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Three of the four primary volunteers: Nick Grace, Misti Harmon and Angie Smith.
We have all heard the phrase “It takes a village” to do many things, like raising a child, digging a well and so on. This phrase, some say, originated from the Nigerian Igbo culture and their proverb ‘Oran a azu nwa,’ which means it takes a community or village to raise a child. When it comes to helping our furry family members find their way back home when they get lost, or helping a homeless animal find a forever home when they’re found, Madison and Rivergate Lost and Found Pets is that village.
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Rose Suttle & BeBe. BeBe was accidentally let out during a break-in. She was hit by a truck and then lost in the woods. With the help of Madison & Rivergate Lost and Found Pets, volunteers and neighbors on foot and in cars searched the last area BeBe had been seen. BeBe was found within twelve hours and returned home with Rose.
This fantastic group grew from Misti Harmon and her desire to help animals and give back to the community. The three other primary volunteers and administrators of the group are Nick Grace, Angie Smith and Shane McCammon Webb. They are all some of the most impressive, dedicated and inspiring helpers out there. Madison and its pet community is lucky to have them; their specialized village has spent countless, selfless hours of volunteer labor over the past six years to help reunite or save thousands of local animals. Their primary goal is helping lost pets find their way back home or helping found pets do the same. They have also been known to jump in and help or save injured or neglected animals who have no home or whose home cannot be found.
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Teri Kennedy & Sophie. While walking her other dogs one night, Teri’s sweet dog Sophie sneakily slipped out. Realizing she was missing, the next morning she contacted Madison & Rivergate Lost and Found Pets who leaped into action. The group’s volunteers quickly provided flyers, social media posts and calls to neighbors. Sophie was found and returned home safely after eleven days of searching, when a call came to Teri from a kind man who had found Sophie and had seen a sign about her being lost.
One of the biggest tools of their trade is good old flyers and signage that they provide for free to the community. However, one of their most amazing tools is Misti’s uncanny talent for remembering all those furry faces and their history when they cross the path of the group more than once, like some kind metaphorical mental catalog which keeps up with all the animals and their human counterparts. This pet saving village is also easily able to activate the proper like-minded neighbors to help in a specific area in a short amount of time and provide information about all the local resources available to help those looking to find or return a wayward or needy animal friend.
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Kim Wolf & Frankie Badass. After Frankie Badass went missing, Kim contacted Madison Lost and Found Pets. They told her what to do and helped put up flyers, gave experienced advice, and made Facebook posts on their page. Frankie Badass had been stolen, held for ransom and a whole host of things suitable for a caper film. After 17 days and ceaseless efforts by Kim and the group, Frankie was returned.
Misti says she had no idea exactly what she was getting into when she first got involved with Madison and Rivergate Lost and Found Pets over six years ago. The catalyst for what has now become the pet saving village she leads happened when she and her husband Nick lost their black cat named Max, with no sightings until day 71. For 70 days they both did a lot of research about finding and getting lost animals home during their work to get Max back. The most important lesson those long weeks taught them was there was obviously a true need in the community to help folks and their animal family members find each other if they were unfortunate enough to get lost. Misti, Nick, Angie and Shane formed the primary volunteer crew and took the reins of the Madison and Rivergate Lost and Found Pets group. Since then, they’ve also reached out to and coordinated with animal helper villages in many adjoining communities who’ve established similar groups for help and guidance during this process and they all work together and support each other.
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Ed Vazquez and Noelle. Ed and Dawn Vazquez were on the Madison Lost & Found Pets page when they first saw a posting for a found dog. Noelle was sick and starving. The person who posted her could not secure her. Tammy Stanton-Hall took Noelle in on Christmas Eve and Noelle stayed overnight with her. The next day volunteer Angie Smith took over the fostering and took Noelle to Mobley where she stayed for two weeks getting healthy. After her care at Mobley, Angie brought her home and fostered her back to health. Then the group posted that she was adoption ready. The Vazquez family, who had been following Noelle’s story, had to have her in their family, and Noelle found her forever home.
Misti says the biggest way the community can help is for people to be on the look out for the lost animals whose photos are posted to their Facebook group and displayed on the many flyers they post around town. They also welcome and encourage anyone who can help put flyers up and sometimes take them down once the animal makes it back home. The cost of flyers and occasionally vet care (usually from Mobley Veterinary Clinic) is all funded by donations from community members and fellow animal lovers. A link is provided at the end of this story for those who are interested in financial donations. You can also contact them via their Facebook group or help line if you’d like to hang a flyer or two.
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Tammy Stanton-Hall and Gypsy. Tammy had seen Gypsy many times around Madison and she appeared to be homeless. Tammy contacted Madison & Rivergate Lost and Found Pets to see what could be done to help. After making plans with the team and a few failed efforts, they eventually trapped Gypsy and took her in to her forever home with Tammy.
The primary mission of the group remains to reunite lost and found pets. However, sometimes when our (mostly) four legged friends can’t be safely returned or fostered, they often rely on MACC, who now works with 40 rescues. All four of these dedicated volunteers have also operated as fosters at times. The group mostly helps reunite dogs and cats, but has had the occasional more exotic pet including a ferret, pigs, birds, chickens, goats and a pony!
Being around and witnessing people who consistently and selflessly go above and beyond for their cause inspires others to do the same. The Madison and Rivergate Lost and Found Pets group has slowly built up an entire network of villages to help them further their cause. Their Facebook group’s page says: “Our pet loving community is awesome!” and nothing could be more accurate. Without every single person in that village it could not be what it is and do what it does so efficiently. However, to the members, volunteers and supporters of the Madison and Rivergate Lost and Found Pet Group, the reasoning behind all of their volunteer efforts and steadfast dedication can be summed up with the old adage:
“Saving one animal won’t change the world,
but it will change the world for that one animal.”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/madisonrivergatepets
Donation link:
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/madisonpets?fbclid=IwAR0Au18MHS2Ij91zobrWCrfCbD-nvxPuw57m4X2gQtm74Y3G8iinhylhrM0
Help line 615-208-3118
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Introduction to the Madison Helpers photographic essay:
During these unusual times many find comfort in the message by Mr. Rogers about looking for helpers. Mr. Rogers said that if one looks, one will always find people who are helping. The Madison community can find comfort that there are still so many helpers and so many caring people in Madison.
This project is focused on helpers or stories that are in, and that can inspire, the community in Madison, Tennessee. The community is invited and encouraged to let these stories and images inspire us to build on their examples and consider any ways we can also embrace being helpers.
These four photo stories cover a small sampling of our local helpers. They include our Community Affairs Sgt. who is also a singer songwriter, Sgt. Henry Particelli; our local dedicated and selfless Lost and Found Pets Group, including Misti Harmon, Nick Grace and Angie Smith; and super neighbor Deborah Dorsey (Dragon posts on social media). The fourth story is a little different and is about Amqui Station and Visitors’ Center, itself a unique piece of Madison history that also serves as a community gathering and event space saved and then gifted back to Madison by Johnny Cash.
These photographic essays are part of a Metro Arts program called Madison on My Mind, supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. The images were originally captured and the stories written in November and December of 2020.