Jewell C. Perkins of Covington passed away on June 21. Her family remembers how she loved the Tennessee Waltz and spoiled her dogs as if they were her children.
Before her death, her primary caregiver, her grandson Cliff Gresham of Covington, was helping her take care of her two Labrador retriever mixes Lucy and Mollie. Now that she is gone, Gresham is trying to find the dogs a good home with the help of Georgia Rescue and Rehab in Bostwick.
"I already have two bulldogs in my backyard," Gresham said, "and with the size of my backyard, I just can’t have a pack."
In her will Perkins left between $5,000 and $7,000 to the Newton County Humane Society, so Gresham asked the society if they could help him place Mollie and Lucy with a good family. They referred him to GRR.
"As far as I know we’re the only rescue group that provides a courtesy listing," said Carol Harris, GRR public relations director.GRR posted a listing for Mollie and Lucy on Petfinder.com free of charge for Perkins’ dogs. All Gresham had to do was provide photos and a brief bio of each dog.
"We decided that the economy is such that it was a great need," Harris said of people who have recently lost jobs or their homes, "and no one was addressing it."
GRR only lists non-aggressive animals that are vetted and vaccinated. They also encourage owners to spay and neuter their pets before listing them to make them more attractive for adoption.
Gresham can now review adoption applications for the dogs to decide which families will adopt them. After all, that’s how his grandmother would have wanted it.
"I would like to keep them together," Gresham said, "but I’m not going to pass up a good home if somebody just wants one."
Both Mollie and Lucy are older female Lab mixes. They are both up to date on their shots as well as spayed. Their medical records are available for the adopter. Lucy is a black Lab mix and Molly is a yellow Lab mix. Gresham described them both as "sweet and well-behaved" dogs.
"My kids are around them all the time," Gresham said.
If you are interested in adopting one or both of the dogs, visit the GRR Web site at www.garescueandrehab.com. Click on the Petfinder link to find Mollie and Lucy’s profiles and fill out an adoption application.
GRR will be hosting an adoption day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15 at the Starbucks in Madison.
