volunteers Danielle Kramer, Monica Wesolowski and Jennifer Naujokas were on board. And once they
witnessed the desperate state of the animals for themselves they, too, became deeply committed to
the relief mission.
food, doghouses, straw bales, flea, tick and heartworm preventative, toys and other accessories, the
group had to find funding. And that's where the magic of social media came in.
contacting local (pet supply) stores," Danielle explained. "We asked Petsmart and Petco for expired
food and began working with two Tractor Supply Co stores in Canton, which were amazing. They gave
us a huge box of toys, cedar shavings, flea and tick treatments and de-wormers, just tons of stuff. We
got a lot of donations from the Angels volunteers and started stockpiling supplies."
long the group grew from the four core members to a dozen volunteers.
about 40 dogs from the area and helped about 100 animals. We're trying to get more and more
organized and we've learned a lot through trial and error, but no matter what, if we've helped one
(animal), we've done well."
more "sketchy" part of the neighborhood. His owner never
bothered to come out of his house to see what we were doing.
The poor dog cried as we left.
to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome dogs and cats in the Atlanta
area, I jumped at the chance to join the group and experience
the outreach effort for myself. It was inspiring to be in the
than willing to get up early on a weekend and devote an entire day to helping pets in need.
Home Depot parking lot, some of us sipping coffee, all of us prepared to get dirty. It's obvious these
people have developed a close affinity, as there were plenty of smiles, laughter and hugs to be had as
everyone greeted each other.
15-20 homes in three neighborhoods, we loaded up on straw bales and caravanned toward our first
destination, our five trucks and SUVs packed to the gills with food and supplies. From the moment we
arrived at the first neighborhood, it became glaringly obvious to me why this outreach mission needs
to exist.
the same way as they do in the low-income neighborhoods of Rome. While there were a few
exceptions, the majority of the dogs we visited lived on chains, often in dirty or overgrown backyards
where they received very little human interaction. Forget about going on car rides to the dog park,
sleeping on comfy couches or being part of a family most of these dogs had nothing except for a
dilapidated, makeshift doghouse, if they were lucky. Fencing is expensive, and since many of the