There’s nothing better than a fur-ever friend to stick by your side through good and bad times. A local State College dog rescue is working to provide people with just that.

Nittany Beagles is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding homes for dogs in need. The twist? The group was created exclusively for beagles.

Founder Chris Abbe launched the rescue in 2003 to take in beagles and beagle mixes who don’t have a home or were given up by a family in the greater Centre County area. According to Cathy Kassab, the current president of Nittany Beagles, beagles are especially vulnerable to winding up in a shelter or without a home.

“Especially in the Centre County area, beagles and beagle-mixes end up without homes,” Kassab said. “They’re a great breed, a lot of people in the area have them as hunting dogs, but people realize that they’re not the easiest dogs to have, and require a lot of care, especially when they’re young.”

When Abbe moved out of the area, Kassab said she needed to take over the group. Kassab had the skill set necessary to lead the rescue since she previously served as the dog coordinator for Centre County PAWS.

As president of Nittany Beagles, Kassab is in charge of coordinating adoptions, assigning foster homes, and establishing medical needs.

Although Nittany Beagles is not the only breed-based rescue in the Centre County area, the organization is unique in that it places dogs throughout Pennsylvania and neighboring states like Ohio and New York.

Nittany Beagles has done showings at the State College Petco to display their dogs and meet potential adoptees. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, these showings were canceled.

Despite the pandemic, the need for loving homes has only increased. However, the rescue has gradually been able to begin meeting adoptees again and finding foster and adoptee homes.

Kassab said that the adoption process is simple but very thorough. She said that in order to adopt a dog from the rescue, a potential adopter must be financially independent, have a stable living, and fill out an application.

From there, the rescue will meet with the adoptee, contact references, and perform other checks to make sure the dog will go to a loving home.

In most circumstances, this would disqualify Penn State students from adopting. However, Kassab said that the scenario of a student adopting or fostering a dog isn’t completely out of the picture.

“We’ve had graduate students foster and adopt dogs since they are older and more stable in their paths,” Kassab said. “When we place dogs, we want to make sure that the dog will be going to their forever home.”

However, Penn State students can still get involved with the rescue through volunteer work. All they’d need to do is fill out an application and have access to a car.

“We’re always looking for volunteers, and we’ve had plenty of Penn State students volunteer in the past,” Kassab said. “Anyone interested should fill out an application or email the rescue directly.”

For more information on the rescue, volunteering, and available beagles, visit the rescue’s website.