Sweet Paws Rescue Says Haverhill Farm Expansion Won’t Alter Foster Focus

The new 69-acre Sweet Paws Rescue pet sanctuary scheduled to open later this summer plans to offer space for abandoned dogs and cats to roam.

But, Cynthia Sweet, founder and executive director of the local animal rescue group, says it won’t change the focus of local animal rescue organization as a foster care group.

“We are still going to be a foster organization. Dogs and cats do best when they are in people’s homes. And we are not going to be a shelter. So, this is going to be a layover if you will,” she explained recently on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program.

She discussed how the farm purchase will stabilize the organization, but not change its mission. As WHAV reported last month, Sweet Paws is in the midst of a $4.6 million campaign to purchase and equip a 69-acre farm in Bradford as it has outgrown its Groveland location.

Sweet founded her animal rescue group in 2011 to help address the overpopulation of dogs and cats in two poor counties in Alabama and Mississippi. To date the group has placed some 22,000 animals in new “forever homes” in New England. Recently, though, the agency has seen an uptick in the number of animals surrendered locally.

“There is a huge increase of local dogs and cats in need basically since the last few years. It’s sort of a result of COVID. We went from 2019 to about 3% of our dogs were coming from Massachusetts. Not it is about 45% of our animals are coming from our own backyard.”

Sweet said the farm will allow space and time for her 350 volunteers to get to know animals left for adoption. She said eventually her group is planning to open walking trails to the public.

“Basically it will continue to be a space for our southern animals that are coming into the state. They have to be quarantined for 48 hours. And then it will also be a space for our local animals where we will be able to get them exercised and really get to know them. But it’s really for growth. The other thing that’s going to be great for Haverhill residents is that it will be 70 acres of preserved open space,” she said.

Sweet also said she is in talks with the City of Haverhill to provide shelter space for animals picked up by the city’s animal control unit.

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