[title subtitle=”WORDS Liesel Schmidt
IMAGES courtesy Courtesy 3 Girls Animal Rescue and Pawzatively Canine”][/title]
Based on the billions of dollars that people spend on their pets, it’s pretty clear that they hold a special place in our hearts. Blinged out collars, pet carriers that look like designer handbags, chef-crafted food…we give our pets everything imaginable and more, thinking of them like family members and making their lives as happy as possible.
Unfortunately, not all pets are so lucky. Some pets are abused, neglected, abandoned—or worse. These helpless creatures are left without hope, sometimes having to make their way on the streets, sometimes ending up in shelters and facing a horrible fate. But there truly is hope, when people open their hearts. And for the wonderful people who keep organizations like 3 Girls Animal Rescue and Pawzatively Canine, Inc. running, the hearts are overflowing with love and hope and help for the animals that so desperately need it.
“I’ve always had a strong love of animals, and I grew up in a home where we always had both dogs and cats—all of which were strays. As a teenager, I brought home homeless animals, and throughout my entire adult life, I’ve had multiple pets,” says Peggy McMullen, who owned and operated a grooming/boarding shop for fifteen years before retiring in 2018. Naturally, because her love of animals was more than just a professional interest, she became associated with several local rescue organizations by offering to groom their severely neglected dogs to save them the expense, which led to fostering them. “I had the space, since I had a boarding area where I could keep them until they were adopted or transported, and I’ve now fostered dozens of litters of puppies as well as adult dogs, bottle fed so many kittens I’ve lost count, and rescued multiple animals on my own,” she says.
Retirement from the shop could have meant the end of fostering, but for McMullen, it was just the beginning of an even greater level of involvement in the mission to save these helpless animals. “It’s who I am, not just something I do; so, after I retired in 2018, I began reaching out to help individuals who had dogs and cats that needed to be re-homed,” McMullen explains. “Since I had a huge following of fellow animal lovers and rescuers on Facebook, I was able to make the connections to help find homes.”
And thus began the start of her work with 3 Girls Animal Rescue, an organization founded in 2014 by Angela Meek and Mitzi Burkhart whose primary mission was saving dogs from the seven city pounds in LeFlore County, Oklahoma. As the organization grew, they realized the need for a separate intake coordinator for cats—a role now filled by Peggy, who started her journey with them on a very literal journey. “I was helping with a dog and her pups and needed to find a rescue that could transport them. I was given the suggestion to contact Mitzi Burkhart with 3 Girls Animal Rescue and was informed that they had a transport set to go to Minnesota, but no one to drive it,” Peggy recalls. “My husband and I agreed to drive the transport, and that began my work with 3 Girls Animal Rescue.” Since taking on her position as intake coordinator for cats, she has been able to save the lives of nearly 200 cats and help them find loving homes.
Sharing that level of passion for finding loving homes for animals, Donna Sullivan was inspired to create her own nonprofit, Pawzatively Canine, Inc., in 2015, using her long history of independently rescuing dogs and cats as the foundation for her newly minted organization. “I’ve seen far too many homeless puppies and dogs that could not advocate for themselves and felt compelled to assist in saving them,” Donna says of the reason she started the nonprofit. “There are too many abandoned dogs in our rural areas like our river bottoms, country back roads, and cemeteries, and I wanted to make a difference in the lives of these innocent puppies and dogs. I accomplish this by enlisting the help of individuals who share my vision, and that’s the basis of what we’re doing here at Pawzatively Canine.”
As a retiree, Sullivan could focus on hobbies or other interests to fill her time, but the passion she feels for her mission is far too great. “Our area is full of homeless pets that need a safe haven that offers them food, water, shelter, and routine veterinary care,” she says. “Many are left behind when their owners move or are simply dumped in rural areas to fend for themselves. We are the only hope they have to survive—never mind thrive or become a loving member of a family. To help reduce this problem and aid in educating the public on the importance of spaying and neutering as well as responsible pet ownership, we participate in many local events.”
In addition to being President and Founder of Pawzatively Canine, Donna is also a former Vice President of Companion Terriers for Veterans and boasts a robust menagerie of pets in her own household. “We have five dogs and two cats, along with the numerous puppies and dogs I foster,” she says. And while the name of the organization might suggest that they work solely with dogs, Sullivan and her team are equal opportunity animal lovers. “We do help other species when we can and have rescued, vetted, and placed several kittens, cats, and even a pot belly pig,” she says proudly.
And such work is certainly something to be proud of, as these big-hearted women and the organizations they represent are truly making a difference—both in the lives of the animals they rescue as well as in the lives of the people who offer their homes as a new place of hope. “Each year, millions of animals are euthanized due to the lack of homes,” says Peggy. “Adopting one of these shelter pets brings such a sense of fulfillment and gratification when you witness the change in their personality and even their appearance as they settle into a home where they feel safe and happy. For a lot of these animals, this may be the first time they have ever felt that feeling.”
For these rescued animals, that feeling may not be something they can express in words we understand, but it’s one they show us through the only way they know how: their unconditional love and loyalty. Oh, and the kisses. Don’t forget the kisses.
View available pets on 3 Girls Animal Rescue and Pawzatively Canine’s Facebook page!
3 Girls Animal Rescue
28871 N. Side Lane, Poteau, OK, 74953
3girlsanimalrescue.org
Pawzatively Canine, Inc.
P.O. Box 554, Mulberry, AR 72947
pcidogrescue@gmail.com
pawzativelycanine.org
