FAIRHOPE, Ala. — When Maria Gwynn moved to Baldwin County from Long Island, N.Y. to join her family in 1978, she noticed something along the roads as she commuted to Mobile.

“There were dead dogs and cats on the side of the road,” said Gwynn. When she “started making phone calls” about the problem, she discovered that communities in Baldwin County didn’t have a place to call to let officials know there was an animal that needed to be collected. Worse, there was no shelter for animals in Baldwin County.

“State law said that there was supposed to be a shelter if the county had 5,000 or more people living there,” she said. She added that at that time, Baldwin was “an extremely rural community” and people didn’t think of domestic animals in the way they do now.

“There were packs of dogs running through the county,” she said.

While making those calls, Gwynn says, she “got in contact with others that wanted to help animals.”

And from that, the Baldwin County Humane Society, now also known as BARC! was born.

According to Sonja Presley, the current executive director of the Humane Society, Gwynn’s “unselfish and dedicated service has made a significant difference in our community. She epitomizes what it means to be an animal advocate. The board of directors has established the Maria Gwynn Volunteer of the Year Award to celebrate a BARC! volunteer whose commitment to community and service to others is exemplary. The award pays homage to Maria Gwynn, one of our original founders in 1979 and recent board president.”

Other founders, according to a proclamation from the Alabama Senate include Gwynn, Janice Phillips, Catherine Downey Richter, Leon Johnson, Alisa Valentim, Melanie Beiser, Joan George and Nancy Humphrey.

The organization was established in July of 1979.

At BARC!’s annual meeting on Wednesday, April 20, proclamations from Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, the Alabama State Senate and the city of Fairhope will be presented to the original founders at the Eastern Shore Art Center in Fairhope. Keys to the cities of Robertsdale, Daphne and Orange Beach will also be presented.

For Lynn Anderson, owner of a pet grooming business in Fairhope, seeing notices of the meeting sparked some interest. She had a lifelong interest in animals, and many pets as a girl, including a chicken named “Easter,” cats, dogs, geckos and turtles.

She tells how she would sneak one of her cats into her room at night, getting around her mother’s “no animals in the bedrooms” policy. Anderson says that her mother was convinced she was “going to be a vet.” Her godfather, William Mason and his wife, Martha, were well-known show dog handlers and groomers.

“I wanted to be involved with more than well-kept animals. It may be strange, but when I opened my own store, I thought of it like a church, and wanted to give back to those who gave to you,” Anderson said, and she joined BARC.

As the organization was forming, Gwynn reached out to Joan Richards of the Mobile SPCA. Gwynn says that Richards was able to help get the Baldwin County Humane Society going. Gwynn’s brother, Marion “Tut” Wynne, an attorney, drew up the initial paperwork to get the new humane organization tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status.

Fundraising for the organization is always a must.

“I went to a Humane Society fundraising conference in Mobile,” recalled Anderson. “The lady there said fundraising was like raising money for a church. I took that to heart, so I always see if someone has a few dollars to give. Some think I’m greedy, but if you don't ask …”

Gwynn says the organization has “grown and blossomed” over the years.

“Animal Control and animal control officers have helped tremendously,” she said. Also,she says distribution of “Kindness News” (now Kind News) to Baldwin County schoolchildren helped kids understand humane treatment of animals.

Gwynn says she became more and less involved with BARC! as her work took her away from Baldwin County.

“I stayed involved, but I did not do this all by myself,” she said.

Anderson became the organization’s first executive director in 1991.

According to Presley, “Lynn Anderson’s passion and enthusiasm to help the homeless, abused and abandoned animals in Baldwin County is an inspiration to many. She was active in the efforts to persuade the Baldwin County Commission to build the first shelter in the 1980s. She opened our first office and was our first executive director in 1992. Lynn pioneered an education program for middle-schoolers in our county to learn about responsible pet ownership. For 30 years, she has been a staunch believer in spay/neuter to help control the pet overpopulation. She is a mentor and a friend.”

Anderson says the education was one of her goals as an executive director. She is now involved with Mental Health America of Southwest Alabama.

“Kids are the one,” Anderson said. “If people are not afforded a humane outlook to animals, if we can learn to take care of animals we can take care of children OK.”

For more information about the Baldwin County Humane Society (BARC!), visit www.baldwnhumane.org, or call 251-928-4585.