- Temporary Fosters and Fosters serving Fresno County and the Central Valley –

Valley Fosters provides short-term foster holds for stray dogs and owner surrenders so there is no delay saving them from harm’s way and they do not end up at the already overcrowded shelters.

Jeremy Provencio is the founder of Pawfinders, an organization that finds lost pets and traps stray dogs to find their owners or getting them to rescues. Valley Fosters is a division of Pawfinders.

"I often save loose dogs I come across while posting flyers for lost pets, and I am asked daily to trap stray dogs by concerned citizens with no plan or place to take them. So I am starting Valley Fosters to address the crisis brought about by area animal shelters being full."

We've set up 7 kennels for large breed dogs and 5 indoor fosters for small breed dogs and puppies since we started a month ago, thanks to the kindness of others.

We require additional funding to afford the following ongoing costs:

Veterinary bills, Vaccines, Flea & tick meds, Straw, Gasoline and Materials for roofing, heating and cooling

www.valleyfosters.org

OUR STORY

Created after founder Jeremy Provencio was being asked to trap too many stray dogs with no place for them to go, Valley Fosters is a response to the current crisis of stray and abandoned dogs in the Central Valley of California.

January of 2024 has been unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Daily there are dozens of newly dumped dogs and litters of puppies than in the entire last quarter of 2023. Rescues and fosters are full. Many of the local rescues are breed specific and even when they aren’t, they fill up quickly. A majority of rescues who pull from Central Valley shelters and rescues are located north and south. Even the out of state rescues are at capacity.

"I saw too many dogs left stranded, and rescuers wanting to save them but unable to save them until a foster was available. It was time to build kennels and provide a solution.”

There is a need for somewhere to hold loose dogs in harm’s way without waiting for a foster or rescue to offer a safe place to hold them.

It is hardest for large breeds like German Shepherds and Huskies, followed by cattle mixes and Pitbulls. These are the breeds that Valley Fosters is focused on helping because they are the hardest to find rescues and adopters for yet are the most commonly seen dumped in loose in the city and county.

In their first month of operation, Valley Fosters has rehomed 2 large breed dogs – a husky and a pitbull, and found rescues for 6 adult German Shepherds and their 11 puppies, and are currently fostering 10 dogs with Jeremy planning to trap and foster 8 unfixed dogs as soon as the next kennels are built.

Valley Fosters has 3 outdoor kennels in Fresno providing short-term temporary fostering, as well as holding dogs that must be quarantined for either medical or temperament reasons.

Valley Fosters is currently building additional kennels in Lemoore to foster dogs for longer until an adopter or rescue is found.

By the end of March, Valley Fosters hopes to have 8 kennels in 3 locations for large-breed dogs, and combined with their current network of indoor fosters for small and medium-sized dogs, Valley Fosters will be able to foster a total of 20-25 dogs per month who will never have to go to the overwhelmed shelters, or who might never have been saved and would still be loose breeding litter after litte of puppies.

“I have over 3 years trapping experience and 5 years finding lost pets. But fostering is a whole new ballgame. All of these dogs we are saving come directly from the street. We don’t know their temperament, most are high risk to escape and every dog we take in can potentially be carrying parvovirus. There is no room for error. I'm thankful that I have some of the most experienced leaders of our rescue community helping me with best practices to implement and advising me every step of the way. We are resourceful, we are capable, and as a team we are saving lives.”

You can also help with donations of roofing materials, wire for perimeter fencing, and pavers to prevent digging. All of the materials and kennels have been donated by caring citizens and 2 kennels were donated by a Santa Barbara rescue, Shadow Fund, for Jeremy’s help trapping an elusive dog who escaped in the parking lot of a local vet clinic.

Shadow Fund has recently started taking animals in need from the Central Valley because they noticed the crisis going on.

BACKGROUND

Jeremy was diagnosed with bladder cancer at a very young age in Alaska 4 years ago, and he returned to his hometown to be closer to surgeries at Stanford.

When he was unable to work anymore in Alaska, he fulfilled a long-time dream of making lost pet flyers for pet owners and finding their lost pets. He assisted over 300 pet owners in Alask and has a success rate of 30%.

He continued his lost pet work in Fresno County for the last 3.5 years. After coming across so many loose and skittish dogs while looking for lost pets, he got a large dog trap.

Ever since covid, the numbers of dumped dogs and owner surrenders has exponentially increased.

Through 4 cancer surgeries, and now being treated by Stanford’s cardiology doctors for low oxygen for the last six months, he has dedicated his time volunteering countless hours helping cats and dogs for anyone who asks for his help.

Jeremy started his vision for Valley Fosters in late November 2023 in response to a crisis he was asked to help with. What he named Parlier Puppypocalypse..

5 adults and 11 puppies living in an abandoned house slated for demolition in an orchard.

3 generations of puppies were born there in less than a year. Over 75% of them perished from coyote attacks and cars.

The remaining 5 adults and survived cars, coyotes, shootings, and arson nearby and Jeremy wanted to save them. German shepherds are the hardest breed to find rescues for. The puppies were infested with scabies which made finding fosters more difficult.

The puppies are third generation born in one year. Most from the prior litters perished to coyotes.

These dogs have survived coyotes, cars, bad neighbor shooting strays, and arson attempts at the abandoned house they live at.

CITIZENS INSPIRED TO TAKE ACTION

All of the people who help Valley Fosters by fostering, transporting dogs, grooming etc. do everything from their own budget and time None of them receive donations.