ATLANTA — An Atlanta-area animal rescue that specializes in Golden Retrievers has helped provide temporary homes for dozens of the dogs.

Amanda Dytor said it was an emergency.

“It was definitely all hands on deck. We knew it had to be immediate,” said Dytor.

Dytor is with the nonprofit Golden Retriever Rescue of Atlanta.

A few weeks back the group was alerted that a retriever breeder in far Northeast Georgia could no longer care for its nearly 80 dogs, many of them puppies.

The rescue reached out to its network of volunteers and asked them to provide temporary foster homes to as many of the dogs as they could.

Dytor said over the course of just one day the nonprofit’s members stepped up and took in 27 of the breeder’s animals.

Some of them are still in foster care but many have already found forever homes.

Dytor said the rising costs of dog food and veterinary care have made it much harder for breeders, and rescue groups are having to ‘come to the rescue’ more often.

She said in this case, all of the goldens and labs were taken in.

“The breeder needed help. They were overwhelmed. As a rescue, we all pulled together. We worked with a couple of other rescues too. We pulled together and got the job done,” Dytor said.

Golden Retriever Rescue of Atlanta has been around for 32 years, but Dytor said the need over the last couple of years has never been greater.

When donations fall short, the nonprofit’s members pay for pet food and veterinary care out of their own pockets.

You can learn more by clicking here: www.grra.com