A Dream That Started Long Before Paws for Concern

My dream of helping animals didn't begin with Paws for Concern.

In 2000, in Georgia, I started a little business called C.A.R.T. Together, my husband, our children, and I helped 88 animals find new homes.

Those animals became part of our family while we cared for them, loved them, and worked to find the right families to adopt them.

That experience stayed in my heart and became part of a dream I never stopped carrying with me.

THE DREAM

I used to dream about winning the lottery so I could build a rescue ranch — a place where unwanted, old, blind, disabled, three-legged, and other animals that had nowhere else to go could live out the rest of their lives surrounded by love.

I thought I needed millions of dollars and a physical place to make that dream happen.

Then God spoke to my heart.

He showed me that I didn't have to have a million dollars. I didn't have to own a rescue ranch. I didn't have to be able to rescue every animal myself.

I just had to start helping in the way I could.

And that became the beginning of Paws for Concern.

A LIFETIME OF WORKING WITH ANIMALS

My connection to animals has been a lifelong journey.

I have been a professional dog groomer for 42 years, a business owner for 37 years, a grooming instructor for 9 years, and a dog trainer for 5 years.

Through those years, I have had the privilege of working with thousands of dogs and their families. I've seen the incredible bond between people and their animals, but I've also seen how quickly circumstances can change when a family is struggling.

Needless to say, animals are my passion.

They have been a part of my life, my family, and my work for more than four decades. I have learned from them, cared for them, taught others about them, and seen firsthand just how important the human-animal bond can be.

FROM RESCUE TO CONNECTION

I may not have the rescue ranch I once dreamed about, but I've come to realize something even more important:

I am now able to help so many more animals than I ever could have at the rescue ranch.

Instead of helping only the animals I could physically take in, Paws for Concern gives me the opportunity to help connect people and their pets with resources wherever they may be.

The dream became bigger than one building, one rescue, or one community.

It became about building connections that can help people and animals across the country.

A SITUATION THAT STOLE MY HEART

As I began researching the challenges facing people and their pets, one particular situation stole my heart:

Helping people experiencing domestic violence take their pets with them when they leave.

Too many people facing domestic violence are forced to make an unimaginable choice — leave their beloved pet behind or remain in an unsafe situation because they have nowhere safe to take their animal.

They may be afraid that if they leave their pet behind, the animal could be harmed, neglected, or used as a way to control them.

No person should have to choose between their own safety and the safety of their beloved pet.

This became an especially important part of the vision for Paws for Concern.

I want to help build connections between people fleeing dangerous situations and the organizations, shelters, foster homes, and other resources that can help keep their pets safe, too.

Because sometimes helping a person means helping the animal they love.

And sometimes saving a pet means helping their person get to safety.

THE DREAM CONTINUES

My dream of having a place where animals could be safe and loved never really disappeared.

It simply changed.

Today, instead of one rescue ranch, I dream of a nationwide network of people and organizations working together to help animals and the people who love them.

I may not have the physical place I once imagined, but I have something I believe can reach so much farther.

I have Paws for Concern.

And through Paws for Concern, I can help connect people, pets, and resources — one person, one animal, and one connection at a time.

“The dream didn't disappear. It just grew into something bigger.” 🐾