All It Takes Is One Animal Lover

By Olivia Carpenter, Membership Coordinator –

In mid-September 1999, Hurricane Floyd devastated the North Carolina coast, displacing thousands of people and pets just ten days after Hurricane Dennis had blown through. Future RedRover supporter Ms. Cook was living in the area at the time. Not one to sit back in a crisis, she felt compelled to do what she could to help her community, so she gathered donations to take to a drop-off location. As luck would have it, that location was a temporary animal shelter set up at a local university. While the devastation was overwhelming, the sight of so many people who turned up to help was heartening.

“It was just astounding! I just remember backing up my truck to a loading dock and people kept driving up and bringing more donations.” Seeing the compassionate support of neighbors, she thought, “This is awesome, this is so cool!” and wanted to get involved herself.

While there, shelter staff offered to show her around, an experience she’ll never forget. “It was just kennels and kennels of frightened animals.” Even though they had been rescued, it was still heartbreaking to see, and Ms. Cook was left with a very clear picture of the immense work it takes to care for animals after a large-scale disaster.

That singular experience and her deep love for animals affirmed her decision to become a United Animal Nations EARS volunteer the following year – now known as RedRover Responders volunteers – and in 2003 she deployed to help care for pets displaced by Hurricane Isabel. Ms. Cook had just finished her first semester of college, and was working a minimum wage job to support herself and her young son. Despite the responsibilities on her shoulders, Ms. Cook was delighted to volunteer.

“It was an amazing opportunity. I remember cleaning out crates and, you know, having a little bit of interaction with the puppies, playing with them and feeding them while there’s this crazy storm going on outside.”

Difficult though it was, the work was tremendously fulfilling and a great way to help pets in need using resources she could spare: her time and energy. Over the years, Ms. Cook stayed involved in animal welfare efforts, supporting not only RedRover but local opportunities too, like Jade’s Jam, a yearly event that brings “awareness and knowledge to the community about animal welfare issues, animal cruelty issues and also to promote responsible pet ownership,” and Susie’s Law, a bill that changed lives affected by animal cruelty in North Carolina. That campaign involved community events and grassroots advocacy, including speaking with her legislators. Having that sense of personal connection to the work is especially meaningful to Ms. Cook – it’s the difference between giving a donation to help an animal and personally caring for a displaced pet or going out into the community to bring about change on the legislative level.

<< You can help us raise $30,000 for animals in crisis and pet communities in need from April 23 through Big Day of Giving on May 7 >>

But as committed to helping animals as she is, Ms. Cook soon found herself with less and less time to spare, especially after graduating college and beginning her career. Ms. Cook soon found the perfect program that would allow her to make a direct impact in the life of an animal without having to spare significant amounts of time: RedRover Relief On-Call Angels. Since 2011, On-Call Angels have given thousands of beloved pets more time with their loved ones by donating larger grants ($150 or more) on a regular basis for individual animals in need of urgent veterinary care or temporary boarding for the pets of people escaping domestic violence.

“While I haven’t been able to go on deployments, I have kept up with the great work that RedRover has done and will continue to do. In the past five years I have been in a position where I can provide more support financially than I have in the past and that makes me happy.”

Unlike traditional donations, where a person’s involvement ends after clicking the donate button or mailing in a check, On-Call Angels get paired with specific pets in need and receive an email with the animal’s case details, including any pictures the family may have shared and sometimes even an update on the pet’s progress.

Those details and pictures are what makes all the difference to Ms. Cook, and why she’s been a RedRover supporter for over twenty-five years.

“Knowing that I am supporting a specific animal in a domestic violence situation, or an injured animal…I think it’s really cool, especially getting to see those details and hearing about the bond between the pet and its owner. It really does remind you of the bonds that you’ve had with your own pets. And that connection between you and somebody that you don’t even know, but you both understand the need that’s there…it’s tremendous to be able to help.”

Curious about the On-Call Angels? Submit an application to join here, or reach out to Olivia, Membership Coordinator, at olivia@RedRover.org.