Heather Daw cradles Xena in her arms as she softly rubs the pup’s smooth, beige fur. The scars from the BB wounds are still visible on the tiny animal’s back.

Daw, a 20-year-old vet student, has made it her mission to save mistreated and abandoned animals, one life at a time.

The East Lincoln woman has partnered with her mother, Dawn Daw, and a few other animal lovers to form Rescue Tails, an organization that pairs rescued dogs and cats with foster families until suitable homes can be found.

The Daws, along with board members Kristy Ferguson and Heather Hobby, will host an informational meeting today at 5 p.m. at the Lincoln County Public Library. They’re looking for individuals who want to help with their cause.

“Fosters are something we really need,” Daw said. “We can only help as many as we can have in foster care.”

Foster families commit to caring for rescued animals for two to six weeks until the abandoned pets can be transported to new homes. Rescue Tails will even provide pet food if necessary.

The Daws have built relationships with no-kill shelters in New Jersey, Rhode Island and Maine that are willing to take in dozens of southern animals at a time and find them homes. Rescue Tails partners with other organizations in Mississippi and Louisiana to transport animals to these shelters, usually 40 to 60 at a time.

It’s easier to send abandoned animals to these northern shelters than to find homes for them locally, Daw said.

“They have stronger spay/neuter laws there, and registration of pets is required,” she said. “Cold weather keeps their stray population down and people in those states would rather adopt than buy.”

Xena will be on such a transport to Maine in September.

The Daws are fostering Xena and nine other strays they picked up from the Brookhaven pound.

“We’re just a landing base to keep them safe,” Dawn Daw said.

“Every animal at our house, if we hadn’t taken it, would be sitting at a shelter or on the street or dead right now,” Heather Daw added.

Animal rescue is a passion that costs them.

Gas for the ride is $400 to $500. Each animal requires $50 to $200 in vet fees and sometimes they pay as much as $150 per dog or cat for animals that aren’t vetted before the trip.

They’ve also paid for countless abused animals to receive medical care through the years, Heather Daw said.

But it’s worth it to save a life.

“We cannot look at an animal in need and let it suffer,” she said.

Heather Daw started rescuing abandoned pets a few years ago because of her love for animals. They have 10 cats and five dogs of their own at home, not counting the fosters.

She also wanted to build her college resume and needed volunteer hours. Now she can’t imagine not being surrounded by their rescues.

“It’s one of those black hole things that just sucks you in,” she said.

Heather Daw is entering her junior year at Mississippi State University where she’s studying to be a veterinarian.

She and her mother have worked with Brookhaven Animal Rescue League before, and feel there is room in Brookhaven for two animal rescue organizations.

“The need is there and as long as the need is there, having two rescue leagues is a good idea,” she said. “Until we can convince the community that spay and neuter is absolutely necessary, we’ll do this.”

Their goal is to love the animals they take in, but to educate the public about spaying and neutering to keep the population down.

“We save the ones we can,” she said. “We can’t save them all, but we can help the ones we can and we educate.”

Rescue Tails can be reached by email at rescuetailsms@gmail.com, through Facebook at RescueTailsMS or by calling 601-320-5227.