By Sarrah Peters
News Editor
When Troy University journalism student Martha Ladner decided to start a blog to give her more experience, she needed to decide what to write about. She knew she wanted to do something different. So she thought about her passions in life, and her thoughts landed on her dogs.
Ladner said that she had always had animals while she was growing up, and her family often adopted. Ladner’s aunt was also very involved with the Montgomery Humane Society.
Ladner’s blog starts off with the story of Jesse, “who started my passion for pet adoption.”
During Ladner’s senior year, two of her dogs, Lattie, a chocolate labradoodle, and Ellie, a big black lab, passed away. The deaths devastated the family, especially the family’s third dog Lilly, a yorkie. Lilly wasn’t eating and was still searching for her friends, so Ladner decided to look at dogs up for adoption. During her search she found a picture of Jesse on the Montgomery Humane Society website.
Jesse’s story was posted with her picture. She was found with no collar near a busy street. As a black dog, she had been having a difficult time finding a home, despite playful and loving personality. Sadly, black animals in shelters are often passed over in favor of prettier animals.
Despite Ladner’s father’s insistence that the family wasn’t getting a new dog, Ladner convinced her dad to go to the humane society to “just look.” He agreed with the promise that Jesse would not attempt to adopt any animals. Her dad changed his mind as soon as Jesse ran up to him and fell into his lap, belly up. Six years later, Jesse and Lilly are best friends.
Ladner has written about several other animal adoption stories throughout the south.
Ladner said that the blog has grown to be about more than just adoption stories.
“Now it’s become more,” Ladner said.
She said that she is showing how animal shelters take care of animals. To promote the animal shelters the animals are adopted from, Ladner includes the shelter’s websites.
To visit the “Tails of Adoption” blog, go to mladner.wixsite.com/