The pieces are falling into place for Gloria Davey, a cheerfully obsessed 64-year-old Indian Land retiree.Six years ago, she started the nonprofit animal-rescue group Paws in the Panhandle, with a thrift shop to generate revenues. In 2014, the group paid $92,000 for 12 acres near Fort Mill. Now, with architectural plans ready, she is raising money to build her dream – a no-kill shelter that would save more than 1,000 dogs and cats each year.
“I feel so blessed to have such great people helping make this much-needed facility a reality,” Davey said.
“I could not be happier to be a part of this solution and to be where we are in such a short period of time.”
The 4,000-square-foot building will cost about $700,000, Davey said. She plans to raise half the construction cost in donations, then ask a bank to lend the rest. The nonprofit has collected more than $100,000 toward that goal.
“We are kicking off our capital campaign,” Davey said. “We have come this far with our resources and are now reaching out to the community.”
Davey got a good fundraising bump the Friday after Thanksgiving. She was explaining all this to a reporter at the thrift shop, PAWSitively Thrifty. The place was busy, with a dozen cars in the parking lot.
A woman walked up, interrupted Davey and asked for her 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax-identification number.
By the time Long left, Davey was $1,000 closer to her target.
Paul Craig of Indian Land, a longtime Davey backer, bought a love-seat recliner that day for $185.
“We like to go through and find all kinds of treasures, and we like to support Paws in the Panhandle,” Craig said. “We are always contributing. We take some things out and bring things back in. It’s a great cause.”
Davey, a Chester native, retired in 2005 from Springs Industries after a 35-year IT career. At 55, she was too young and healthy to settle into the rocking chair on her porch. She had no children or grandkids to keep her busy. Her mother had recently passed away, and a divorce offered a new lease on life.
Davey signed up for a nine-month course to become a certified dog trainer.
She had never been to an animal shelter. During the course, she spent a lot of time on the dog side of those chain-link fences.
“I didn’t even know what a shelter was,” Davey said, with a little lingering embarrassment.
“I thought shelter animals were mean, aggressive and bit people.”
While getting her certification, Davey found her calling in life.
One step at a time
It started with Brownie, an abandoned mutt at the York County Humane Society. He was an unruly 65-pounder, and at age 3, his irresistible stage had long passed. It appeared he would spend his life without a family.
Davey began working with the dog several times a week, building trust and providing consistent care and discipline. Three months later, Brownie was adopted.
Davey spent the next several years volunteering in shelters, training abandoned and discarded dogs.
She decided she could save more animals by forming a rescue group. So in 2010, she founded Paws in the Panhandle. To fund the nonprofit, she started the thrift store on Whippoorwill Lane, just off Possum Hollow Road. All proceeds went to the rescue group.
At the time, Davey was orchestrating the rescue and placement of dogs with about 20 foster homes. She pulled dogs from county shelters, provided veterinarian care and hosted adoption events.
For a pet to be adopted, Davey interviewed the prospective owner, coordinated a meet-and-greet for the pet and checked references. The group averaged placing one dog each week in a permanent home.
Davey started making plans to build a sanctuary for homeless animals that would be inviting to people looking for a pet, a loving place for cats and dogs that had nowhere to go.
For six years, she has methodically pushed forward in her plans, step by step, through frustration, fatigue, bad knees and high blood pressure.
By the end of 2014, using profits from the thrift store and community donations, the nonprofit paid $92,000 for a 12-acre site near Regent Park in Fort Mill.
Davey realizes some pets have to be euthanized because of illness, injury or temperament, but at her sanctuary, no healthy animal will ever be killed because of limited space. There are only two no-kill facilities in the area, one in York County and one in Mecklenburg County.
On Davey’s refrigerator hangs a beautiful architectural drawing of the pet sanctuary. The facility would have 20 dog runs and house up to 50 dogs and, separately, 20 cats.
Most of them would come from area shelters, including the overcrowded Lancaster County Animal Shelter. According to shelter Director Alan Williams, 328 dogs were put to sleep there in 2015. The number is smaller this year, 151 through November.
The numbers for cats are much higher. In 2015, the county euthanized 1,043 cats, and 1,185 so far this year.
Ironing out details
The past two years Davey has cut back on adoption drives to focus on getting the sanctuary built. She has met with civil engineers, county zoning officials, architects and builders.
Since 2014, the thrift store and community donations have raised a third of the $350,000 needed to qualify for bank funding.
Donations of any amount can be made on the website www.pawsinthepanhandle.com, on the group’s Facebook page or in person at PAWSitively Thrifty. The group recently began a GoFundMe page, Paws in the Panhandle Sanctuary.
“If everyone in the county would give $2, we could build this,” Davey said. “We are in search of every single dollar from those willing to help us make this happen.”
Paws is seeking corporate and individual sponsors for one-time donations or ongoing contributions.
Davey said she’s confident that once the sanctuary is built, the income stream in place will provide the necessary $150,000 in annual operating costs.
Linda Taylor, one of three members of the nonprofit’s board of directors, said her longtime friend’s commitment to the project has been absolute.
“Gloria is a great person and very dedicated to this dream, and she is very focused on it,” Taylor said.
“This has been her life since 2010…. She has done everything in her power to make it happen. It has been a lot of work. I had no idea when she first started this what she was taking on, and I’m not sure she did either.”
Paws in the Panhandle’s board meets at 6 p.m. the first Monday of every month at the Del Webb Library in Indian Land. The public is welcome to attend.
Davey says her faith in her mission and a higher power keep her going.
“I have prayed about this so much,” she said.
“This is why I am here. I know it is. I pray, ‘Dear Lord, if this is something you want me to do, then give me some help.’”Davey is ready to sit in that dusty rocking chair on her front porch. She has no doubt the sanctuary will be built and she can enjoy retirement at a slower pace, with her little, long-haired Chihuahua, Bella, in her lap.
Her plan for the sanctuary includes an ongoing advisory board with an attorney, a veterinarian and an accountant.
“I want it to run without skipping a beat when I die,” Davey said.
Follow Reporter Mandy Catoe on Twitter @MandyCatoeTLN or contact her at (803) 283-1152.
https://www.gofundme.com/w9mk4b98
Want to help: Donations can be made on the website www.pawsinthepanhandle.com, on the groups facebook page or in person at PAWSitively Thrifty. The group's gofundme link is above - Paws in the Panhandle Sanctuary.
No comments:
Post a Comment