Traveling South to the Dog Pounds….

We’re a day into this trip, but all we’ve done so far is drive (and drive). No traffic, no complaints, it just feels very anticlimactic and I’m ready to get to the shelters. I forget how friendly and sweet people are in the south until I get down here. Not sure if it’s authentic, but it sure is pleasant. I’ve already been called honey, darlin’, and sweetheart more times in twenty-four hours than seems reasonable, but I’ll take it.

Ian has snapped hundreds of pictures out the window but has not deemed any of them ‘post-worthy’. Hopefully, he’ll lower his standards soon so I can post to our Facebook and Instagram feeds so the people supporting this trip can see what we’re seeing — mountains, kudzu vines swallowing entire forests along the highway, plenty of trucks, plenty more American flags, and since we entered Tennessee, gobs of horse-trailers. The roadside signs are fairly entertaining — equally biblical messages and adult entertainment stores. The fog comes and goes. Today we’ve alternated between Ian’s 70’s Pandora station and podcasts of The Moth.

Two more hours of driving and then finally — dogs! We’ve come to tell their stories and to share their pictures in the hopes of raising awareness about the conditions in too many places in the south. It’s our first official trip for Who Will Let the Dogs Out, our fledling non-profit intiative as part of the rescue, Operation Paws for Homes.

This will be my second visit to Maury County Shelter, and I’m really (really) hoping things are better this time. They have a new director, so it will be interesting to see what has changed. Maury is a large, open-intake shelter in Columbia, Tennessee with a large building, a good-size budget (relatively speaking), a big staff, and from what I remember, strong volunteer support.

The last time I was here the biggest problem was the length of time (a month or longer) that dogs were kept in ‘stray hold’ — unevaluated, unstimulated, isolated, which caused undo stress. Shelter life can sometimes be harder on a dog than life as a stray. They get meals, but without companionship, toys, exercise, or engagement combined with the noise and tiny space, it can break down dogs quickly.

The other issue I remember at Maury was that the dogs were given no bedding and no toys because it made clean up too difficult and clogged their drainage system. The dogs each had a tiny, hard plastic shelf in their kennels and nothing else.

It seemed like solitary confinement, punishment for some unknown and uncarried-out crime. I remember the sad, sad eyes and how some dogs flung themselves at the kennel doors as we passed and others huddled in the back corner of their tiny space.

Here are a few of the faces of Maury County the last time I visited. Hopefully, things will look different on this next visit.

Since this first trip, I’ve gone back two more times and am in the midst of planning another trip in January, despite COVID restrictions. The situation has not improved, despite a brief flurry of rescue adoptions at the onset of the pandemic. Now the shelters and dog pounds are filling again and the desperation level only rises.

I am posting the stories of our trips in the hope that they will motivate more people to help, to spread the word, and to consider donating what they can in terms of time or resources to help the dogs that have been forgotten. You can find more information on all of the shelters, pounds, and rescues that we’ve visited and how to help them directly on our website, Who Will Let the Dogs Out.

Together, we can let the dogs out.

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