For the past four years, Mary Baker, a 16-year-old junior at Greenbrier High School, has been making a difference in the lives of animals all across Richmond County and Burke County.
After adopting two rescued dogs (both cocker spaniel, basset hound, terrier mixes), Mary wanted to help other animals find loving homes as well. Through the Augusta Animal Rescue Friends (AARF), a local non-profit organization, Mary has able to put her passion for animals to use.
Every Saturday Mary and a team of other volunteers head down to Augusta Animal Services where they collect a variety of dogs and cats and take them to the PetSmart on Robert C. Daniel Parkway in the hopes that a good family will come and adopt them.
“Often times people don’t want to go out to the animals, so we bring the animals to them,” says Margie Maccario, one of the original founders of AARF.
All of the dogs are spayed and neutered and ready to be placed in homes. While it is hard to see the animals that don’t get adopted go back to the shelter, Mary noted that the most rewarding part of volunteering is getting to see the animals sent to good homes and hearing updates from them later.
She recalls one particular story where during the holidays a family sent back a picture of their recently adopted dog on a comfy bed with a giant bone in front of a Christmas tree. It’s stories like these that keep Mary motivated to continue her work, and her genuine passion doesn’t go unnoticed.
“Mary is willing to do anything we ask her to and more. She walks the dogs, talks to people about the dogs…she’s very passionate about what she does,” Maccario said.
“We call her our personal dog whisperer; she has an affinity for the shy, scared dogs. I really believe she has a connection with them. If she left us we’d be in trouble,” she added.
In addition to working with AARF on Saturdays, she also helps keep the website updated during the week and has been working with the Old Fella Burke County Animal Shelter and the CSRA Humane Society. She’s even done the Kelsi Long Memorial Ride with her dad. Her mom is a huge animal lover as well and rescued a horse that now belongs to Mary. Because Burke County doesn’t have any form of animal control, working with Old Fella has been challenging, because for many animals it is their last chance.
“We have literally seen puppies in trash cans. They found them the day before the trash came,” Mary said, describing the overpopulation of stray dogs in Burke County.
Old Fella also helps dogs find homes locally. After a family applies for adoption, the workers do a home inspection to make sure the potential owners have provided honest information and have all of the right resources to care for a pet. By volunteering, Mary has found that she is not only able to help the animals, but she has been able to grow as a person as well.
“It’s made me stronger, more mature,” she said. “You see hard situations and sometimes you have to hold your tongue. It really does show the best and worst in people.”
Mary plans to continue working with animals as an adult and has wanted to become a zoologist since she was a child. Another dream of hers is to work with Bad Rep, a pit bull rescue in California that took in many of Michael Vick’s dogs a few years ago. Mary wants to work with pit bulls because “they’re misunderstood, they’re the true underdogs.”
If you or anyone you know is interested in volunteering with any of these organizations, Maccario encourages potential volunteers: “Don’t be afraid. Take the first step and don’t just do it for the sake of volunteering. Do it for a reason.”
Teen Board Member Mary Elizabeth Goodell is a junior at Westminster Schools of Augusta
Want to get involved with AARF or Old Fella Burke County Rescue? Get information at their website at http://www.aarf.net/, and to look at Old Fella Burke County Rescue, find Old Fella Burke County Animal Rescue on Facebook.
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