We were lucky to catch up with Stephanie Pierce recently and have shared our conversation below.

Stephanie , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you get your first job in the field that you practice in today?

I was working part time at Tractor Supply in a new town I had recently moved to. One afternoon an animal control officer came in the greenhouse reeking of skunk! I got to talking to that officer about what sort of calls they deal with. The conversation ended with this gentleman telling me they were currently hiring an officer and that I should apply. I applied that night. I interviewed for the position and was hired the next week. I wanted to finally be able to make a difference in the animal community. I wanted to see changes in animal welfare and help to find resources for those that could help themselves. I am so thankful that opportunity presented itself because I met a lot of incredibly amazing people that are still helping me and my vision become a reality.

Stephanie , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am an avid animal lover that spent 26 months working as an animal control officer in Macon County. In that time I was able to educate and offer help to parts of the community that have no resources. I helped find solutions for citizens complaints. I left that position last year and started working for a local nonprofit. Although I accomplished a lot out in the community, I soon realized my vision differed from theirs. I took a leap of faith and started my own venture, Macon Moves Animal Care. I left the nonprofit I had worked with. I packed up 10 puppies and 1 adult dog that needed to go on transport in 9 days. It was a lot to take on solo but I knew it was what was best for me and those animals. At first it was just me driving around to economically challenged parts of the county offering free pet food, vaccines, preventatives and teaching people the importance of disease prevention. I realized it had to be more to make a true positive impact. I went to every veterinary office in town and looked for special pricing on spay/neuter services to offer to low income residents. I partnered with Horse Tales Farm Inc, a horse sanctuary and nonprofit in Otto NC and doors began to open. Noah’s Ark Companion Animal Hospital offered 6-8 low cost spays and neuters weekly which was huge! I finally could impact the issue of endless animal reproduction. The need for low cost spay/neuter is big in Franklin, like many other places. Many of the pet owners don’t have transportation, I often taxi these pets to and from the clinics. That clinic has been going strong weekly since June 5th. We have been able to alter 74 pets in that time, most that didn’t have the resources to do the surgery without our help. Recently I have been assisting with hoarding cases in Rabun and Macon County. I work with animal control in both Macon and Rabun County on cases where the number of animals is too great for the shelter to take in. I am thankful these relationships have remained strong even after my departure from animal control. Macon Moves Animal Cares number one goal is prevention, in every sense of the word. Preventing neglect by educating and offering economical solutions. Preventing litters by offering low cost spay/neuter. Preventing communicable and preventable diseases by educating about vaccines and parasite prevention. Seeing the animals I’ve been able to help thriving is the best part!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Working for animal control in Macon County put me out into the community where I was able to build strong relationships and trust with the patrons I dealt with. I took a very different approach to being an animal control officer than I was trained to. I didn’t arrive with my citation book out, ready to throw “the book” at people. I learned quickly that people were much more likely to work with me if I took a more respectful and kind approach. I was able to find resources to help a lot of the homes we were called out to. Because let’s face it, asking for help is the hardest part. So many have been shamed for doing so. Once word got out in that community, they kept me busy! I welcomed it because I was seeing the positive impact it was having in those communities. People were glad to see me show up, which was a nice change. Now I go back to the same neighborhoods to assist with basic animal care.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I was working for animal control responding to a call for a stray dog. This was winter of 22. Upon arrival I met this really nice lady that had found a dog that was in rough shape. She told me about her horse sanctuary and how much she loves to help animals. We discussed how the lack of animal welfare ordinances made it hard to improve conditions for pets. I scheduled a time to meet Pam’s husband Jim and to get a tour of the sanctuary. Little did I know that would be the start to something huge! Pam helped us with adoption events in the community and donated so much of her time and money to make those events successful. I became a part of Horse Tales Farm Inc’s board in 2023 as the Secretary. Pam and Jim have been a huge part of why I was able to get Macon Moves off the ground. They have been extremely supportive and motivate me to keep working toward better welfare for WNC pets.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: Macon Moves Animal Care
• Other: TikTok @acotoanimalwelfare
  Email: [email protected]
  Zeffy: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/sponsor-a-macon-moves-rescue