Scholarship Fund Established for Students to Pursue Veterinary Medicine

Carole Garrett has lived a life of service to the animals around her, and has adopted, fostered, loved, and cared for more pets than she can count. She feels so strongly about the benefits of animal companionship that she’s made it her mission to help pet owners and their pets stay together when times are tough.

One day in 2007, Carole and her friend Bunny were waiting at a Suffolk vet’s office with her miniature pinscher Savannah, when an older man walked in with his sick dog. The dog had swallowed something and the man was inquiring about the cost to have his pet treated. When he heard how expensive it was going to be, his anguish was apparent. He then asked about the cost to euthanize his pet, because he couldn’t afford care. Carole looked at Bunny and quietly said, “This can’t happen.”

That was all the inspiration that Carole needed. She paid the man’s vet bill, went home, and started on her new path to establish Savannah’s Angels, a nonprofit with a mission to offer financial assistance to pet owners so that pets can receive necessary medical care.  Savannah’s Angels has helped dozens of animals, including three horses and one lamb, and their families.

“It’s such a personal thing, to help someone with their vet bills,” says Carole. “People still send me Christmas cards as a result of help they received long ago.”

Animals were part of Carole’s family from her earliest memories. “My grandparents ran a dairy farm. In addition to enjoying and learning from all of the farm animals, we each could adopt and name our own calf,” says Carole. “My other grandmother lived in an apartment, and she adored little mice and often carried one in her apron pocket.”

As a teenager, she found a sad-looking dog at the Greyhound bus station near her aunt’s home. She lassoed the dog, took him to her aunt’s house and bathed him in the family tub to get rid of his fleas. Carole took the dog home with her, and they became fast friends. Over the years, she’s gotten many pets from the pound, while others are strays she’s adopted or pets that needed a new home.

Carole adopted Savannah later in life, and she proved to be an extraordinarily sweet and gentle companion who was loved by many, including older adults who she met when Carole took her on visits to nursing homes.

In addition to creating Savannah’s Angels, Carole has been active in local animal groups, serving on the board of directors for both Feline Hope and Friends of Pooh. She has been a dedicated fundraiser for animal welfare nonprofits on the Outer Banks for over 20 years, including serving on the organizing committee for the Wags and Whiskers events.

In 2023, Carole created the Teddy and Savory Garrett Veterinary Medicine Scholarship Fund at the Outer Banks Community Foundation to help local students who want to become veterinarians. And she has made a provision in her will for both the fund she established and to the Outer Banks Community Foundation to benefit Outer Banks people and causes. Her generosity toward the Community Foundation will ensure that the nonprofit will continue to fulfill its mission, far into the future.