MARSHALL TWP, Allegheny County — Tammy Williams goes everywhere with her dog, Toby, a 6-year-old Chihuahua-rat terrier mix, who is her emotional support pet. Everywhere, that is, except for the hospital she went to for psychiatric treatment in August, which didn’t allow pets.

Williams’ mom died prior to her hospital stay, so she couldn’t have her take care of Toby while she was gone like she used to, leaving her with no plans for her dog at the time.

Before going into treatment, Williams learned about Harmony Dog Rescue, a nonprofit based in Marshall Township that takes dogs from owners going through emergencies.

Several months and another hospital stay later, Williams said learning about the dog rescue was one of the best things that has ever happened to her. She has now even fostered a dog through the organization herself.

“Thank God for them,” said Williams, who lives in Beechview, a Pittsburgh neighborhood. “I was like, I'm going to lose my dog, and he’s my emotional support dog. I didn’t know what to do about my dog because I don’t have any family around.”

Harmony Dog Rescue got its start in December 2023, when Tim Lydon and Molly McAleer took in two dogs for a woman who fled her home because of domestic violence. Lydon, who had already been working in animal welfare for years, said he had seen people avoid seeking help in emergencies or crises because they didn’t know what to do with their dog.

Lydon and McAleer, who are married, hadn’t even officially founded Harmony Dog Rescue at the time. However, Lydon said the limited options for people in need of pet care led them to take in the dogs on a whim. From there, he said, they “knew there was no going back.”

“There’s not a lot of options for people if they want to get into a shelter,” Lydon said. “Other shelters, there’s space but they don’t allow pets — so they can get a bed, but then what do they do with their pet? That's where we come in.”

After returning the two dogs to their owner a few weeks after taking them in, Lydon and McAleer planned to build a base in Harmony to properly start the nonprofit. A few months later, they found a kennel for sale in the Warrendale area of Marshall Township, and now run Harmony Dog Rescue and Full Moon Kennels out of the facility.

Having a business and nonprofit in the same facility, Lydon said the challenge has become keeping the business afloat while still managing to regularly take in dogs with the nonprofit. That’s where foster homes come in. Lydon said Harmony Dog Rescue is always looking for volunteers to take dogs from the organization for a few weeks.

“Our intention is to put every rescue dog in a foster home,” Lydon said. “When volunteers reach out, they fill out a foster application and it lists all their preferences. Then, whenever we get a dog in, we go through our list of fosters and try to find the right one, then we just ask them.”

Harmony Dog Rescue gets calls every day from people looking for a place to take care of a dog. Lydon said the nonprofit can’t take every request, but the ones the organization accepts sign a contract allowing Harmony Dog Rescue to take their dog — or dogs — for 40 days.

Lydon said the dogs taken in stay in the kennel until he and McAleer are able to find a foster home where they can stay until their owners can retrieve them.

One of those fosters is Mary Green, of Harmony, who said the mission of Harmony Dog Rescue resonated with her, and having the opportunity to work with dogs for a limited time was an even better bonus.

“To have to lose your pet in a domestic violence situation is heartbreaking,” Green said. “Being able to step in and support is a special idea and a creative way to help the community.”

Green and her family took in two dogs in March 2024, which was difficult, but it taught them a lot about dog care and the situations that lead dogs to need foster homes. Green said preparing her home for two new dogs, who would live alongside the dog they already had, was a little intimidating, and they had a hard time with them even once they arrived.

However, returning the dogs to the rescue to finally be reunited with their owner was satisfying, and the Greens have since fostered five dogs for the nonprofit — even adopting one who could not be reunited with its owner.

“I’m a dog-lover, so it was a little foolproof for me. ‘I can’t adopt these dogs, they belong to somebody and I have to give them back,’” Green said. “There was a time limit, most of them could be reunited with their families.”

While Harmony Dog Rescue has about 25 reliable fosters in the area and about 50 people total who help walk and pick up dogs for the nonprofit, Lydon said it could always use more.

Additionally, the nonprofit could always use more funding, because of its dedication to returning dogs to their owners in better condition than they arrived. Lydon said 95% of the organization’s expenses are vet bills, because the dogs who arrive at the kennel often have an injury or condition that would get worse if gone untreated.

“If a dog comes to us with an ear infection or broken leg, we can’t just ignore it,” Lydon said. “What we initially thought would be roughly $50 to $75 per dog on average has been like $200 to $300.”

These dogs may even develop injuries or conditions while in the care of a foster, but Green said the nonprofit provides resources to help fosters make sure the dogs they take in are happy and healthy.

“Whatever you need to be a good foster, they provide the resources for you,” Green said.

Lydon said not every dog Harmony Dog Rescue takes in can be reunited with its owner, and up to 40% of the hundreds of dogs the nonprofit has taken in have had to be rehomed.

This decision can be made by the pet owner, but it is often the result of talks between them and Lydon and McAleer.

“It doesn’t always happen that people can take their dogs back, they have determined on their own they are not in the position to care for an animal, and they surrender them to us, or we make that determination,” Lydon said.

Williams was able to board Toby in Harmony Dog Rescue not once, but twice, and said being able to have him housed safely helped her make the decision to stay in treatment.

“The first time was in August, the second one was in October,” Williams said. “The first time I was in for 10 days and the second time it was almost 21.

“They can’t even come and visit you,” Williams said of pets. “I ‘FaceTimed’ Toby every day.”

Lydon said that although some dogs are not able to be reunited with their owners, it doesn’t mean the dogs had not been cared for. In the two years he has been running the nonprofit, Lydon said he has met many caring dog owners whom he and McAleer treat just as well as the dogs.

“They literally don’t take shelter for themselves because they don’t have their dog. They’ll stay in their car, they’ll stay in a tent,” Lydon said of some of the rescue’s clients. “The whole purpose is we love the person as much as the animal, because it’s really easy to love an animal. But it’s really hard to love a person who keeps (messing) up. It has really tested our compassion for people.”

Green said working with Harmony Dog Rescue has been a great experience, and not just because of the dogs she has met through volunteering with the organization.

“I’ve never met anyone who loves dogs more than them,” Green said. “I’ve known (Tim) to go out in the middle of the night to go out and pick up a dog.”

For more information on Harmony Dog Rescue, or to sign up to foster, visit its website at harmonydogrescue.org.