When fans watched the Super Bowl on Feb. 9, undoubtedly many pulled for Kansas City Chiefs’ and Philadelphia Eagles’ players with Mississippi ties.
For instance, Mississippi State Bulldogs Chris Jones — a Kansas City defensive lineman — and Darius Slay — an Eagles cornerback — stood on the Superdome sidelines with the rest of their teammates.
Viewers might not have realized it, but if they happened to watch The Puppy Bowl on the Discovery channel that day instead, they probably saw two dogs with Mississippi State ties as well.
Meatball, a labrador retriever and Australian shepherd mix, and Andy, a pit bull and American Staffordshire terrier mix, both played on Team Ruff.
Meatball and Andy found their forever homes thanks to the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine’s nonprofit Homeward Bound project.
Operating since 2007, Homeward Bound was the first successful transport program developed, maintained, and operated by vet school students. Homeward Bound’s mission was to take adoptable puppies and young adult dogs from overcrowded shelters in the south and transport them to adoption guaranteed shelters in the northeast, where adoptable dogs are in high demand.
“Homeward Bound is a program that helps animals that need homes and the people who adopt them, and it is also a program that helps veterinary students develop into better veterinarians,” said Nicholas Frank, dean and professor at the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine.
Although the program’s primary mission is dogs, volunteers also help kittens and cats find homes as well.
Students address health issues, spay or neuter, give appropriate vaccines, and plan a period of fostering in a home. Following that, the kittens are adopted locally or through a partnership with Starkville PetSmart.
The program works with shelters and rescues within a 2-and-a-half-hour radius of Starkville, but they have taken dogs from farther away.
Terri Snead, a veterinary technician at the college and Homeward Bound’s nights and weekend director of operations, said the program has 12 to 14 student officer volunteers participate each year.
“Since 2007, we have transported just over 6,000 puppies and dogs. Currently we transport between150 to 200 per year, and we adopt out between 100 and 120 cats per year,” Snead said.
The students work as foster coordinators who find volunteers to take dogs or puppies into their homes for two to six weeks. Treatment coordinators work with the school’s veterinarians to get the dogs the necessary care they need. Students volunteer to oversee medical records, coordinate adoptions, and head up transportation.
Transport is scheduled every six to eight weeks. Dogs and puppies travel to receiving shelters in New York and Connecticut.
Snead said it’s hard for southern foster families to recover physically and emotionally after four to six weeks of nursing puppies back to health.
“The connection between the southern foster family and the northern adoptive family is the reward for their hard work and sacrifice. There are many friendships forged through emails, text messages, and many pictures. The foster family is so happy that “their” puppy has a wonderful home, and the adoptive family is grateful and often astonished that so many people put so much time and love into their new pet,” Snead said.
Veterinarian Sydney Tamashiro served as Homeward Bound’s medical director of the feline division from 2019 to 2020.
“Working with live animals served as a reminder of the ‘why’ behind the seemingly endless lectures, flashcards, and tests. Some of the daily duties were less than glamorous, but as with any service-learning organization, you get out what you put in. I am immensely grateful to have had the opportunity to pour my heart into this organization, and I continue to reap the rewards,” Tamashiro said.
Teresa Chapman, a veterinarian, graduate of the college, and a former Homeward Bound foster coordinator, said nothing is more rewarding than playing a role in a stray dog becoming a pet by finding their forever home.
“This program teaches compassion, patience, realism, dedication, and resilience. We can’t save the world, but Homeward Bound has saved the world of so many animals. That impact is invaluable,” Chapman said.
For more information about the Homeward Bound program, click here.
To find a low cost spay and neuter option in Mississippi, click here.