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Michael Garth/Michael Garth Photography for Operation Paws for Homes
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Michael Grath/Michael Grath Photography for Operation Paws For Homes
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Michael Garth/Michael Garth Photography for Operation Paws for Homes
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Michael Garth/Michael Garth Photography for Operation Paws for Homes
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Michael Garth/Michael Garth Photography for Operation Paws for Homes
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Michael Garth/Michael Garth Photography for Operation Paws for Homes
Operation Paws for Homes started as a passion project for Jennifer Dodge, but the Alexandria-based organization now credits its 300-plus animal-loving volunteers for saving thousands of animals over the past 8 years.
Dodge, a lawyer by trade, has always had a huge place in her heart for animals. In her spare time, she often volunteered at a local cat rescue organization, and when her family decided they wanted a dog of their own, they made sure to adopt one from a rescue.
After working as a lawyer at a firm that did a lot of pro bono work, Dodge switched to a firm that did not make that kind of work a priority. “To go to just being a corporate lawyer was a little boring, and I missed doing so much good,” she said.
Dodge had always been aware of the large number of animals that are put down every day because animal shelters are overpopulated, and because too many people don’t spay and neuter their pets. Dodge said she heard a lot of talk about how dire the conditions were at shelters in some southern states along the East Coast.
“For example, I heard from many people who planned to adopt a rescue dog, that nine times out of 10 the dog was already dead when they got there to pick it up,” she said, pointing out how bad communication was between interested foster families and shelters.
“The number of dogs moving up and down the Eastern Seaboard is mindboggling. It’s in the tens-of-thousands per year, and probably even more.”
So, Dodge decided to take a trip to visit some shelters in the South to see for herself.
“Many of the shelters I visited were just awful,” she said.
Dodge decided to put her lawyering skills to work and scheduled a meeting with the Robeson County, North Carolina's Department of Health. She presented documented information and reports of the bad conditions and highlighted the high kill numbers that went along with those conditions.
Local and national pressure mounted as a lawsuit was filed against the county, which resulted in many of the abusive and reckless shelter employees (including the director) being removed from their jobs, she said.
The experience led to many serious discussions with her husband about how they wanted to make a difference, and the two eventually decided the time could be right to start their own organization that not only helped to rescue animals and find them good families, but also change the industry for the better around the east coast, and especially the southern states.
Dodge founded Operation Paws for Homes (OPH) in 2010 while continuing to work as a lawyer.
Committed to making a difference
A noticeable shift that has been taking place in the pet industry over the past few years is an increase in the number of rescue organizations and “low-kill” shelters, and less of an emphasis on “purchasing” pets at pet stores. That shift is resulting in positive change in local communities like Alexandria and the area at large.
Operation Paws for Homes is working to take that positive change to an even higher level. Their work to rescue animals from all along the East Coast and place them with caring foster families and “forever homes” is directly resulting in a reduction in the number of animals put to death each year due to shortages of resources and shelters.
From the beginning, Dodge said she wanted Operation Paws for Homes to be committed to “education before judgment.” What that means to her, she said, is that they work to educate local families about the best way to care for animals, rather than counting a family out from the beginning who haven’t been taught any skills. For example, just because a family lives in a townhouse does not mean they shouldn't own a medium or large dog. "If we can work with a family to understand the importance of training and exercise, then they should be allowed to join us in saving a dog's life," said Dodge. It also means working with shelters to help them obtain resources and initiate new programs and to reduce their kill numbers.
“From the beginning, we said, ‘Let’s be an organization that really and truly partners with shelters in the south, and builds a relationship and a bond with them,’” she explained. “I wanted it to be special, and I wanted to help [shelters] in South Carolina.”
Dodge set to work recruiting volunteers to help build her organization from the ground up. OPH has been fortunate because there is such a caring community of animal lovers in the Northern Virginia area who are generous not only with their time but with their donations of money and supplies.
In fact, they are so fortunate, she said, that many excess supplies gathered locally are now distributed among the more needy shelters in Southeastern states.
A big part of OPH’s mission is education and support. In addition to picking up animals from overpopulated rural areas, Dodge says the organization partners with the shelters and provide support that allows them to focus their energy on education local, developing adoption networks in their community, train staff and volunteers on humane practices and updates, and develop spay/neuter programs that will get to the root of the overpopulation problem by making spay/neuter affordable in their communities.
Thousands of pounds of dog food have already been donated to OPH shelter partners in 2018 to help ensure the shelters do not have to euthanize for space. Additionally, OPH understands the importance of spaying and neutering, and is launching a new program called Spay It Forward that will financially support free or inexpensive spaying and neutering events in partnership with their shelters.
Their work is already making a big impact in just a few years, Dodge said. For example, Bladen County in North Carolina used to have a staggering 80- to 90-percent kill rate of animals in their shelters—now they are down to just 5 percent.
“And of those 5 percent, the majority are humane kills, that are medically necessary,” she explained. “At the end of the day, if those shelters no longer need us—well, that’s exactly what we want to happen.”
Now that the organization has been running smoothly for eight years, Dodge has transitioned to serving on the board of directors, alongside many committed volunteers from diverse backgrounds. Dodge serves as the director of legal compliance, and they also have a certified public accountant, an educator, and many more who bring their expert skills to the table to help make OPH a success.
Currently, OPH rescues animals from South and North Carolina, rural Virginia, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Their international partnerships include the SPCA in Turks & Caicos as well as Kannan Animal Welfare in India. They have also recently begun doing work with small parts of Texas.
OPH adopts their rescue dogs to families in Maryland, Virginia and the District, as well as surrounding areas such as southeastern Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
“We mostly try to work with southern states that have big pet overpopulation problems,” Dodge explained.
The organization makes runs at least three times per month to shelters in these areas to pick up as many pets as they can, to try and relieve many of the more overrun shelters, and bring them back to the local area to help find them foster families. Stops are usually made in Springfield and Alexandria before moving on to Pikesville, Maryland, where foster family volunteers meet the animals they temporarily house until interested adoptive families are ready to take home their new family member.
“The dogs have all been tested medically, and received all the necessary shots and vaccinations,” Dodge said. “We also make sure to comply with all laws pertaining to transferring animals over state lines.”
People can visit the organization’s website to see photos of dogs who are currently housed temporarily by foster families but are looking for “forever homes,” if they are interested in potentially adopting a dog.
How can you help?
There are many ways local animal lovers can get involved with OPH’s cause.
- Donations of money: OPH is 100-percent funded by private donations and grants. You can donate money through their website to help keep them going.
- Donations of supplies: OPH has Wish Lists on shopping sites like Amazon, where you can purchase the supplies they need most and have them shipped directly to them. See details on their website.
- Shopping: There are many sites such as iGive, Amazon Smile and more that you can do your usual shopping through, and a percentage will be donated back to OPFH. Visit their website for details and links.
- Volunteer: There are all manner of volunteer opportunities, from admin work processing applications, to website and graphic design, to helping out at adoption events, doing social media and more. See more information on their website.
- Foster a dog: Whether you may want to keep the dog permanently, or you are just willing to house one until a forever home can be found, the organization is always looking for families interested in helping to care for dogs. Get more information on their website.
- Training rescue dogs: If you are someone you know are professional animal trainers, OPH could really use your help! Please reach out via the website if you can help.
You can also watch the documentary film “600 Miles Home,” on OPH’s website, which gives an in-depth look at the organization and the work it does, if you’re interested in learning more about them.
Visit Operation Paws for Homes online at www.ophrescue.org.
