Outstanding veterinary bills have put one local group’s efforts to help rescue animals on hold.

The Troy Animal Rescue Project will be unable to accept any new animals until their vet bill with Troy Animal Clinic has been paid off, said Tiffany Howington.

The organization, which is funded purely from donations, has been taking in unwanted animals, specifically dogs, since March 2014, Howington said.

“We are a foster-home based rescue,” Howington said. “We take in stray dogs that we pick up off the side of the road, dogs that people don’t want.”

Howington said since the first of the year, the organization had seen an influx of animals and the price tag for their care has surpassed what the organization can handle on its own.

“We take in approximately 40 dogs in a week,” Howington said. “But, in the first week of January we took in more than 90 dogs. We’ve taken in over 190 dogs since the start of the year. We rock and roll when it comes to the dogs, from taking them in to getting them place. We had great fosters and a great group of people helping, but right now we don’t have the funds to take anymore.”

After a dog is rescued, if it needs transporting to a different location or specialty dog food, Howington said volunteers go into their own pockets and foot the bill, acknowledging the fact that they have an expensive hobby.

“We kind of do this as an expensive hobby,” Howington said. “We take care of a lot of the things.”

However, the volunteers have relied on the community and donations to help offset the veterinary bills, which now total more than $6,000. “Our vet bill is something that the donations have taken care of,” she said. “ All of the donations go to the animal clinic just, because our vet care is our main cost. Feeding the dogs, we take care of most of that, but the vet care is our main.”

Howington said any donations made now would go to Troy Animal Clinic to cover the bill, which is upwards of $6,000, Howington said.

Howington said that rescuing dogs was more of a passion for volunteers. Knowing that they are saving an animal and giving it a new life, is what keeps them going, Howington said.

“Rescuing dogs is my passion,” Howington said. “These dogs have literally no one else to protect them. It’s either us, or they’re dead.”

Howington said anyone hoping to make a donation could make it payable to Troy Animal Clinic at 566-3356.