Everybody has seen the Sarah McLachlan commercials about animal cruelty, showing the abused and neglected cats and dogs who need help. The commercials, especially for pet lovers, can pretty much bring you to tears.

For Debbie Rumker, helping save animals like those on the commercials is what she calls her ‘second full-time job.’

Rumker, a Valdosta native, works with Attorney’s Title as member services representative and travels all around Georgia to visit with attorneys and conducting training. While she doesn’t do as much traveling as she once did, she still travels a good bit and works from home.

That’s her first full-time job.

Her second full-time job is volunteering with BARC Humane Society, a pet rescue organization. The organization is separate from the Lowndes County Animal Shelter and the Lowndes / Valdosta Humane Society.

“My family were always big animal people,” she said. “Years ago, I started volunteering and cross-placing, trying to move dogs from shelters across the country. Get them off of death row and moved to other places. I just kept getting deeper and deeper into it. It’s just something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve always wanted to be a vet. That never worked out, but I just love them.”

Rumker began working with various groups advocating against animal abuse and that’s when she found BARC.

“I opened up a Facebook page for BARC,  City of Quitman and the Lowndes County Animal Shelter to get these animals exposed, but the stuff that we’ve seen  that people have done to animals, I don’t post them.”

Several of the things that Rumker is fighting for is a change in laws, making spaying and neutering mandatory unless the person is licensed and stricter laws for pitbull fighters.

“I still can’t picture how people could do this stuff. It’s unbelievable,” she said.

One of the shelters that Rumker does a lot of work with is the animal shelter in Quitman.

“I’ve met with the city manager. I was in tears, I’ve never talked to a city official who was so thrilled to have someone come up and offer to help with the shelter,” she said. “I mean he has been great. I’ve given him a list of suggestions that he’s gone with. I just don’t think they had the resources or felt like anybody really cared. Since then the county has been calling us all the time about the cases.”

According to Rumker, the Quitman animal shelter is doing much better.

“They really want to do something, they just don’t have the funds or the people,” she said. “We’ve gone on Saturdays to play with the dogs and get them some exercise. They are making improvements. They’ve accepted our offer of  help to repaint the shelter and remodel. A lot of the volunteers are from Moody. Moody Air Force Base is awesome, wonderful. It’s a community effort. Everybody’s come together to help.”

Volunteers were planning to go Saturday to help bathe the dogs.

While BARC isn’t the only rescue organization that pulls from the Quitman shelter (Thomasville does also), to Rumker’s knowledge, they haven’t had to put any dogs down which they are very proud of.

“If rescue doesn’t pull them and if the shelter doesn’t have the funds, they put (the animals) down,” she said. “So what I’ve asked them to do and we’ve talked with all the shelters, if they get one that’s sick or injured, they give us the opportunity to come in and save them. They’re really good about that.”

BARC’s volunteers are just that — volunteers.

“No one in our organization is paid money,” Rumker said. “Our reward comes when we find a fur-ever home for these furkids.”

According to Rumker, the organization runs on donations. They adopt the pets out, but the adoption fee barely covers what they spend taking care of them, much less if the animal is sick or injured.

BARC isn’t allowed to take in strays, according to the rules of the Department of Agriculture. They can only take in animals from shelters or under surrender from their owners.

“We can only take so many right now,” Rumker said. “Our license is only for 20. You can’t take in more animals than you have homes or funds for.”

According to Rumker, BARC holds adoption events every Saturday.

“Once I sign off at 5 o’clock on my computer (from her regular job), I’m back with BARC,” she said. “Sometimes I’m working until 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning on transports. It takes a minimum five hours to get one dog transported. That’s just doing the paper work.”

BARC meets at the Best Western on North Valdosta Road. They let the organization use their facilities.

“We were having (meetings) every single week, but as of this past week we’re going to have them twice a month — the first Thursday and third Thursday of every month,” she said. “Every Thursday they reserve that room for BARC and don’t charge us.”

BARC’s been trying to save up and open their own facilities, but with the economy the way it is and how hard it is to save money, it hasn’t happened yet.

“We were going to try and save up to open up a no-kill shelter. It’s a pipe dream and so far away, because we do not have that much money,” she said. “We get $500 saved up and then there’s a dog that needs help or a cat that needs help and we have the money sitting there. But I can say the community has really helped BARC. People give us crates and the volunteers and fosters are amazing. It just amazes me how much the community has come together for this. You would think the majority of people wouldn’t have time to worry about these animals.”

Rumker herself has five dogs — Lucy, Bailey, Bridgette, Wyatt and Logan and all are rescue dogs.

One of her dog’s stories, Wyatt, is pretty devastating. He was found on the road, having been there five to seven days, after being hit by a vehicle.  

“He was split, his stomach was just hanging on the ground,” she said. “He was on the side of the road for five or seven days and this woman said people were throwing out food and water, he couldn’t even walk. I was going to find him another home, but it took him a few months to get over it. After he got healed, my husband said, ‘Wyatt’s too old to go anywhere.’”

“I would honestly adopt them all if I had the money and room. Not the ones that are adoptable, but the older ones and special need babies,” Rumker added. “I’ve always said this. Cats and dogs are just toddlers with hair. You have to love them and treat them the same way.”

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