Third-year vet students Krista Gazzola, Megan Caulfield and Amy White started the program in 2006. It has since expanded to include seven volunteer leaders, one veterinarian and additional foster homes.
Veterinary Professor and faculty adviser Philip Bushby said Homeward Bound was the brainchild of third-year vet student Krista Gazzola.
Dismayed by the amount of strays and shelter animals in the South, Gazzola started the program during her first-year of vet school, Bushby said.
“Krista came to us from New Hampshire where they do not have a stray dog problem [and] do not have an overpopulation of unwanted dogs and cats,” Bushby said. “She was shocked by the numbers of strays she saw here in Mississippi.”
The overpopulation problem is much worse in the Southeast than in other parts of the nation due to differing regulations, Bushby said.
Part of Bushby’s job as adviser is taking vet students to shelters across North Mississippi to perform spays, neuters and vaccinations on animals eligible for adoption. He said he has done these services for 16 years in hopes of improving the chances for animal adoptions. Homeward Bound has extended his services by making adoptions a reality, Bushby said.
“In the past year and a half, Homeward Bound has transported 600 animals from shelters in Mississippi to adopting families and adoption guaranteed shelters in the Northeast,” he said. “That is 600 animals whose lives have been saved – 600 animals that would have been euthanized now have homes.”
Second-year veterinary student is one of the Homeward Bound volunteers and also serves as a foster home for the animals.
Claire Fellman, second-year vet student, serves as a volunteer and foster home for the program.
“Fosters are a really important part of the program and keep the dogs after they get out of the shelter to be sure they don’t have any behavioral problems and to start getting them used to being in a home,” she said. “The shelters up north really love our program because our fosters do such a great job socializing the dogs.”
After time in foster care, the animals are transported via large vans to homes and no-kill shelters in the Northeast, Griffith said. No-kill shelters guarantee the animals homes, she said.
An adoption fee of $100 covers spaying or neutering, first vaccinations, deworming and transportation of the animal.
Fellman said all Homeward Bound pets have permanent homes in the Northeast, so those interested in adopting a pet should visit the local shelters.
“There are plenty of dogs [in the area] that they [shelters] would be thrilled if you would adopt,” Fellman said.
Griffith said the program leaders want to extend the program beyond the vet school, having students, faculty and staff from all areas of the university as volunteers and leaders. She said they are always looking for foster homes.
For more information, including how to become a foster or donor, visit the program’s Web site homewardboundofms.com and click on “How to Help Homeward Bound.”