Throughout blustery November and December, a group of 25 dog lovers have made their lists, and they’ll be checking them twice.

During the evenings after work and on the weekends through the winter months, volunteers with Fences for Fido will brave the elements to distribute holiday gifts to 267 dogs and their owners.

Since the nonprofit first began in May 2009, the volunteer-based organization has helped unchain more than 430 dogs in Oregon and Washington by building fences and insulated dog houses for dogs that live outdoors. By this time next year, they expect to have helped more than 600 dogs.

Each year, the volunteer-based group conducts seasonal “spritzers,” an annual visit that allows volunteers to check up on the dogs they have unchained and offer a care package to the dogs’ owners.

They provided a similar welfare check earlier this year during a spring and summer spritzer.

“This is our commitment,” says Kelly Peterson, the group’s co-founder and co-chair. “Our promise is that we don’t build a fence and then walk away after the fence is built.”

During their visits, volunteers will make sure that the fences they built are still intact, the doghouse contains a bed, the dog has sufficient water and seems to be healthy.

They’ll take notes and gauge whether a follow-up visit is needed – for instance, if a dog is chained again, or if the doghouse has moisture underneath and needs to be repositioned.

Each volunteer will take on up to 10 homes, delivering bags full of flea medication, treats, winter care tips and bedding. They’ll also help connect the owner with veterinary care, spay/neuter surgeries and dog food if needed.

Joanie McMillan, who is participating in the winter spritzer, has been volunteering with Fences for Fido since January 2010 after reading about the organization in The Oregonian.

The first fence build she participated in, along with her husband Bob McMillan, involved two dogs in Damascus. The dogs weren’t chained but were confined to a small kennel, and a neighbor reported them to Fences for Fido.

“When we did the release, I was hooked,” she says. “The dogs were just rolling in the grass.”

She and her husband, who is now a crew leader, even provided foster care to one of the dogs they helped.

The group learns about dogs needing help in a variety of ways. To request a fence, owners can fill out an online application on the organization’s website or call Fence for Fido directly. You can also refer a dog anonymously if you see one that needs help.

“We really look to the community to report the dogs,” Peterson says.

Fences for Fido is based in Portland but has chapters in southwest Washington, Marion County and Linn County. The group has done fence builds as far as Puyallup, Wash., and The Dalles.

“We rarely say no,” Peterson says. “We try to find other resources if we can’t get there in a timely fashion.”

The nonprofit relies upon its support base of about 1,700 donors and volunteers for help. Anywhere from 15 to 20 volunteers at each build construct between eight and 10 fences per month. Each “build” costs about $600, which includes the fence, insulated doghouse and spay or neuter surgery.

Volunteers like the McMillans provide a valuable service to dog owners like St. Johns resident Keith Lambe, whose 10-year-old yellow Lab mix, Chopper, was the first to be unchained by the group.

Lambe is appreciative of the group’s help, including the winter spritzer care package they left last week on his doorstep. The biscuits are a nice touch, he says, as is the dog bed stuffed with cedar shavings they brought him in a previous year.

After the group’s first volunteers unchained Chopper three-and-a-half years ago, says he has changed his perspective.

“It definitely improved his lifestyle, and improved my backyard, too,” he says. “It really brought more of an understanding of the chain situation for the dog, and kind of made you see the difference. I’ll never consider chaining a dog again.”

While Chopper doesn’t run as much as he used to, Lambe says the dog became much more energetic and happier once he was allowed to run free in the yard.

He’s also safer. When he was chained, Chopper was once attacked by a pit bull and sustained puncture wounds.

“Now we’ve got the fence so he’s protected,” Lambe says. “Not only that, but it makes my property more secure.”

The Fences for Fido folks are happy that they can help change so many lives.

“This is a time that’s exciting for us because these dogs were unchained three-and-a-half years ago,” Peterson says. “It’s very exciting that we can revisit those dogs that touched our hearts and motivated all of us every Saturday in the rain or shine, and that we can see faces that we haven’t seen in three-and-a-half years.”

If you want to help:

Donate money to purchase building materials and veterinary care.

You can also donate new or gently used fence materials, such as welded wire fencing, pressure-treated 4-by-4 posts, 6-foot chain-link gates, and 60-pound bags of concrete.

To donate fence materials, send an e-mail to info@fencesforfido.org.

If you're interested in volunteering, send an e-mail to volunteer@fencesforfido.org.

More info.: Visit fencesforfido.org or call 503-621-9225.