A Woman Has Saved 1,400 Animals From Euthanasia—and She Isn’t Stopping

Emily Hirtle has managed to save 1,400 cats and dogs from being euthanized in various kill shelters across Mississippi within a year.

The 24-year-old animal advocate began saving animals last May by driving more than 280 miles from her home in Saucier to Rankin County Animal Shelter in Brandon and other facilities – three times per week.

“This work can be both mentally and physically exhausting,” Hirtle told Newsweek.

However, it is incredibly rewarding, which is why she is determined to help Best Friends Animal Society, a leading animal-welfare organization, put an end the killing of cats and dogs by 2025.

Since then, Hirtle has gone above and beyond to rescue animals from shelters and relocate them to another where they will have a better chance of getting adopted.

While spending the day with animals may sound like a dream, it definitely isn’t for the faint-hearted. Hirtle said: “The greatest challenge is usually finding a rescue or animal welfare group that has the capacity to take in animals at all, let alone several. Most rescue groups and animal shelters are full across the nation.

“Many of the shelters I am working with are rural with no internet connection and rely solely on pen and paper,” Hirtle added. “There is often little to no history about any of the animals within the shelter, and often, it can be difficult to find rescue groups with the ability to pull animals with no medical or behavioral background or record.”

The dedicated woman mostly collects animals from Rankin County Shelter, which is staffed by people incarcerated at a nearby prison and under the supervision of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office. Hirtle also works with the staff and teaches them how to appropriately care for animals.

The rest of her day is taken up with photographing animals, networking them to her animal-rescue group contacts, writing their bios, and posting about them on the Best Friends of Central Mississippi Facebook page.

Hirtle told Newsweek: “These animals are the first thing I think of when you wake up and the last thing I think of before I go to sleep.”

Over the past 12 months, Hirtle has noticed an increase of morale in shelter staff. She said: “These are incredibly compassionate people who often feel like they are stuck in a hopeless situation, feeling like there are just too many animals and not enough homes.

“We know this isn’t true. We know that 7 million people are going to acquire pets in 2024. If just 6 percent of individuals seeking to acquire a new pet in this year adopted instead of purchased, we could end the killing of dogs and cats in our nation’s shelters.

“Seeing the animals leave, and knowing their community will step up to help if they are made aware of the challenges the shelter is facing, gives them hope that the animals they are caring for and have come to love will find a positive outcome at the end,” Hirtle added.

“Knowing the animals are now getting the chance to grow old with someone, go gray in the muzzle, love and be loved, and change the lives of their guardians forever is both extremely powerful and overwhelmingly humbling.

“If I can trade my today for their tomorrow, I will make that decision every time,” Hirtle said.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says that every year, around 6.3 million companion animals (3.1 million dogs and 3.2 million cats) enter animal shelters across the U.S. This number marks a decrease from the 7.2 million animals reported in 2011, with a notable reduction in the number of dogs from 3.9 million to 3.1 million.

Despite these high intake numbers, the rate of euthanasia in shelters has declined significantly from about 2.6 million in 2011 to 920,000 annually (390,000 dogs and 530,000 cats). This reduction is attributed to more adoptions and an increase in the number of stray animals being reunited with their owners.