DERRY — The first time Pat Kelley visited with adoptable dogs as part of a program at her local community center, she learned the hard way not to dress well.
“You’ll leave smelling like the dogs,” she said, with Lucia, a one-year-old Maltese, coiled up in her lap.
Just last week, Lucia and another dog, a chihuahua mix named Dove, were transported from shelters in Georgia to the Greater Derry Humane Society.
On the first Thursday of each month, Director Paula Dunlavey and a group of volunteers and fosters bring the adoptable dogs to the Marion Gerrish Community Center to socialize and snuggle with seniors.
“There are a ton of animals that need love and I come to love them,” Kelley said. “I just feel bad because some of them are so skittish.”
By the end of Thursday’s program, a few seniors submitted applications for some of the available dogs like Lucia and Dove; Ralphie, a playful Corgi mix; and Taz, a shy chihuahua-Italian greyhound mix.
“They’re living in foster homes while awaiting adoption,” Dunlavey said.
While the seniors sat in a semi-circle around a room half filled with squeaky toys, the dogs wove between chairs, jumped up on legs for attention and pattered across the room with toys in their mouths, eager to play. By the end of the two-hour program, the dogs had each chosen a lap to fall asleep in, exhausted from the activity and affection.
“It feels good to know animals connect with me,” said Roberta Pendak of Derry, a small dog dozing in her arms.
Where Pendak lives, she can’t have animals, but she gets her fix each month at the community center.
Since the start of the year, the Greater Derry Human Society has received over 150 applications from local area residents looking to surrender their animals, a substantial increase from last year, Dunlavey said. Behavioral issues, financial concerns and long-term medical needs are among the reasons, and that number doesn’t include the dogs “rescued” from the south.
To help more animals get adopted, Dunlavey and her husband, Marty, the acting president of the society, partnered with the Marion Gerrish Community Center to bring seniors and adoptable dogs together for an afternoon each month.
Dunlavey hopes seniors will find companionship and the dogs might find their forever homes. But at the very least, the dogs will be socialized and played with. Last month, Dunlavey even brought a group of kittens.
“It’s a great initiative to bring joy to both seniors and dogs looking for love,” she said.
Though the program is new this year, the humane society has been active in the Greater Derry area since 1975. When the founder died in 2014, the nonprofit was left to the Dunlaveys, who were active as volunteers, fosters and board members since its onset.
The humane society doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar location. Instead, with the help of other shelters and services, Dunlavey vets the animals, quarantines them for 48 hours in a state-approved space on her property, and places them with foster families while they await adoption.
In an effort to raise money for the care of the animals and support volunteers and fosters, the Greater Derry Humane Society is selling calendars featuring Derry firefighters with adoptable animals.
“The proceeds support the humane society and the wellness of the animals,” Dunlavey said.
The calendars are on sale for $15 and can be purchased on the humane society’s website, derryhumanesociety.com