Community Corner

Gwinnett Judge Leads Pack in Canine and Equine Rescue

Carla Brown has a big, soft heart for animals.

By Christy Smith
Originally published in the Neighborhood News.

Tony Wood of Suwanee woke up around 2 a.m. last February with his dog, Major, licking his face and arms.

“I was fading pretty fast,” said Tony, a diabetic and pancreatic cancer survivor.

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Tony’s blood sugar had dropped to 28, dangerously below his good level of roughly 100. He staggered into the kitchen, pulled himself up to the counter, and ate anything he could find containing sugar.

“It was a miracle,” said Margie Wood, Tony’s wife. “We hadn’t really had the dog that long but something alerted him. Maybe Tony was moaning and groaning. I probably never would have woken up.”

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Before Major, a beautiful German shepherd, became such a vital part of the Wood family, he had been left to die - trapped inside his crate. The cramped conditions caused Major to suffer muscle atrophy. Volunteers with Canine Pet Rescue, a non-profit organization based in Dacula, liberated him.

Due to the economic downturn, animal shelters are packed with dogs and cats. Many of these animals are victims of abuse and neglect. Although they could be rehabilitated, they are often destroyed out of convenience.

“Major is very loving; he just had a bad beginning,” Margie said.

Instead of being euthanized, Major found a temporary home at Big Sky Farm in Dacula where he got mental stimulation, training and structure in his life. With his training complete, Major was adopted by the Woods family. They still wonder what might have happened to Tony if Major had not survived.

The organization that saves so many great dogs like Major was founded by a Gwinnett County state court judge with a big, soft heart for animals.

State Court Judge Carla Brown hears many cases in her Gwinnett County courtroom. Everyday she is called upon to make crucial and meaningful decisions on a wide variety of civil cases, misdemeanors and traffic violations.

Every case is extraordinary and significant to those involved, but after her gavel falls for the last time each day, the petite, athletic justice hangs up her robes and begins a new day recovering and redeeming animals who cannot speak for themselves.

Carla opened CPR in 2009, but her camaraderie with animals goes back to her childhood in Decatur.

“I have always loved animals,” she said. “One instigator was an uncle who had every animal known to man in a little bitty town in Mississippi -- peacocks, raccoons, Dobermans. That rubbed off on me. The menagerie in his backyard was like going to the zoo.”

Back home in Decatur, the Brown family lived with a dog, cows and horses, for a while, until her brother broke his back on a horse at age 15.

“Mom decided that horses were a bad idea; I did not agree,” she said.

The doctors predicted that her brother might never walk again. However, he would eventually recover and today, he and his daughter both ride horses in competitions.

Over the years, Carla’s love of horses and animals would continue to grow stronger. Throughout college and law school she always kept a small menagerie of dogs, cats and rabbits. She realized her wildlife collection would expand even more after she settled down.

Eventually, the ever-expanding menagerie transferred to a 13-acre tract in Gwinnett County, where she was free to accumulate as many animals as she wanted.

“First I had two horses and some dogs,” she said. “It was easy to get more. At the animal shelter there was always a sad story about one I needed to take home and rescue.”

Carla and her animals moved to 30-acre Big Sky Farm in Dacula in 1999 following her marriage to Sheriff Butch Conway, which is where CPR is currently expanding operations.

CPR specializes in German shepherds, a breed she describes as “amazing” for their loyalty, kindness, intelligence, beauty and bravery. The organization pulls animals from metro-area shelters and from neighboring states. CPR adopted out about 65 dogs last year. Dogs live in foster homes and on her farm where volunteers walk and socialize them until they are ready to live with a loving family. A climate-controlled kennel with indoor/outdoor runs is currently under construction at Big Sky Farm.

Sheriff Conway shares his wife’s dedication and love of animals.

“Carla stirred my passion,” he said. “I don’t profess to do near what she does.”

Mary Leslie of Madison adopted two dogs from CPR. One of those dogs is now in search and rescue training.

“He has a lot of energy, a lot of drive and he’s smart and he needed a job,” she said. “At the end of his two-year training he will work with law enforcement to find lost people. He likes it. It is a big game to him.”

Brown’s instinctual love for horses leads her to rescue retired racehorses headed to the slaughterhouse. Most of those horses are still quite young.

Shelter manager Mary Lou Repess said the Gwinnett Animal Shelter will take in cast-off horses, but most shelters don’t always have the facilities. Those rescued horses will go to live on Big Sky Farm, with the quarter horses Carla breeds and shows, until they can find a new home.

Rescued animals facing death can make nice pets and many are now busy serving their families and communities, she said.

“I tell people that just because it’s a dog from a rescue, doesn’t mean it’s a dog with problems,” Leslie said. “It’s only from a home with problems.”

CPR will hold a . Go to www.caninepetrescue.com for more information or to make a donation. Adoption fees range from $150 to $300 and includes spay/neuter, shots, microchip, heartworm treatment and vet exam. Also, the organization needs volunteers who can provide foster homes for rescued animals.


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