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By Mandy Haggerson

For the Clemmons Courier

From as early as she can remember, Susie Stamey loved rescuing animals.

“There has always been something instinctual about caring for animals and wanting to take action,” Stamey said. “We lived on 12 acres in Vermont, and we always had cats and dogs. Our neighbors always knew to call us if an animal needed help.”

Stamey’s first animal of her own that she cared for came to her at the age of 6.

“It was a cat named Tom Cat and not long after (that), we got Mokey,” Stamey said. “I’d take them with me wherever I went. My parents through animal rescue taught me at a young age the importance of doing your part. You can’t assume that someone else will.”

That sense of wanting to help continued when Stamey went off to college at West Virginia University.

“I remember the first time that I had heard someone had dropped off their animals to the local vet to be euthanized because they didn’t want to care for them any longer,” Stamey said. “I hopped in my car and drove to the vet’s office to pick up two bonded senior cats that had kidney failure and needed subcutaneous fluids once a week. I couldn’t let that be their end just because they needed extra care.” 

Not long after Stamey’s adventure to save the bonded cats, she got married to her husband, Philip.

“He wasn’t surprised that I had picked up two cats sight unseen,” Stamey said. “He also had a dog of his own and loved animals too, which was important. So, once we got married, we had four cats and a dog right off the bat.”

As Philip and Susie built their new lives together with their furry family members, they also welcomed human ones too. Daniel (20) and Emma (16).

“We realized pretty quickly how much they loved animals, too,” Stamey said. “When we had friends or people that we knew surrender animals, the kids always loved on them and were helpful with the rescue process.”

As time went on, Stamey got more and more involved with rescuing outside of her fulltime job at Northwestern Mutual.

“Through social media, I saw needs with the Forsyth Humane Society for fosters,” Stamey said. “Our family began to help out in that capacity. Then, one of my friends, Britt Perkins who was on the board of the Humane Society of Davie County informed us of the few resources they had and what they still wanted to accomplish. I started learning more and more about the organization and felt compelled to help them and the animals that they were trying to save.”

With North Carolina being second in the country with euthanasia at local shelters, Stamey learned very quickly that her time and talents were desperately needed.

“At places like the Humane Society of Davie County, we rely solely on private donations,” Stamey said. “There is no national organization that supports them or government funding. We cannot exist and help animals without private donations and volunteers. Seeing how many owners surrender and shelters that reach out to them each week is daunting. At least 50 families reach out on a typical week to surrender an animal because of various reasons. We have tried to support the local shelter as much as possible so that animals do not have to be euthanized unnecessarily.”

What Stamey really has admired about the Humane Society of Davie County is their wanting to network to save more and support other rescues.

“We have been participating in a transport up the Washington, D.C. area that takes cats and sometimes dogs to a rescue partner up there,” Stamey said. “It allows the animals to find homes with a reputable rescue in an area that does a better job with spay and neuter. It’s easier for them to find homes because the population is greater up there too. We try and help surrounding rural counties that also struggle with finding homes for cats like Iredell, Stokes and Forsyth just to name a few. A lot goes into that process from vetting the animals, caring for them until they get to the partner rescue, driving them up there, and paying for the resources to do so.”

Resources is one of the biggest challenges the Humane Society of Davie County faces according to now board member, Stamey.

“In order to continue to help the animals with finding homes and offering our low-cost spay and neuter clinic, we must raise $80,000 this year to continue,” Stamey said. “It’s just a dire reality that we are faced with currently. I can’t stress enough that unless we get help from our community to raise that money, it will not be possible, and a lot of animals will be left without an alternative. The best way to do that is to go to our website and donate at https://www.hsdavie.org/ways-to-give. Any amount helps and will allow us to help these animals that are currently sitting in a shelter waiting for us. We are their last hope. What has always humbled me is their resilience too. Despite being failed by humans, they still forgive and want to show compassion and love to their humans that adopt them.”

Another way that Stamey said people can make a difference is through fostering.

“Once we save these animals, having a family that is able to take care of them until their forever family is found is absolutely critical. It helps us get to know the animals, get them out of a stressful situation, and provide them safety,” Stamey said. “Currently we are desperately seeking foster families so that we can say yes to shelters that don’t have space to take in animals. If anyone can help, it won’t last long, and truly saves a life. Most fosters say they get more out of the experience then the animal does.”

Stamey recommends going to https://www.hsdavie.org/foster to start the process of helping save an animal through the foster program.