Furr-ever friends: Portland rehomes stranded Klamath County dogs

Published 10:05 am Monday, March 24, 2025

Many of the puppies that found refuge in Portland following record snowstorms in Klamath County have been rehomed. 

Of the 19 available puppies in Portland, only two are left for grabs, and of the six adults dogs, four still need homes.

Dozens of dogs, reported to be stranded and starving in Klamath County in February, found refuge with the support of organizations spanning Portland to the Rogue Valley. 

Fences For Fido, a Portland-based nonprofit that builds free fenced yards to release dogs from tethers and small enclosures, drove 24 puppies and four adult Labradors from Klamath Falls to Portland on Sunday, March 2.

There were 63 dogs found in total. 

Kim Harney, director of Oregon Dog Rescue, a no-kill shelter serving the greater Portland area, was called on. Harney said fosters and adopters were both very excited to help this group of pups. 

“When we heard about this rescue effort happening so close to home, we knew we needed to jump in and help,” Harney said in an initial news release.

Oregon Dog Rescue was already at capacity, but still took in the animals and worked with its foster homes to give them a better life. 

“These puppies have been adopted faster than most any puppies over the last year,” Harney said.

What caused this?

Four feet of snow trapped families in the remote mountain communities of Sycan Estates, Bly Mountain and Sprague/Tablelands, so one woman, who was living alone with 24 dogs, contacted Fences for Fido to ask for help.

Relief Angels additionally answered a plea from a couple with 40 snowbound dogs they could not feed. The Klamath Falls nonprofit previously helped that family after the 2021 Bootleg Fire that burned more than 400,000 acres.

“This is a financial crisis compounded by a deadly storm and dangerous conditions,” Valerie O’Dai, executive director of Relief Angels, said in a statement.

O’Dai’s group enlisted snowplows, snow-cats, backhoes and an “army” of local volunteers for a mountain rescue. In one trip they rescued 36 dogs, including four pregnant females. All the dogs were reportedly severely underweight.

There were nine stranded families connected with, and of them, all of their dogs were starving, some were near death and several were found dead, according to the news release.

According to O’Dai, more than 100 households were in need of other forms of aid: hay, chicken feed, grain, dog food, cat food and human needs.

Fences For Fido provided dog food, help with veterinary costs and connected the dogs to rescues and shelters that could help.

“This is truly another reminder of the real-life impact of a lack of access to affordable veterinary care — and that fully needs to be addressed,” Kelly Peterson, Fences For Fido chair and co-founder, said in a statement. “There are desperate families and their dogs with literally nowhere to go.”