“My favorite kind of dog is the underdog. ... They can not be too bad in my world,” said Jan Eaton, October’s Hometown Hero. Eaton is a director of Tri State Pet Rescue and has been involved in dog rescue work for about 20 years.
Eaton explained the mission of Tri State Pet Rescue. The non-profit’s motto is “saving dogs from euthanasia.” She said, “That’s what we do. We pull from the high kills primarily, because we feel the high kill facilities are the ones who need us the most.” The dogs are then transported to no-kill groups who place them into approved homes. Dogs are taken all along the east coast, from New Jersey and Massachusetts all the way down to Florida.
Eaton loves the dogs with the bad skin conditions. “I take the skin dogs – what I call the skin dogs, the mangy ones – and I think every Animal Control in North Georgia knows it, so every time one comes in I get tagged on it. ... In the high kill animal controls, they’ll put them down if nobody jumps for them immediately because they have to have medical attention. Those are my favorites. I like the underdogs the best – the mangy dogs, the black dogs, the ones no one wants.”
When asked why she does what she does, she said, “I don’t know, it’s a part of me. I feel like it’s a mission. I love it, I love it. There’s no two ways about it. I love it.”
Eaton credits her love of animals to her grandmother, who lived next door, and her support of spay and neuter to her grandma and her parents. She said they instilled those qualities in her at a very early age.
“Grandma took in every stray that walked through, and I got to help with all of that. Even so, we spayed and neutered, and there was no vet here locally. We had to drive to Dr. Lockheart in Cleveland, Tennessee, to have these dogs spayed and neutered; way before it was the cool thing to do,” she said. After a pause, she added, “Spay/neuter will be on my tombstone.”
When asked about the groups dogs are taken to, she said the rescue groups are often in affluent areas where there are waiting lines to see available dogs. At one particular shelter, potential adopters pulled a number and were told it’d be at least a two and a half hour wait, at which point they were told it’d be best to grab some lunch and come back. Eaton said, “We work with wonderful partners. We’re careful with where the dogs go, and we know how they do business once they get there.” She said Tri State probably moves about 1,000 dogs per year.
There is a great deal of vet care involved. Before being transported or adopted out, the dogs at least need vaccinations such as rabies and a health certificate, and many dogs need additional medical attention like heartworm treatment, skin treatments and more. “We could not do what we do with out Dr. Mitchell and the staff at Copper Basin Vet Clinic. They are so instrumental in what Tri State Pet Rescue does,” Eaton said.
Two dogs who were treated for severe skin conditions were able to be completely healed and adopted. One of the dogs, a Pit Bull named Hope, was found on the side of the highway in Pickens County. After being fostered and cared for, her sores and raw skin grew into a healthy light brindle coat. Because of that care, Hope found her forever home at an adoption event held at the Georgia’s Governor’s mansion this past March. “She was pitiful,” Eaton said, “but she turned out beautiful.”
Another dog, Betsy Ross was found on July 4 with seven week-old puppies. She had been shot and her front legs were shattered. She’d drag herself over to the puppies so they could nurse, but she was malnourished and the puppies had to be supplemented with bottle feeding for a little while. “Once she got nourished, she nursed some fat puppies,” Eaton said. The pups have all been adopted but Betsy Ross is still looking for a special home.
Two of the things Eaton is most proud of that Tri State has been able to accomplish is starting the First Companion Animal Rescue program in the Georgia Department of Corrections and bringing the Pilots N Paws program to the Bahamas.
In the prison program, detainees care for the animals, learn basic grooming, and learn how to train the dogs. She said the program is about seven years old and still going strong.
Pilots N Paws is based out of Florida so usually they fly the dogs to their Florida partners, she said. Thousands of pilots from across the nation participate by donating their time, their expertise and their plane to transporting dogs when the need arises. Because of a chance meeting with a board member of the Humane Society in Freeport, Bahamas when Eaton was on a cruise, Tri State was able to coordinate Pilots N Paws adding the Bahamas to their network. Many dogs have been flown out since Hurricane Dorian devastated much of the country.
Eaton is also proud and appreciative of the volunteers who make Tri State Pet Rescue the organization it is. She said, “Victoria DeShields oversees the sanctuary, where some of the dogs live, and also oversees the Barking Lot adoption events. John Cunningham is in charge of the thrift store in downtown Blue Ridge. Josh Durst and his family donated our big red transport van.” And, of Dr. Mitchell, she said, “He’s probably one of the most generous people I’ll probably ever meet.”
Eaton summed it up with, “There is a lot of people who make this happen. It’s not one person, I could never do it all, nobody could. It takes all of us.”