Two dogs from Ashe County Animal Control owe their lives to the concerted efforts of caring volunteers from Ashe to Rougemont.
Zack and Jewel had been a long time at the shelter in Crumpler and needed help, said their new owner, Rhonda Beach of Rougemont in Person County.
Without adoption, the fate of these two dogs may have been the same as more than a thousand of their fellows every year at the shelter – euthanasia. But they are among the lucky ones, the too few who find a new home.
The dogs’ new owner is a foster mom who volunteers her time to save all the dogs (and cats) that she can in Person County. Her website offers information about the work she does.
“Chances Angel Rescue & Education, (C.A.R.E.) is a small group of volunteers dedicated to saving the lives of many dogs,” the site states. “We are a non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible. We do not have a shelter, however we place our rescue dogs in dedicated foster homes, where they are loved, nourished and provided with vet care to include, spay/neuter, vaccinations, heart worm test, deworming, and micro-chipped. Our focus is to educate the public on responsible pet ownership, promote spay/neuter, rescue/save abandoned, neglected, homeless and abused animals.”
“We work directly with kill shelters in saving animals in danger of being euthanized,” the site states. This is how Beach learned about Zack, a Husky mix, and Jewel, a pit bull and Labrador mix, and came to adopt them.
“We reach out. That’s how I ended up with Jewel and Zack,” she said. “Sheley (Revis of Ashe) contacted me. When you’re involved in animal rescue and an animal activist in the state you get to know people.”
Sheley Revis, M.D., of Matthews, has been working locally and nationally rescuing animals and finding them homes. Her local efforts started with her dog, McGrady, a deaf Australian shepherd she found at Ashe County Animal Control in March 2010. He has become an ambassador for her rescue efforts. Find him on Facebook at McGrady the Fabulous Deaf Dog.
Along with Mandy Wright and Clare Tager, volunteers at Ashe County Animal Control, Revis has formed Friends of Ashe Animals in order to find homes for the many unwanted dogs (and cats) at the local animal shelter. They are helped by local groomers, veterinarians and even a professional photographer, Freddie Georgia, who did glamour shots for Zack and Jewel.
“Freddie Georgia did a photo shoot at Animal Control, and the pics set off a massive response from rescue groups wanting our dogs,” said Revis.
“When a friend of mine mentioned something he had seen over the holidays about a professional photographer helping a humane society by shooting pet portraits and how the great photos made their adoption rate soar, I thought, I need to be doing that too,” said Georgia. “I plan to make this a regular thing, weekly if I have the time. I can’t tell you what huge satisfaction there is knowing my photos are helping find homes for these beloved creatures.”
A former staff photographer with Southern Living magazine, Frederica Georgia is owner and creative designer/photographer at Animal Garden Shop in Creston, a collection of whimsical and humorous photographic images of hers from the animal and plant kingdoms. They are presented as photographic prints, greeting cards, t-shirts, totes and aprons.
Revis said she is working on non-profit status for Friends of Ashe Animals, and appreciation is extended to everyone who is helping with this project.
“There are just so many links in this chain,” she said. “Dogs in need at the shelter, photographer does glamour shots for shelter dogs that make them shine, Facebook postings and networking with those photos via private emails as well as Facebook sharing, rescuer sending information and photos to her fosters who step up to give foster space, and then the pilot who is the final link in the chain.”
“As I tell people,” Revis said, “it takes a village to rescue animals.”
(Next, learn about how the program works with Ashe Animal Control and how you can help.)
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