San Carlos woman celebrated for her unwavering support of pets, animals on reservation

A San Carlos woman known for providing care to pets and animals in her community was recognized by the Humane Society of the United States on Sunday, according to a news release.

Julie Cassadore was announced as this year's "More Than a Pet Community Hero," for her dedication to caring for animals through a rescue she founded, Geronimo Animal Rescue Team.

Cassadore is known to travel up to 90 minutes from the San Carlos Apache reservation to take cats, dogs, chickens, ducks and even goats to necessary veterinary care.

Cassadore was nominated by Desert Cross Veterinary Hospital in Thatcher, the very veterinary clinic she transports her beloved animals to.

The award allotted a $10,000 grant in honor of Cassadore to Desert Cross to expand and continue the veterinary services, read the news release.

"I share this honor with the other two nominees; we're all working to make a difference in our communities," said Cassadore when she learned she won the award.

For the servant of the less fortunate, Cassadore emphasized that helping others was something anyone could do.

“It doesn’t take a lot to help an animal, it’s as simple as making water available or buying a bag of pet food. Animals are sacred, and we need to take care of them," said Cassadore.

Cassadore was able to successfully care for the animals in her community by triaging emergency cases and creating an animal feeding station with donated food, all while supporting a human-animal bond, according to Kitty Block, president and chief operating officer for the Humane Society of the United States.

Cassadore encouraged people to take the first step to help those in need. "Don’t be afraid to take that step to feed community dogs, don’t be afraid to ask a neighbor how you can help,” she said.

The "More Than a Pet" campaign was created by the Humane Society of the United States to increase pet resources and veterinary supplies for people in need.

The Community Hero award celebrates three unique individuals each year for "exceptional efforts to ensure the well-being of people and their pets in communities lacking access to resources like pet food and veterinary care," read the Humane Society's website.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: This San Carlos woman supports her community and all the animals in it