McCully gives dogs a second chance
McCully has been fostering dogs for three years. She said she has a "heavy heart" for female dogs who have been bred for puppies and then discarded.
Sandra McCully and her husband Steve are living in the doghouse.
For three years now, McCully, head of the cosmetology department at Calhoun Community College in Decatur, has been a foster parent to small dogs who have been discarded by their owners.
She and her husband, Steve, have fostered hundreds of dogs, young and old, healthy and unwell. They give them shots, clean their teeth, have them spade and neutered and then work on potty training and test for temperament before finding a permanent home for the dogs.
“Sometimes, we’re the only ones who has ever pet and loved them and given them a loving lap to lay on,” McCully said. “We are in great need of more foster homes and families that are willing to bring the dogs into their homes and nurture them and prepare them for a forever home to be adopted.”
She usually keeps dogs for 2 to 8 weeks, or for “however long it takes to overcome their disorder.”
McCully is currently caring for three small dogs, one of which only has one eye.
She said she feels especially for female dogs that have been bred for their puppies.
“They get no healthcare and a lot of them are used to produce for the breeder and they get pushed aside as they get older because they can’t breed anymore,” she said. “So, I felt it was my calling to concentrate on the females that are homeless after they’ve given their life for breeders.”
She and her husband usually keep three puppies at a time.
“You do get attached and you do have a hole in your heart when they leave,” she said, “but when you see them with that new family and see how happy the family and dog are together, you know you’ve done the right thing. And you know there are so many more waiting on you, and that’s what keeps me going.”
Once a proper family match is found, McCully visits the home and follows up afterward.
What the McCullys want to stress is that there is a major need for homes for rescue pets in the city.
“With economy and unemployment rate the way it is, you have families who can no longer care for them,” said Steve McCully. “Most are a mess when we get them.”
McCully has established a strong network of people in the North Alabama area who are interested in adopting. But, she said, there are still plenty more dogs out there who need loving homes.
She shows her foster dogs at the PETCO off University Drive on Saturdays. She said local pet businesses Blue Sky Pet Spa and Petagree Pet Center all offer her free grooming services to help with some of the costs.
“It’s tremendously rewarding,” McCully said. “We are making a difference to our community and to the animal world.”
If anyone is interested in fostering or adopting a dog, e-mail McCully at Mccullys@knology.net.
