Fences For Fido

Mission

Fences For Fido improves the quality of life for dogs kept outside, keeps families and companion animals together, and prevents dogs from entering shelters. We provide free fencing to keep vulnerable dogs safe, plus life-saving dog houses, rural wellness and spay/neuter clinics, a pet food bank, and services to families living with their dogs in transitional housing.

Our work brings us into the lives of our most underserved neighbors and communities. And we know that a chained dog is often a reflection of so many contributing struggles and hardships for a family. Thus, chaining is rarely a first choice. It is a last resort. Still, no dog deserves to live outside on a chain.

Fences For Fido began in Portland in 2009 with a straightforward mission: to free dogs from chains by giving them fenced yards---at no cost to their families. We've unchained almost 3,500 dogs. Each of them received an insulated dog house, spay/neuter, and critical veterinary care.

Our volunteers offer compassionate consistency, helping families improve their dogs' care by delivering free solutions and support.

We bridge the gaps for families to access free quality pet food and life-saving veterinary care for sick or injured dogs, helping to alleviate suffering and keeping families together.

We bring these services to families living in tribal fishing villages in the Columbia Gorge, in safe-park villages, and in transitional or temporary housing. 

We serve families on seven tribal reservations, and are the only animal welfare organization authorized by the tribal council to provide services to companion animals on the Warm Springs Reservation. There, we coordinate a pet food bank and mobile wellness and high-volume spay/neuter clinics in addition to building fences and providing dog houses.

On reservation lands and in fishing villages, our mission is to increase equity and remove barriers for communities that lack access to veterinary and other critical life-sustaining services for their companion animals.

Fanning out from our Portland base, our volunteers serve Oregon and Southwest Washington, and in 2013, we changed Oregon law, improving the standard of care for dogs statewide.

Bottom Line for Portland

Portland loves dogs! Fences For Fido is love in action. We recognize that the human-animal bond transcends socioeconomics, race, ethnicity, geography, and even whether someone has doors to lock at night. In a typical year, 150 volunteers devote 140,000 hours to build more than 100 free fences, all for the love of dogs.

Quote

“Thank you for being here.” - sweetly whispered by an 8-year-old when our volunteers built a fence on Mother's Day weekend for her dog Luna and happy goat S'more, freeing them from the loneliness and danger of a tether.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Founded by 10 women in 2009, Fences For Fido is a women-led organization committed to inclusion and positive change. In addition to building fences, we build bridges across the economic, geographic, and social barriers that cause suffering and scarcity for families and their pets. We work to form trusting, non-judgmental partnerships with all families and communities we serve.

Our services to Indigenous communities are guided by insight from tribal members who serve alongside us on our board and at our clinics and fence builds. We recognize the suffering caused by systemic genocide, relocation, disenfranchisement and assimilation that impact generations of Native individuals, families, and the animals that live alongside them.

Partner(s)

We’re all about the love of dogs, and few people love dogs more than our friends at Meat for Cats & Dogs!