Adopt a pet. Save a life. Find love. That’s what Britton Hammett-McCurry and John McCurry did when they took in Ichabod, a terrier mix, who had been brought to Atlanta Pet Rescue & Adoption (APRA) after he and his littermates were found in a dumpster.
The McCurrys’ beloved dog, Nigel, had died six months earlier so the family “was missing another little heartbeat around the house” and knew that adopting a rescue dog would “bring new love” into their lives, Britton explains. “Nigel could never be replaced, but the minute we saw Ichabod at APRA we fell in love with him.”
So did Zero, the couple’s Chihuahua, who was lonely and depressed after Nigel’s death. “None of us can imagine life without Ichabod and are so grateful to APRA for saving him,” Britton says. To express their gratitude, the McCurrys, who attended film school at Georgia State University and worked in the entertainment industry in Hollywood before moving back to Georgia, produced a special video that APRA is using as a pubic service announcement (PSA) to encourage pet adoptions from local rescue groups like it.
APRA provides shelter and medical care for unwanted or mistreated animals so they have a second chance to find forever homes. The organization works with other rescue groups, shelters and animal control facilities across Georgia to identify highly adoptable dogs and cats, bringing them to its facilities for medical and social rehabilitation.
“With October being National Adopt-a-Shelter-Dog Month, we thought this the perfect time to release the heartwarming video that Britton and John produced for us,” explains Judy Price, APRA founder and executive director. “It really captures the human-animal bond and the joys of pet ownership.”
All of the animals featured in the PSA are rescues. The majority were rescued, rehabilitated and adopted into new homes by APRA. Of course, Ichabod has a starring role, shown riding in the car with one of the McCurrys’ neighbors.
“It was great to marry our two passions – film-making and animals – for this project,” says Britton, who now is a third-year veterinary student at the University of Georgia. She plans to be a zoo vet with an emphasis in conservation medicine and hopes to work with her husband, an Atlanta-based cinematographer, on wildlife documentaries and/or a TV show.
View the Video and see Ichabod in Action