LEXINGTON, Ky. -- When Laura Helvey met Catherine Gabbard in her yard in the summer of 2023, she was sitting on the ground next to her dog, Bossy, crying.

Gabbard was about to disregard her court orders to go to addiction treatment for one simple reason: she couldn’t leave Bossy behind. Gabbard was packed and ready to run into the woods with Bossy, just so she could stay by her side.

Bossy, a pitbull-hound mix, was also pregnant and the only source of constant affection and support Gabbard had for the past couple of years, some of the worst times of her life.

“She helps me if I am sad,” Gabbard told the Herald-Leader. “She feels what I am feeling. When I was getting high, she was feeling the trauma from all of that, too.”

Helvey, a stranger to Bossy and Gabbard, sat and consoled the pair and ended up bonding with the dog. Helvey made the decision to foster Bossy so Gabbard would feel at ease to leave for treatment.

A few days later, she was fostering seven dogs — Bossy and her six newborn puppies. They were nicknamed “the recovery pups” and named after recovery facilities in Kentucky: Hope, Isaiah, Ethan, Spero and Arc. One puppy, Spark, did not survive.

Helvey, who lost her son Daniel to an opioid overdose in 2019, operates SPARK Ministries of Madison County, a centralized community center which runs as a non-profit to point families and people with substance use disorder towards rehabilitation programs, detox programs, support groups, churches, job opportunities and more.

At its core, Helvey’s office helps remove barriers for people seeking recovery.

Helvey: Fosters are the biggest need for group to thrive

It wasn’t until another woman came to the small SPARK office building on Main Street with her dog every day, resisting treatment because her dog had no place to go, that Helvey recognized another barrier.

The group, “Fostering for Recovery,” quickly was created and calls were coming in weekly from people asking for Helvey and Kristall Morris to take in their dogs so they could go to treatment.

“Through all her struggles, that dog was with (Gabbard),” Helvey said. “That dog was with her when she lost her family, when she lost relationships, when she lost her home. The dog was with her. Bossy loved her unconditionally, no matter if they were living in a park or in a tent.”

Gabbard wasn’t allowed to visit with Bossy for a while, but Helvey sent her pictures that Gabbard printed out and placed in her binder and on the walls in her room. When the two were reunited, Gabbard said, “Bossy knew I was better.”

Gabbard successfully completed her treatment program, and has been reunited with her family and Bossy. She is one of nine people the program has helped get into recovery by fostering their pets.

“When we started advertising it, it really took off,” Helvey told the Herald-Leader. “We get several calls a week.”

In another instance, Helvey and Morris met a man who was about to be released from prison after 18 years. While in prison, he was partnered with a shelter dog to train the animal, and gain work experience and emotional support.

The man was accepted into a trade school with the stipulation he complete an inpatient treatment program prior to his release. While going through treatment, he needed someone to watch his dog until they could reunite again.

A foster took in the dog, and was later reunited with the man who successfully completed his program.

Finding fosters is the hardest thing, Helvey said. There are requirements that Helvey and Morris look for before allowing them to foster. There is only one treatment center in Eastern Kentucky which will take an emotional support animal when accepting clients, according to Helvey.

“We have had to turn people down because we don’t have fosters. That is our biggest need,” Helvey said. “It is really sad.”

When the dogs are taken in, they are taken to the vet for spay and neuter operations, to establish responsible pet ownership once the pets are returned after their foster homes. Both fosters and clients sign contracts about their participation and expectations for being a part of the program.

‘The rescue community is just overwhelmed.’

Another hard part of working with the dogs and their owners is the heartbreak that comes with how these cases can be resolved and the stress of finding people to care for animals — sometimes permanently — on very short notice.

The woman who inspired the program (the one who continually showed up to the office with her dog) eventually got into treatment. The group thought she would be reunited with her dog, Remi, after her three-month inpatient treatment program was completed, where the woman thrived.

However, when the woman appeared in court for an old charge, hoping the judge would acknowledge her accomplishments, she was unexpectedly sentenced to eight years in prison on the spot, leaving Remi with nowhere to go.

On a video call that night, Remi’s owner said goodbye, pleading that the dog never forget her or their time together. Remi is now living with Helvey in her home.

With a lack of fosters, Helvey is no stranger to keeping the dogs herself. She currently houses three, in addition to her two personal rottweilers. Helvey has had as many as 10 dogs in her home at once.

“It is a really big need,” she said. “The rescue community is just overwhelmed.”

While she was in treatment, Gabbard said she heard stories from other women at the facilities who had not been as fortunate as her and lost their pets. One woman’s dog was killed, and another never learned what happened to her pet after it was placed in a pound.

“No words can explain the gratitude I have for (Helvey),” Gabbard said. “It was a blessing, what she did and a lot of people wouldn’t do that, especially with the stuff she already does.”

Gabbard hopes that others will hear her story and it will inspire them to foster pets so their owners can seek help to return to them once again.

Those interested in becoming fosters for animals can contact Helvey or Morris through the “Fostering for Recovery at Morris Run” Facebook page. Donations can be made through the group’s Venmo or GoFundMe, or by purchasing items off their Amazon wishlist.

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