Puppy Love: Thousands of animals saved through Hartselle woman’s Paws 52 organization

By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus

Down the rural gravel road in Hartselle stands a sanctuary — a two-story white house surrounded by 25 acres where, on any given day, more than a dozen dogs reside.

Welcome to Paws 52.

“There’s just something about dogs. They are so trusting and just want to be loved,” Mellisa Barnett said.

Six years ago, the now 55-year-old Barnett, who works as an engineer during the day, and her now 22-year-old daughter Kalisa Barnett, founded Paws 52, a nonprofit animal rescue.

Since 2018, the organization has rescued thousands of animals.

There is Pearl, an overbred bulldog found abandoned at a church with wounds, including a broken tail and scarring on her legs.

There is Scarlett, who was found abandoned at a city dump and suffered from ear and eye infections.

There is Gizmo, a chihuahua, who after six months at Paws 52, began recovering from severe anxiety resulting from abuse.

There is Camryn, found at an abandoned house with no food, water or shelter and infested with fleas and internal parasites.

“It just breaks your heart. You wonder how anybody can abandon a dog,” Mellisa Barnett said.

The last two or three years, Paws 52 has rescued 400 to 500 animals each year.

“We have three or four requests a day from people wanting to surrender their dogs or who found a stray dog or whose dog had puppies. They are everywhere,” Mellisa Barnett said.

Mellisa Barnett’s love for dogs began as a child.

“Just like everybody else, we always had a dog in the backyard,” she said. “My first year in college I finally convinced my mom to allow me to have a dog inside the house.”

Animals have always played a role in Mellisa Barnett’s life. When her daughter’s girl scout troop toured the animal shelter and a man surrendered puppies, Mellisa Barnett brought one of the animals home. When her ex-husband, who worked for the prison, learned of a dog abandoned in a rental house, the animal became a member of the Barnett family.

Ten years ago, when her family started fostering dogs, Mellisa Barnett’s love for the animals turned into a passion.

“When my kids started getting where I didn’t have to carry them everywhere, we volunteered to foster. Our first foster was a little chihuahua mix. He was 6 months old and had been abused. Obviously, he stayed. Next time we fostered, we fostered three puppies. Two of them still live with us,” Barnett said.

The more dogs Barnett fostered, the more aware she became of the number of dogs needing homes.

“It was one of those instances where the more you are exposed to an issue, the more you know,” she said. “The more we learned, the more we felt if we started our own group we could help even more dogs.”

Paws 52 focuses on rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming the overlooked and forgotten dogs. Their goal: make sure each and every animal finds a forever home.

Many of the dogs at Paws 52 suffer from medical conditions, including heartworms, broken bones and parasites. Some are senior mother dogs. There is a shih tzu with serious barrier aggression, an old pug who is blind and deaf, and a skittish golden retriever who lived in a crate for the first year-and-a-half of its life.

Two years after founding Paws 52, COVID hit and Mellisa Barnett saw an uptick in adoptions. But, as people returned to work and their pre-pandemic routines, the number of animals surrendered soared.

“The last couple of years, with the economy, it has been awful. People you would never think would surrender a dog are surrendering dogs,” Barnett said. “The thing that gets me the most is not when people don’t know any better, when people know better and have the money to take care of their dogs but they choose not to.”

Running Paws 52 is a 24-hour responsibility for Mellisa and Kalisa Barnett and Barnett’s mother, who cares for the rescued puppies. They respond to calls of abandoned dogs, administer medication, organize behavioral therapy sessions, determine the animals’ personalities and connect the dogs with partner agencies.

“We don’t do a lot of local adoptions. We bring them here, take them to the veterinarian and find a partner agency to adopt the dog through. The big thing for us is we use agencies that will always take a dog back,” Mellisa Barnett said.

Every two weeks, Mellisa Barnett meets a transport company in Priceville that will take dogs up to East Coast agencies. And once a month, a transport company will take dogs rescued by Paws 52 to Wisconsin. 

Along with rescuing dogs, Paws 52 strives to lessen the number of dogs in need of homes. For several years, the organization received a grant for a spay and neuter program.

“If we take in a litter of puppies, we still always offer to spay and neuter because we don’t want this to happen again,” Mellisa Barnett said.

Individuals interested in assisting Paws 52’s mission can sign up to foster animals or donate money to help with expenses.

“We always need donations. Every penny that comes to Paws 52 is spent on dogs. It goes to the veterinarian fees, the supplies and the dog food,” Mellisa Barnett said. “We also always need foster families. The more fosters we have, the more dogs we can save.”

Applications for adopting and fostering are available at paws52rescue.com.