Volunteer Spotlight: Melissa Valentine-Walls

Volunteer Spotlight: Melissa Valentine-Walls

Hi!  My name is Melissa Valentine-Walls. I currently live with 3 dogs, two pit bulls, Xena and Spike, and a shih-tzu, Angel, We also have a cat, Kitty, and two rabbits, Isabella Bun and Briar Bun, and several hermit crabs.


My love for animals started when I was just a little girl. My mother was a volunteer wildlife rehabilitator and we always had some sort of baby animals in the house. She raised squirrels, rabbits, and even a raccoon that we named Baby. He was my best buddy for the time that we kept him until he was ready to be released into the wild. 

Briar

As I grew up, we always had dogs and cats around the house.  When I moved out and started my own family , it seemed only natural to get my own pets. So came our first pit bull, Spike. My daughter was only two years old when we went to get him. He was a tiny puppy and she named him Spike because at the time, Rugrats was her favorite show and the dog  on it was named Spike. We placed him in a laundry basket with a towel and drove him home to love forever.

Isabella

Kitty

Our second pit, Princess was given to us by a lady who wanted to get her away from her husband who abused her. She knew that she would not be safe in her home and wanted her to have a better life. We took her in and shortly after, she was diagnosed with cancer. We did not have her very long, but she got to know love and that not all humans are not bad in her time with us.

Angel

 After we lost her, we knew that we had to save another and give them a safe home too.  So we searched Petfinder until we came across a beautiful girl named Xena at Cumberland County Animal Control. The morning that I called about her she was due to be euthanized. I begged them to please hold her until I could get there and I hopped in the car to make the 2 hour trip to Fayetteville.  We ended up having to make the trip twice because they would not release her on the first trip because she had to be spayed and we had to pay for that first and then come back the next day to pick her up after her surgery. 

Xena

 It was the best decision that we ever made. Xena is a wonderful dog and we love her more than we can even say.  After that, I learned of Carolina Care Bullies and that they were in need of volunteers. I answered an email about transporting a dog named Hooch to an event in my area. I filled out a volunteer form and soon became the courtesy lister for them. I answered emails about dogs that were stays or owner surrenders and listed them on our site to help them find new forever homes. 

Spike

 I am now the Volunteer Coordinator and love every minute of the time that I spend helping CCB and the wonderfully deserving dogs that we save and place. It has given me a purpose in life that I did not have before. A feeling that I am doing something good in this world of not so good and helping those that cannot help themselves. I totally recommend volunteering to anyone that is considering doing something good for others. It is definitely life changing in a great way!!!!!