“While driving to work one morning in November 2012, I noticed a young lady pulled over on an exit ramp, tossing something out her window. I then spotted a large white dog and pulled over to see if I could help, having some chicken handy for my lunch that day. We kept this boy from getting into the road until the Animal Control officer arrived. He was loaded up and taken to the Lee County Animal Shelter. I monitored his activity to see if anyone would adopt or rescue him. After about a week and a half, a rescue came through. However, being an intact male, while leaving the shelter he had another intact male and in-heat female go past him and he snapped at the male. The rescue denied him, saying he had to be “bomb proof.” Two days later, I went to the shelter and adopted him, as I would not let him die. His name is now Luke and that young lady, Kelly, helped to save his life. Luke was the start of a journey that went from transporting animals for other rescues to the creation of the nonprofit organization, Lending Paws A Hand.

Early in 2013, while helping to transport dogs for rescues and very interested in the plight of Lee County animals, I noticed a dog on the shelter site that I wanted to see rescued. His name was Van Gogh, and he tugged at my heart. I was not yet set up in rescue and only had a few contacts in rescue whom I had helped to get their dogs safely to the next transport person. Early one morning, I saw that the shelter was beyond capacity and they could not keep all the dogs there. I begged someone to help me and got the answer I was waiting for—”Go get him now!” I bolted out the door and drove as fast as possible only to get to the shelter and he had just been put to sleep. I cried like a baby, as did those who said, “Go get him!” Van Gogh was definitely the reason I took on a much different role in rescue. That day was the moment I knew I needed to learn more and do more.”