Bears in this club lend paws to animals in Middle Georgia

A relatively older club on campus has recently become very active. The Mercer Animal Rescue organization was founded several years ago, but was recently revived by fifth year senior Grace Witcher and sophomore Greer Weed.

“[We decided to revive the club because of all] the stray animals around campus and the lack of personnel to get them where they needed to be in order to find a good home and the care they’ve needed,” Witcher said.  

Mercer Animal Rescue currently has around 100 active members around campus who work together to take care of the strays on Mercer’s campus.

“On campus and in [the] Tattnall Park area I have seen at least seven [strays]. In the Macon area alone I’ve seen 25 plus [strays],” Weed said.

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The group also works with shelters and rescues around Macon to make sure that the animals end up in a safe place.

“We work with Kitty City Rescue, All About Animals and Save-A-Pet mostly, but we’re open to helping other shelters who reach out to us and a possible clean-up day at the Macon Dog Park near campus,” Witcher said.

Witcher said she has seen the organization come a long way since it started.

“It has ventured out into [volunteering] at shelters and [educating] the Mercer population and Macon on caring for stray animals and whatnot,” Witcher said.

Witcher and Weed said the organization has worked to create goals and events for this upcoming year.

“Our goal this year is to have a lot of volunteer days with the shelters that we are in contact with. They need everything from helping cleaning to walking the dogs at their shelter,” Weed said.

Witcher said that even though they have many active members, they encourage other students to get involved.

“Please feel free to stop by! It doesn’t cost anything to join the club right now and help out,” Witcher said.

You can find the Mercer Animal Rescue by asking to join their Facebook group. Their next meeting will be held on Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. in Knight Hall room 307.

“We honestly just love animals and are big advocates for animals that do not have a voice,” Weed said.