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Noor, short for Norbert, 4 months old, was rescued from the euthanasia list at Memphis Animal Services and is available for adoption.
ST. MARYS - A Grand Lake dog lover is saving the lives of canines scheduled for euthanasia with a newly established dog rescue.
Although St. Marys resident Jamie Perry just created the nonprofit Redemption Tails Rescue in mid-June, she said she's already saved around 20 dogs that were slated to be euthanized at Memphis Animal Services in Tennessee.
"We started June 20," she said. "I personally have always been a dog lover, so we have six rescue dogs of our own. I don't know if it was like my online algorithm, or what, but I started seeing a bunch of different social media accounts posting for high-kill shelters posting their daily euthanasia lists, which were insane. And I kind of narrowed it down to Memphis Animal Services," Perry said.
She chose that specific agency in Tennessee because they received the least publicity compared to other well-known, national "kill shelters."
"They kind of had the least social media presence. For example, there's some accounts, like Rescue Me ATL, that are super popular and literally their (posts about high-kill shelters are) reshared by Paris Hilton, so they've got, like, huge traction," Perry said. "And I noticed that Memphis Animal Services have the same issues (as other high-kill shelters), but not as big of a social media following. … They state that they're about a 70-80% success rate. I actually have someone who is on their advisory council that contacted me personally, and (said that) they're closer to a 50% success rate."
Coco Bean, 8-months-old, was rescued by Redemption Tails Rescue from the euthanasia list at Memphis Animal Services. She's healing from a surface-level wound and available for adoption.
The department, formed in 1936, is within the City of Memphis Division of Public Services and Neighborhoods, and was formerly known as the Memphis Dog Pound. Its mission is to make the city a "safe place for people and pets; to keep pets with the families who have them; and to care for and save the lives of pets who enter the shelter," per its website.
However, Perry said that, above all, the agency looks after the humans of Memphis.
"It's such a mass kill shelter," she said. "The best way that it's been explained to me is that Memphis Animal Services exists for the people of Memphis, so cleaning up the streets of Memphis. But it doesn't exist for the dogs. They essentially don't care about the dogs once they get there. If they did, you wouldn't be adding puppies and perfectly healthy dogs to the (euthanasia) list."
Their euthanasia list is updated daily, sometimes with just three dogs at serious risk, and at most, she's seen 30 dogs on it in one day.
The list was shocking to Perry. Her natural inclination as a dog lover was to adopt every single one of them, but with six of her own plus a 3-year-old child, she and her husband have no vacancies for a new pup.
"I'm like at capacity at my house, and I knew that there was a lot bigger of a problem. Even if I were to adopt one dog, the list is just going to keep regenerating," Perry said. "So that's when I was like, 'I work from home - personally, I've got to do more.' And then Redemption Tails Rescue was born."
The organization is registered as an Ohio Department of Agriculture dog rescue and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Through those credentials, the rescue was able to become an official pet placement partner for Memphis Animal Services.
That partnership allows Perry to pull dogs from the agency's euthanasia list. Once a dog is marked for the euthanasia list, many of them can't be adopted and can only be picked up by an officially recognized rescue, like Redemption Tails.
"Initially I was making the 17-hour round trip drive myself," she said. "But once the woman from the Advisory Council of Memphis Animal Services reached out, she brought me into this bigger network of rescues and fosters and transportation who were working literally around the clock - unpaid mind you - to get these dogs out."
Perry is expecting her first round of dogs from Memphis tomorrow through a woman who will pick up a large pack of dogs on the euthanasia list and drop them off at registered dog rescues all over Ohio.
Harper and her nine, 5-week-old puppies are headed to St. Marys tomorrow after being saved from the euthanasia list in Memphis. All are available for adoption.
"We have Harper and her eight puppies; Dodger, who's a 2 ½-month-old puppy; then Charlotte and Koda (coming)," she said. "The reason we were able to accept Charlotte, Dodger and Koda is because we had local fosters offer (to take them in). I put out on social media if anyone could help me foster a puppy, and we had a huge response. … Harper and the puppies had already been in the works, we were just waiting on transportation, which happens every two weeks to Ohio."
Redemption Tails Rescue's outreach is all done by Perry at her home, she said. The dogs go from the kennel atmosphere in Memphis into area foster homes, which allows them to get excellent care and become acclimated to various environments.
As well, Perry said that Amazing Grace Pet Space in Wapakoneta keeps one kennel space open for Redemption Tails at all times.
"I go back and forth (on whether or not to establish my own physical shelter)," she said. "It was my initial goal. However, I think there's a really big benefit for having dogs in foster homes just because they get more one-on-one care. We can learn about their personalities so they'll have a better shot at getting adopted and that being successful. We can know, 'Are they good with other dogs? Are they good with cats?' Initially, my goal was never to go pulling from a shelter environment, putting them into another shelter environment. I knew that immediately."
Perry added she is always accepting new people willing to foster to help her on her mission of transforming what could have been an ending into a story of redemption.
"The more foster homes we have, the more dogs we're able to pull, and they'll have a loving place before they get adopted."
Those interested can reach out to Perry via email at info@redemptiontails.org for the quickest response. More information can be found on the Redemption Tails Rescue Facebook or Instagram pages.
Interested parties can support Redemption Tails Rescue with monetary donations at redemptiontails.org. She also accepts donations of pet supplies. Locals can also show support by participating in an upcoming fundraiser and supply drive for the rescue at Biggby Coffee in St. Marys on International Dog Day on Aug. 26.
