Carmen Ott always had a heart for animals.

“My twin sister and I would rescue every injured squirrel, every stray cat. And I’ve always had animals — dogs, cats,” she said, smiling at her current dog, Teddy, who was curled at her feet.

As an adult, Ott always donated money to Best Friends of Baker, the local animal rescue group that started in 1988 after a group of women — Susan Castles, Pam Kleen, Karla Anderson, Mickey Bowman — rescued a pregnant dog.

About 25 years ago, Ott joined Best Friends as a volunteer.

Now, after years of finding foster and adoptive homes for cats and dogs, and driving countless miles in the “Critter Gitter” with fellow volunteer Castles to rescue animals, Ott, 78, is retiring from her volunteer post.

The community is invited to a celebration on Saturday, Sept. 28, to honor Ott’s years of volunteering for Best Friends. The gathering is from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Community Connection, 2810 Cedar St. Cake and drinks will be provided.

Well-behaved dogs are welcome.

Helping animals

In the early days of Best Friends, Ott said most adoptions were local.

“We didn’t have Facebook to spread the word,” she said.

Every animal that passed through the care of Best Friends received care before adoption.

“Every animal was spayed or neutered, vaccinated and healthy,” she said.

Best Friends has always relied on animal foster homes to bridge the gap between rescue and adoption. When a person expresses interest in adopting, Best Friends has a screening process to make sure the adoption will be a good fit. Ott said it’s important to know what kind of experience a person has with dogs, and to match the breed to the potential adopter.

“We want what’s best for the animals. We want a good match,” she said. “I was always comfortable knowing the dogs were going to good homes.”

In addition to adopting animals, Ott and her husband, Bill, fostered quite a few dogs — sometimes for a day, sometimes for longer.

“I bet we fostered 30 to 40,” she said. “I can remember so many dogs, and wonderful people I’ve met through Best Friends.”

She may not realize how many lives she’s benefited through her work with Best Friends — last week, as she pulled in to get gas at Albertsons, employee Chandler Platz made a point to say “thank you.”

He and his girlfriend recently adopted two cats that were rescued from nearby wildfires.

“They are the sweetest bonded pair you’ve ever seen,” Platz said of the felines.

And he credits Best Friends, and Ott.

“We’re endlessly grateful,” he said. “The amount Carmen had done, not just for Baker City, is indescribable. It’s something magical.”

Beyond Baker City

The Internet increased the reach of Best Friends, which began posting available animals on the PetFinder website.

Ott said Best Friends also worked with other groups, such as breed-specific rescues.

“We kept branching out,” she said. “We’ve transported dogs all over the country.”

And nothing, it seems, deterred her from helping animals — she recounts multiple stories of driving the Critter Gitter through a snowstorm or whiteout conditions on the freeway to rescue or transport a dog.

Best Friends is often called when animals are missing after a car accident, and the volunteers take turns monitoring the cellphone — which can ring any time, day or night.

Ott also helped educate the community by visiting elementary schools to talk about animal care, such as veterinarian visits, proper food and dog licenses. Older students learned about the importance of spaying and neutering pets, especially cats, which can reproduce at exponential rates.

Best Friends has for years offered vouchers to help with the cost of spaying or neutering an animal. Ott said the group helps in other ways too, such as repairing a fence so a dog can’t escape, or providing a bag of dog or cat food.

Pet food isn’t cheap, and Ott said the group is thankful for the donations from the community — sometimes they’ll discover a couple bags stacked near the door of the Best Friend’s resale shop at 2950 Church St., and businesses will sometimes run pet food drives.

How to help

Although she’ll miss the animals and the people, Ott said it’s time to step down from her post. Sumir Brown has taken the lead of Best Friends.

“We’re still doing a good job. I wish I could stay on another 20 years,” Ott said.

Best Friends can use help, however. Ott said foster homes, once in abundance, are needed to take in cats and dogs who await adoption. And she encourages people looking for a pet to consider adopting instead of buying a puppy.

“Please adopt, and we desperately need fosters,” she said.

Other ways to help including shopping at the thrift store, which is open Fridays from 8 a.m. to noon and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., or building “kitty cottages” for outside cats that need shelter in the winter.

People interested in serving as foster homes or volunteering, or would like to donate, can find information at www.bestfriendsofbaker.org.

“One beautiful snowy evening in December, around 7 p.m. Best Friends received a phone call from a patron of the bar in Sumpter. There was a homeless dog hanging out there and would Best Friends come to the rescue? Of course! Carmen fired-up the red “Critter Gitter” and headed to Sumpter. Upon arriving at the saloon there were several people talking about this homeless pooch and its whereabouts. No dog could be found. The search finally ended and Carmen headed back to Baker. The snow still coming down, it was still a beautiful night to go for a drive.”

— Susan Castles, former Best Friends volunteer

“I have had the opportunity, for several years, to work with Carmen helping to rescue and rehome hundreds of dogs. Carmen has been a good and reliable friend to many, dogs and humans alike. She has never been too busy or too far away to offer her encouragement, counseling and solutions. Thank you Carmen, for making a difference in all of our lives.”

— Jane Barrett, Best Friends volunteer

“For over 30 years Carmen Ott has devoted herself to rescuing and rehoming companion animals. Primarily leading Best Friends’ dog program, she answered middle of the night emergency calls from law enforcement, drove many miles in all kinds of weather and was available as a volunteer in every capacity. As a former Best Friends’ Board member, I witnessed Carmen always facing the tough stuff. She dedicated herself to being a voice for those who have no voice.”

— Linda Haynes, former Best Friends board member

“Carmen took me on my first-ever rescue call in 2017, and it was a doozy. There had been a single-car wreck on westbound I-84, just as the highway drops into Baker City. Police arrested the intoxicated driver and called Best Friends to help locate and secure the canine passenger that bolted in terror from the scene. Carmen picked me up and drove to the location of the most recent sighting, near Sutton Creek, where we met the dog’s distraught owner (who had been following the unauthorized driver to get her dog back). Shortly after we began searching, Carmen signaled that she had spotted the dog; it wasn’t good news and I should stay with the owner. I held the sobbing woman while Carmen retrieved the dog, lifting its limp, mangled body from the railroad tracks. I’ll never forget this petite senior lady carrying a large, deceased dog up the hill, wrapping it in a towel, and placing it into her own car. I have the utmost respect for Carmen’s decades of full-time, unpaid service to animals, and I hope we can make her proud as we carry on the mission.”

— Megan Kendall, Best Friends volunteer