On Wednesday night, Tiffany Long was presented with the 5th annual Rob Walker Compassion Award at the Baldwin County Humane Society's annual wine and cheese social. Tiffany was recognized by the Baldwin County Humane Society for her tireless efforts in moving dogs and cats from the Baldwin County Animal Control Center to agencies, organizations and veterinarians that can, in turn, place the animals in permanent homes.

Tiffany serves as a liaison with these rescue organizations by first researching their credentials and then maintaining lists of rescues with their breed preferences and other information. She and the staff at the Baldwin County Animal Control Center, photograph thousands of pets that find themselves at the animal control center and email those photos to the appropriate rescues. Tiffany also coordinates “off-site adoptions” for the Animal Control Center. She arranges a site near a busy area and packs food, water, dog bowls, toys, volunteers and some of the most adoptable pets from the Animal Control Center and during a day-long excursion, works to find homes for the homeless pets.

As part of Tiffany’s mission to reduce the lost pet population, she never misses the opportunity to remind pet owners to outfit their pets with a collar and tags. She travels to civic organizations, church groups, schools and other groups to educate and inform the general public about pet care and the importance of spaying and neutering. Because of her great compassion for animals, Tiffany personally rescued “Cory” a Rottweiler that was found among the victims at the Purple Hearted Puppies kennels in Summerdale. When Tiffany gained custody of Cory, he weighed only 43 pounds and was extremely malnourished and had other health problems. Cory now weighs 110 pounds and is thriving under Tiffany’s care.

Next time you see Tiffany, congratulate her on receiving this prestigious reward!