues is that they are a primarily foster home based rescue. This means they provide temporary homes for each litter or dog that they bring to the Virginia area. Foster families are asked to keep the dogs safe, fed, healthy, and loved until they find permanent adoptive homes. They have created a widespread network of foster parents and families that play a key role in helping the organization achieve its mission. In their first year alone, they helped rescue and place over a thousand puppies. Today, many of their volunteers also play an important part in the fostering and adoption process.
One volunteer, Jessica Mihalick, initially got involved with A Forever Home in 2012 after she saw a sign while driving to work. Shortly after, she adopted through the organization and started volunteering as a way to express her thanks and gratitude for the organization that saved her dog.
Mihalick shares that, “the reason I am so motivated to volunteer with A Forever Home is because I’ve found a community of like minded people who are so invested in saving these dogs from horrible situations. It’s an amazing thing for me to be a part of.”
Today, Mihalick works in a variety of roles at A Forever Home, from continuing to foster, volunteering at community events, transporting dogs to and from one location to another, and most importantly she’s in charge of the contract signing ceremonies that happen every week and are the final step in placing a dog with their forever family.
One part of the adoption process that can seem intimidating for families are the interviews and home checks that A Forever Home does. But both Taylor-Mattox and Mihalick reiterate that this step is to ensure the dog and the family are a good fit, not to scare potential adopters away. Whether someone lives a more sedentary or active lifestyle, lives in an apartment, or has a large yard, they are confident that they can find the right fit for both the dog and the family.
To continue to spread the word about their mission and reach anyone looking to volunteer, foster, or adopt, A Forever Home relies heavily on their website and social media. Their website is one of the first places people can go to see pictures, and videos of the dogs that are available for adoption. They selected the .ORG domain because it was important for them to be a part of a community of other rescues and similar organizations that are trying to do the right thing.
To learn more about A Forever Home and to get involved visit, www.aforeverhome.org.