***2:40 p.m. Update November 18***
'Old Fella Animal Rescue did not win during Tuesday night's round, but did receive $4,000...$1,000 for each round that they made. Congratulations!
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Burke County, GA -- ‘Old Fella’ Volunteer: “Somebody took her in, they had found her and 3 of her puppies.”
Patches is just one of more than 600 dogs and cats rescued through Old Fella Animal Rescue, in Burke County. The group formed after rescuing a stray, later called 'Old Fella.' His statue stands proud in this Waynesboro park.
Kelly Jenkins, volunteer: “We're an all volunteer animal rescue. We serve Burke County, which is 800 square miles with no countywide animal control, no countywide animal shelter.”
Kelly Jenkins is one of the groups many volunteers. With no stable income for the group, Jenkins thought she would try something new.
Jenkins: “I was web surfing, one night, and I saw that Rachael Ray had a pet charity. I thought, 'cool, I'll enter,' and we were one of 64 selected from the entire country.”
It's called "Mutt Madness," and 4 weeks into it, 'Old Fella' has beat out 56 teams nationwide.
Jenkins: “We have a one in eight chance of winning $50,000 for Burke County animal rescue, ‘Old Fella.’
Beth Folland, Volunteer: “We are very low on funds so we really, really could use this money, this prize.”
Money that could be used for their spay and neuter program, as well as their Dixie Dog transports.
Folland: “We take dogs to New England. People are up there on waiting lists, waiting for dogs. So we ship every couple of months, or so, we ship anywhere from 20 to 40 dogs to New England.”
It's a dream that none of these volunteers could have ever imagined...now they're relying on the community to vote, knowing $50,000 could do one major thing for all of the county's rescued animals.
Jenkins: “Save their lives, save a lot of lives and reach a lot of people and hopefully change, or turn the tide, on the state of animal welfare in Burke County.”
Tuesday, November 17th the finalists will be picked. Until then, you can vote for 'Old Fella' until Monday at 11:59 p.m. Simply log on to their website: OldFella.org, then click on the "Rachael Ray Mutt Madness" contest. Follow the directions and vote for 'Old Fella' to win this week's round!
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