Grass Roots Rescue Executive Director Karli Crenshaw couldn’t save the 19 dogs that were euthanized when Safe Haven Animal Sanctuary in Georgetown closed in 2013, but she’s since helped save over 5,000 dogs in their honor.
Crenshaw once served as Safe Haven’s adoption’s coordinator but was fired a few months before the shutdown because she talked too much “about what was really going on there,” she said.
Safe Haven once held the state contract to house and care for stray dogs in central Delaware, “but was replaced after Kent County Levy Court learned the shelter’s expenses wildly outstripped its revenues,” a 2013 News Journal report said. The organization’s financial struggles are what ultimately led to its demise.
When the staunchly no-kill shelter finally closed, Crenshaw said, she and other animal rescuers were waiting outside the facility, prepared to take at least some of the remaining dogs into their care. They were denied and executives at Safe Haven later issued a statement that said some dogs were euthanized “due to severe behavior issues.”
Crenshaw was left to organize a candlelight vigil for the “Safe Haven 19.”
“My time at Safe Haven is the reason GRR was founded, and is a big part of who I am today,” the 40-year-old Crenshaw said. “I still wanted to help animals, and I wanted to do it the right way. From that, Grass Roots was born.”
Since its 2013 founding, Grass Roots has rescued about 5,300 dogs, Crenshaw said. They’ve expanded from “pulling” (taking guardianship of) dogs from local shelters to pulling dogs from eight states, and she’s gone from an outspoken advocate to a paid executive director that answers to a seven-person board and oversees about 200 volunteers.
Those volunteers live all over Delmarva; Crenshaw lives in Lewes. We had a few questions for her.
Question: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned through your organization?
Answer: The biggest, and hardest lesson I’ve learned since starting GRR is you can only control your own actions/decisions. You cannot make others do the right thing, or want to help. I’ve also had to come to terms with the fact that we have to say no, a lot. That’s incredibly hard, knowing what that likely means for that dog, but we have to do the best we can not to overextend ourselves. If we did that, we’d be no good to anyone.
Do you have a favorite rescue story and can you tell us about it?
This is such a loaded question. I don’t think I could ever pick just one. Over the past 11 years, there have been countless dogs and situations that have touched me in one way or another.
Tink was the first big medical case we had in 2017. She had rectal prolapse, lung torsion, fluid in her chest cavity and was full of infection. We thought we were going to lose her multiple times and spent a ton to ensure we didn’t. That would never have been possible had the community not donated so generously. Tink was adopted by a veterinarian.
Operation Aussie was our first large-scale organized rescue mission in 2015. There were 11 Australian shepherds in Bridgeville who hadn’t had proper care for years and we jumped in, really, with no idea what we were getting into. The way the community came together to help was amazing. Volunteers, fosters, donors, vets, groomers. It was incredibly humbling.
Are you working on any big projects right now?
We currently have a case where we pulled dogs from a rescue in Georgia where they’d been abused, neglected and hoarded for years. There were over 200 dogs on site. When we were asked to help, I really didn’t think we’d be able to do too much, because we’d just brought in 35 the week before from death row in North Carolina. I told them to send me the pics and info though, and we’d see what we could do. After seeing those dogs, and how they were living … I couldn’t unsee it. I shared everything with our (volunteers), and as they usually do, they blew me away. I originally was hoping we would be able to get at least 10 out of there. I am elated to say, on Sept. 14, we (welcomed) almost 60 very deserving doggies. I am so proud, and so thankful.
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How do you balance rescue with work and family?
As much as I hate to admit it, I don’t balance my rescue/family life as well as I’d like. Unlike most conventional jobs, rescue never sleeps, you can’t just “punch out” like you can with regular jobs.
How can Delaware legislators better help rescue animals?
To help the animals here in Delaware, legislators could make funds available for free spay/neuter. Getting a handle on the unplanned/unwanted litters would be a big step in getting the population under control. We’d also love to see them take a look at the laws/regulations pertaining to animals in this state and write them in a way that they can actually be enforced and are easily interpreted. The enforcement part is going to require funds to hire additional staff. Currently, our (animal control officers) are spread entirely too thin. They’re constantly being pulled in 50 different directions to put out spot fires. This leaves no time to tackle the dumpster fires of animal welfare here that have been burning out of control for years.
Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on southern Delaware and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught.
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