Rescue partners Lori Powell Fells and LaDonna Rhodes with Paws N Claws – Eufaula know too well that “fur baby” rescues are more than lucky to find forever homes. Since starting the county rescue group, Fell and Rhodes not only have rescued more than 33 pound pups from being euthanized but also have helped to find homes for three times as many abandoned animals in Mc-Intosh County and the surrounding areas.
“Though we constantly have to tell people that we do not have a facility to house animals that are picked up by individuals within our county, we do our best to get these poor animals posted on our Paws N Claws –Eufaula Facebook site so others can share until we find homes for them,” Fells said. “Sometimes we can find fosters who are willing to take in an animal or two also. We have even taken in several ourselves until we could find homes for these sweet souls. However, occasionally we “foster fail” ourselves which is how both of us have ended up with several more fur babies to join our crews.”
Fells has added Glenn Campbell since January when a lady saw what she thought was a pile of leaves in the middle of the road but then this little matted and frail dog raised up its head. Thankfully she didn’t run over him and Lori was able to get him to a vet who said he had a collapsed trachea which pulled his bottom mouth back causing his tongue to stay out. The vet said he was super old and didn’t know how much more time he would have. That’s when Lori decided that they would keep Glenn Campbell and give him the best for the remainder of his little life.
Rhodes has also helped rescue feral cats in Muskogee County where she has lived for the past seven years. She stated that her family has fixed and rehomed over 42 cats out of their neighborhood alone. She has also “foster failed” and taken in a pup named Freckles from a litter toss out at South Point last year. Then a 3-week-old kitten that had lost its mother and siblings was brought into the pound through a mutual friend and she bottle raised her and couldn’t say goodbye.
“I have an American Pit Terrier mix that we rescued two years ago here in Muskogee,” Rhodes said. “Sterling loves to help with all our foster kitties. But this last kitten, our other rescue, Freckles, took up with her and I just couldn’t separate them. This silly kitten we named Truffles literally loves the dogs more than the cats in our home and so we call her our cat-dog. She truly thinks she is part of the pack.”
Since starting in January of 2024 Paws N Claws has seen its fair share of heartache and worked to make a difference in their county.
“We have had a litter of seven abandoned lab pups that had Parvo when they came in and we spent over a thousand dollars trying to save them but only four survived. We’ve also seen animals hoarded and abused in this county and have worked with the sheriff ’s office to try to stop this insanity in our area. At least one case has been filed in our district but there are so many others that are falling through the cracks,” Rhodes said. “We have got to have stricter laws and the means to go after individuals that abandon and abuse animals. I believe we should hit them where it hurts the most – their pocket books! If the judicial system would set bigger fines and actually enforce these laws then we might stop spinning our wheels. We have talked with so many other rescues in the past year and all of them are overworked and overwhelmed by the magnitude of this overlooked problem. I still say we don’t want to just make a statement we want to make a difference! We aren’t going to stop until we see changes in our community and country!”
Until those changes come, Paws N Claws does what it can to keep helping animals in the area. They started a Pet Pantry that offers help with pet food to those who need a little help from time to time. It is located inside the Indian Journal. They have also helped other rescue organizations with adoptions and hope to do several more community awareness events this year.
“I know it seems hopeless at times, but we have a great group of supporters who believe there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. So we are going to keep shining that light and rescuing one animal at a time because to them we made a difference.”
