Humans love their animals. As a matter of fact, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 68 percent of U.S. households have a pet. The NIH states that interacting with pets decreases cortisol levels, lowers blood pressure, reduces loneliness, and boosts our moods. Those of us with pets can attest.
Nearly all of my pets have come from rescues or shelters. And though it took me a few years to even consider getting another dog after my Koby passed away, when the time was right I found my current dog Gracie through a rescue group. Bestfriend.org reports that there are 51,648 animal organizations in the United States.
The Island’s Sandy Paws Rescue (SPR) is one such organization. SPR is a registered nonprofit in the State of Massachusetts with a mission to rescue dogs from various shelters, cruelty situations, and owner surrenders, and take strays from Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. SPR also provides assistance to families in financial distress and helps people connect with spaying and neutering services.
Founder and director Ashley Medeiros started SPR in 2018. “I had been volunteering for another place and I kind of wanted to do my own thing that was more community based,” she told The Times.
Sandy Paws moves anywhere from six to 20 dogs a week. “We have a transport company who works with us,” Medeiros explained. “Cats we only do locally. There is a rather large stray cat population on the Vineyard. When the warm weather hits you’ll see kittens and pregnant cats. We try to take those in.”
Since SPR is a shelterless organization, it relies on a network of on- and off-Island volunteers and fosters to provide short and long-term care for animals. “I have a team of 10 adoption coordinators who take care of the applications and our foster home leader Deb Sharkey has some volunteers who help her as well,” Medeiros shared. “We also have an amazing social media volunteer, Megan Donnelly, who creates really cute and creative content.”
Rachel Serwa, who lives on the Vineyard, is a long time SPR volunteer who helps Medeiros with administrative tasks and more. She runs around the Island helping fosters and takes dogs to events off-Island.
Serwa has been living on-Island for about 10 years and began volunteering with animals as a kid. “I got my first dog of my own when I was 12. My parents said, ‘If you can pay for it, you can get it,’ not thinking I could do it,” she said, laughing. Serwa works part-time at the Lookout Tavern and Rockfish, and full-time at Sandpiper Realty. ”Even with my three jobs, I make the time to do it. It’s so rewarding and important.”
The level of commitment volunteers take on varies. “We have folks who are working, retired, who have kids, and those who don’t,” Medeiros said. “Some volunteers have dogs for two to four weeks and some step in when other fosters go away — relief fosters. We also have summer residents who foster.”
Married couple Emily and Kyle Crossland are teachers on-Island and have been fostering for years. “I’m home with my daughter this year,” Emily shared. “But I teach at the Tisbury school and Kyle teaches at the high school. During COVID we were working remotely, and it hit me that fostering was something we could do. We have three dogs, five cats, and our 11-month-old daughter. It’s already chaotic, so we thought, ‘What’s another?’ It’s really fun. We’re currently on our 37th foster.”
Animals aren’t the only ones who benefit from the work SPR does. “One story that stands out for me is about an Island rescue cat named Felix,” Medeiros said. “This poor guy was in rough shape. He wasn’t the friendliest — found as a stray in Tisbury, beat up, missing fur, and just your classic stinky, scrappy tomcat. We got him vetted, and a man named James Harrison stepped up to foster him … but of course, Felix ended up staying for good. James sadly passed away on March 29, and Felix never left his side.”
SPR is always seeking fosters and volunteers, “even if it is just to transport a dog,” Medeiros said. “Right now we have about 32 dogs in Massachusetts looking for homes. We’re one big, chaotic, dog-fur-covered family, which is how I wanted it to be. I wanted this to be about community. People who may never have met have become friends through volunteering, fostering, and meeting at events. As an adult it’s hard to make friends. Volunteering helps get people out of the house and helps animals find homes.”
Visit sandypawsmv.com to learn more about SPR and foster/volunteer opportunities. Follow SPR on Facebook at facebook.com/SandyPawsRescue and on Instagram at instagram.com/sandypawsrescue.