SPRINGFIELD– Since their conception, the Dakin Humane Society has been focused on helping animals and people within their community and Western Massachusetts area.

However, in the midst of helping local animals, they’ve also been helping animals from southern states as well. The Dixie Dog program began about 12 or 13 years ago, according to Director of Operations with the Dakin Humane Society, Katrina King. The program began when the shelter was still based in Leverett.

King said Dakin had the space in their kennels to take in the dogs, and “the southern shelters were struggling with overpopulation.” She said while Dakin has always had, and continue to have local dogs at Dakin, there are more people looking to adopt a canine than there are dogs or puppies available for adoption.

This, she is because “people in the area are looking to adopt rather than buy.” This is part of the many benefits the Dixie Dog program provides both the southern shelters and local families looking to adopt dogs from Dakin.

Southern shelters, in addition to overcrowding, also deal with a variety of other challenges regarding dog adoption. ‘The southern shelters are dealing with a variety of different challenges,” King told Reminder Publishing. “There may not be a vet within a two or three- hour drive, people may not be able to access the care, spaying and neutering is much less prevalent, dogs are having babies all the time. That’s not the case here.”

King said, in the South, people tend to have a different perception of pets. “People in this area can have a different view of animals,” she said. “In the South sometimes people just keep a bunch of dogs in the South, here they’re more part of the family. There are different culture perceptions.”

While most of the Dixie Dogs Dakin receives are adults, the age of the canines can vary. King also added that Dakin is not the only organization that imports dogs from the South.

She said a lot goes into making sure Dakin can take the animals, agreeing on the date of the dogs’ arrival and how many dogs will be arriving, ensuring the dogs are meeting Massachusetts state regulations, and even choosing the right animals to send to Dakin. “They need to choose animals that will be family friendly pets, behavior wise,” she said.

“At this point it is a major way people acquire new dogs. A lot of people import dogs,” she said. Without importing dogs, King said, “It would be much harder for people to find pets.”

Dogs aren’t the only southern animals Dakin is helping, though. King said Dakin first took in out-of-state cats In 2012, when Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast. Initially, she said they were only bringing in cats from the area impacted by the hurricane to help shelters that needed assistance.

Soon after, King said Dakin began “realizing we could help felines in the same way” they were helping dogs from the South.

King said while kittens at Dakin get adopted within one or two days after being put on the floor,” that is not the case for their Georgia partner. “Our Georgia partner has over 400 kittens in foster care that they can’t find adoption for,” she said. So King said when Dakin has space, they take in kittens from the Georgia shelter.

“It’s life saving for the animals, southern partners can continue to take in more animals and care for them,” she said. “If you can imagine working under that burden and population. To have an outlet to send them and know there’s loving home waiting for them is incredible.”

Despite helping both cats and dogs from the South, King said it’s a small part of what Dakin does in a given year. King said it is important to Dakin to continue helping the animals in the local community. In fact, of the 5,500 animals taken in by Dakin in 2018, only 650 of them were from out-of-state.

“We are here to serve the local community first. When we have the extra space and capacity then we can help others as well.”