Puppies, Possums and Perseverance: Carol Linville’s Legacy of Animal Advocacy

WRITTEN BY: NATASSIA DONOHUE

You would never believe that the energetic woman zipping around Pet Helpers with anything from a cat to an egret in her arms has just celebrated her 75th birthday. That’s Carol Linville for you, founder of Pet Helpers and animal advocate extraordinaire. For as long as she can remember, Carol has been a passionate animal lover and for the last 42 years, she has put her heart and soul into Pet Helpers. Her efforts have saved more than 49,000 animals over the years and the legacy she built through Pet Helpers continues to make a difference in the Lowcountry.

“My first rescue was Trouble, a little ‘Benji’ dog I saw crawling along Folly Road on my way to work in 1978,” Carol said. “That was just the beginning! It doesn’t matter where the animal is or what is wrong, they rely on us and need us.”

As sad as a situation like Trouble’s is, Carol was inspired by a more horrific situation years before. In 1976, Carol learned the horrific reality of euthanasia facing many shelter animals when she read a news article that reported more than 8,000 shelter animals were euthanized every year. The more Carol researched, the more she saw a lack of education and available resources for stray and abandoned animals and the more she saw a need for help. Armed with that knowledge and a kind, compassionate heart, Carol’s first endeavor in animal welfare was to start a “Pet of the Week” column in the James Island Journal. She also began rescuing dogs here and there with the help of her friends and family, leading to the foundation of Pet Helpers in 1978.

Photo by Stono Tides Photography

Pet Helpers mission is to keep all animals until adopted and the organization became the first nokill shelter in Charleston. Carol went on to explain that the biggest challenge was changing the mindset that euthanasia was the answer to the problem of pet overpopulation and stray/abandoned animals. In realizing that, Carol became a passionate advocate in taking her efforts to the next level. Changing the laws surrounding animal welfare and becoming involved in animal cruelty prosecution were the next step in her mission to save lives.

“I personally drafted the first animal welfare ordinance for Charleston County in 1988 and it passed within six months--that was just the beginning!” Carol explained. “In 1989, I worked to get Folly Beach to pass a similar ordinance and have assisted in the passage of several local and state

ordinances, including South Carolina’s first bill making animal cruelty a felony in the year 2000. Attending the signing of the bill in Columbia with the governor at the time was a proud moment for everyone involved.”

While effecting change on the municipal level, Carol has also successfully effected change in other areas of animal welfare. She was able to stop the sale of county shelter animals for experimental purposes; she also became involved in actively monitoring feral cat communities and implementing a trap-neuter-return (TNR) strategy to reduce the feral cat population and prevent the transmission of disease among them. She has helped other shelters succeed and has helped organize disaster relief efforts for shelters, pet owners and other community members in need in and outside of the United States. Carol also became directly involved in animal control for Folly Beach and continues her efforts today, responding to various calls from stray or abandoned animals to injured wildlife. She quite literally brought an egret with an injured wing to Pet Helpers one day and kept it safe until she personally transported it to a wildlife rehabber. Carol’s dedication did not go unnoticed. The John Ancrum SPCA, which was a feature in Carol’s “Pet of the Week” column, recognized her efforts by awarding her their service award from 1980 through 1984, and recognizing her as the Humanitarian of the Year in 1998. In the early 1990s, Carol was also recognized through various community awards including Folly Beach Citizen of the year. In 2004, Carol was honored to receive the South Carolina Veterinary Association’s Humanitarian of the Year Award. She was most recently recognized as a South Carolina Association of Fundraising Professionals 2013 National Philanthropy Day Honoree for founding Pet Helpers and associated philanthropic efforts.

All that recognition though--it still doesn’t compare to the joy and energy of saving an animal.

“All animals are deserving of care and compassion,” she says. “I am proud of being able to save so many lives over the years, especially knowing that so much of it was done through direct contact with our community. It was done without cell phones and emails, but through personal calls, many long days, and hours spent on the road--one person can make a difference.” ■

Do you know an animal advocate that deserves to be featured here? Reach out to contact@lowcountrydog.com www.lowcountrydog.com