U of M offensive line helps match pets with families
Josh Northcutt was a big, big Tiger chasing after a little, bitty kitty inside the Memphis Animal Shelter on Saturday.
Northcutt, a 6-foot-5, 320-pound University of Memphis offensive lineman, was trying to keep pace with the 6-inch, 5-ounce cat making a bee-line for a gap behind a line of vending machines.
Northcutt and his Tiger teammates were working at the shelter as part of the Tiger Takeover pet adoption event. This was the second year for the program where pets are available for a a reduced $25 adoption fee.
“Whenever we have customers coming in, the players help them read kennel cards, understand how to tell information about their pets and retrieve dogs and cats out of the kennel for them to meet,” said Danielle Rutherford, volunteer and outreach specialist at Memphis Animal Services.
“And they also retrieve kittens that are currently under vending machines as well,” Rutherford added with a laugh while Northcutt, a freshman, worked to corner the scurrying cat.
Ryan Silverfield, the Tigers' offensive line and assistant head coach, came up with the idea for Tiger Takeover. The opportunity helps the Memphis community connect with needy animals.
“I’m a big huge animal lover and most of our players are dog and cat lovers, so I just thought it was unique idea,” Silverfield said. “It’s a great way to give back to the community, help get these pets adopted and do something that both parties enjoy.”
Roger Joseph, a senior right tackle, said making the volunteer work is fulfilling. “It feels good to do this because I don’t own a pet, but I like pets, and it’s sad to see that there are stray pets out there that don’t have a home and there are people out there who want pets, but don’t know where to go to get one,” Joseph said.
Senior center Drew Kyser, said his fiancée made sure to instill in him what volunteering means for the animals at MAS.
“She told me last night, give love and care to these dogs because they don’t have that in here,” Kyser said. “I have a dog at home that I’d take a bullet for. I get to love him, these dogs don’t have anyone to love them, give love on. It just feels good to help these dogs find somebody. The more and more I’m with my dog, the more and more I see how connected we all are. They’ve got emotions just like we’ve got emotions.”
Twenty pets found new homes Saturday because of the collaborative effort — a successful day at a time when it's needed the most.
”We’re in peak intake season — puppy and kitten season,” Rutherford said. “We’ve got tons of animals filling our kennels and looking for homes, so we’re really grateful for them coming out again to help us today."