Volunteers help match shelter pets to good homes

When Michele Manning lost her husband, Chris, suddenly last October, she was looking for a four-legged companion to keep the family's spirits lifted — especially through the holidays.

Instead of going to a pet store, Manning sought the help of Tammy Woods, a friend who is part of local animal rescue efforts. And scruffy little Lucy was brought into the picture.

"She's given us a lot of companionship," Manning said. "She just follows me around from room to room."

Lucy's success story is just one of many concerning canines who have found homes through help of Woods and fellow volunteer, Peggy Breeden.

With help from a plethora of other volunteers, Breeden and Woods spearhead efforts to connect dogs at Rutherford County Pet and Adoption Welfare Services (PAWS) with new owners.

"My part is, as a volunteer at PAWS, I take photographs weekly and biweekly ... of all the dogs at the shelter," Woods explained.

Once the photos are taken, she then gives them to Breeden, whose task is to upload the photos onto the local Pet Finder network.

"We try to post every dog that comes through those doors to give them all an equal chance," Woods said.

Those animals who are not adopted will likely be euthanized, something nobody who works or volunteers at the shelters wants to see happen, Woods assured.

"I wish I could count the number of times (PAWS workers) burst into tears," Breeden explained.

That's why Breeden and Woods work so hard to help find these animals homes.

Along with volunteer work at the shelter, Woods and Breeden foster animals for various rescue groups. This gets an animal out of the shelter while it awaits adoption through a local pet rescue group.

Although she's tempted to keep some of the animals on occasion, Woods said she "moves them on" in order to make space for another foster.

"If I foster and I keep, I can't rescue another one," Woods said.

"(The animals) just need a change. They just need the exposure. These are nice animals coming through here," she said.

Almost daily she sends out e-mails to rescue groups and volunteers across the country in efforts to find homes for the hundreds of dogs that come through the shelter weekly.

"She puts in 50 to 60 hours (of volunteer time) a week. She's online day in and day out," said Kim Lickteig, volunteer coordinator at PAWS.

In those 50 volunteer hours she uploads photos, writes descriptions of the dogs, and updates which ones have been adopted or haven't been so lucky. Some days her volunteer work isn't easy because she has to delete so many animals from the adoption files.

"You look at those pictures and say, 'I really tried for you,'"

Although Woods and Breeden are "majorly vital" in finding homes for animals at the shelter, these three aren't the only volunteers who help in this process.

"Every single person (at the shelter) is a thread in the blanket. If you pull out a thread, you'll have a hole," Lickteig said. "But we can always use more help."

Whether you can volunteer for one hour once a week or you can dedicate more time, help is always welcome, Lickteig said.

"We count on (volunteers)".

Reference: http://dnj.midsouthnews.com

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