Kay McAdams, PhD, has always been a self-described "dog lover," but her passion for these animals goes far beyond that term. McAdams spends 365-days-a-year as a volunteer for an organization that rescues dogs from overcrowded shelters in the south and works to find them homes in the Mid-Atlantic region, all while teaching full-time at York College.
"Helping people find a new addition to their family is extremely rewarding," said McAdams, an assistant professor in the History and Political Science Department. "They need the dogs, and the dogs need them."
McAdams learned of Homeward Bound Animal Rescue in Mechanicsburg, Pa., in 2001 when she was looking for an addition to her own family.
"My family and I had a golden retriever who had passed away, and we were looking for another dog," said McAdams. "We wanted to find a dog that really needed us. Homeward Bound helped us find Rosey, and we couldn't be happier."
After being impressed by the organization and what it stood for, she pledged to give her time and home to the cause she considers "priceless."
"In southern shelters, without rescue from organizations like Homeward Bound, 80 percent of the dogs will be killed,” she said. "With rescue, only 30 to 40 percent will be put to sleep."
In an average year, Homeward Bound rescues 700 dogs – mostly Labrador Retriever mixes. When the dogs are rescued, volunteers, like McAdams, pick them up at various locations throughout Pennsylvania and either foster the animals or take them to deserving families or other drop-off points.
"During the week, I process applications and foster puppies," she said. "To date I have fostered and found homes for six puppies."
Last year, one of her honors students, Anthony Zacchino '09 (Hamilton, N.J.), learned of her cause and volunteered to provide mid-day breaks for some puppies while McAdams was in class.
"It is a great feeling to inspire students academically and personally," McAdams said. "Because of his help, I found it easier to balance work with my service."
On the weekends, when she has a break from teaching, she helps with the transport of dogs from the South to locations in Pennsylvania and upstate New York. McAdams calls it the "underground railroad" for dogs.
"I meet other volunteers at a drop-off point, such as a restaurant, and then I take the dogs to the next drop-off point, and so on," she said. "We are all important links in a chain."
Other York College students have volunteered to help McAdams with transporting. On one occasion – a very cold Saturday morning in February – Michelle Hablitz '10 (Effort, Pa.) and Amanda Hyde '10 (Owings, Md.) helped transport 40 dogs from a frigid shelter in Kentucky into warmer rescues in the Pennsylvania area, all while most of their classmates slept in their warm beds.
"This experience was an important lesson I could never teach my students in a classroom," she said. "No matter what you do in life, you have to work together with others to succeed. Without us all working together on that cold Saturday morning, the dogs would never been rescued and placed in the arms of deserving families."
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