Emily and Ray Tidwell’s 300-plus acres near Spring City are lush with strawberries this time of year, but year-round the property is a sanctuary for dogs. Mrs. Tidwell has trouble turning down any dog in distress.
As a result, more than 40 dogs occupy a good deal of her time, as she works to find adoptive owners.
One of the canines in her care went to an industrialist’s home in Connecticut, where he slept on designer rugs and was fed a diet fit for a king.
Mrs. Tidwell is a member of the Almost Home Pet Foundation, an animal welfare organization founded 2007 in Rhea County.
The foundation’s goal is twofold, to help control the stray animal population through spaying and neutering and to find homes for unwanted pets.