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SUMMERFIELD -- Visitors, take caution.

"Please drive slowly. Animals at play," the sign says.

A menagerie flocks to any vehicle crossing the gravel driveway. There's Rodney, the graying three-legged golden retriever, and Sable, the gentle, white-faced pit bull. Then the turkeys, Jake and Winona, fly over.

Welcome to Red Dog Farm, home to five dogs, two horses, one miniature horse, two miniature donkeys, four goats, two turkeys, and one pot-bellied pig.

They live here with their owners, Garland and Gary Graham.

But this is not your average farm.

Many of the animals here were once abused, neglected or abandoned. Red Dog Farm is both an actual farm belonging to the Grahams, and the name of the animal rescue network they founded.

Garland, 33, a Greensboro corporate attorney and lifelong animal lover, created the nonprofit with her husband two years ago. Since then, they've helped place more than 500 animals in new homes. This summer, they established an office in Bur-Mil Park and hired an executive director.

Garland credits the success to their network of dedicated volunteers.

Those around her say it's her passion, energy and enthusiasm that drives the network.

Her motivation is simple. She loves animals.

* * * * *

Garland Graham's day begins about 6 a.m.

Until two years ago, she started the day with a run with Rodney. Now, she scarfs down some cheese toast, and heads out the back door to muck stalls. That's farmspeak for scooping poop.

She tosses grain to the goats, donkeys and horses. She feeds the dogs, and gives 15-year-old Rodney -- her oldest -- a multitude of medications. And depending on the animals the Grahams may be fostering at any given time, there are often critters needing special attention. It could be a baby animal that needs to be bottle fed, or a severely malnourished horse that requires a specific diet. All of the animals run to greet her. Even Jake, the turkey, allows her to pick him up.

"I like this part. I never get tired of caring for the animals," she says.

And she loves the farm at this time of day. The air is crisp, and the dew settles on your skin like a fine mist. It smells earthy -- a mixture of grain, hay and manure. Deer sometimes graze in fields, alongside the horses.

Once morning chores are done, it's off to the office -- the other side of her life -- consisting of power suits and mergers and acquisitions. In 2006, she became a partner at Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston, the firm she joined straight out of law school in 1999.

Her 15th-floor office overlooking downtown Greensboro's Center City Park reflects both worlds. Plaques and trophies reflect her professional achievements: The Business Journal's "40 Leaders Under 40" award. BizLife's "Movers and Shakers" award.

Her other passion is also on display. Some people have pictures of their children. She has pictures of her animals.

There's her beloved Rodney. The vet examining him 13 years ago told Garland's mother that a previously broken leg would give them nothing but trouble, and advised them to take him back to the Humane Society. Garland wouldn't think of it. Rodney kept that leg until two years ago, when he lost it to cancer.

"He is truly the inspiration for my desire to find a good home for every animal in need," she says.

There's also a snapshot of Garland's horse, Diesel, on his fifth birthday. He's wearing a birthday hat, and sniffing a carrot cake. Carrot sticks stand in for candles. All of her horses get carrot cakes on their birthdays. If she has time, she bakes them herself.

Garland is one of those co-workers who's always asking if someone can foster or adopt a dog. There's hardly a week that passes that she doesn't find an abandoned critter of some kind.

Though she scaled back her hours at the firm to devote time to the rescue network, managing partner Tom Watkins says her work at the firm has not suffered.

"She has the opportunity to work with a lot of people that she really enjoys (through Red Dog Farm)," Watkins says. "That's good for Garland and her career, and good for all of us."

Garland says she needs both law and the animal rescue to maintain balance in her life. Sometimes, the stories of animal neglect and abuse can be an emotional drain, she says.

Take Coco. Coco was a horse the Grahams cared for recently. She was so severely malnourished, she needed to gain more than 200 pounds before she could be adopted.

"I love the rescue. It's my passion, and it's heart-wrenching and emotional. It's every bit as difficult as law, in a way," Garland says.

But the law that she practices -- corporate law -- requires less from her emotionally. Unlike criminal law, business law is more rational, and the solutions more clear-cut. With most of her cases, the goal is to find an outcome in which both sides benefit.

Law pays the bills, and animal rescue feeds her spirit.

"I think it makes me a better lawyer at the end of the day, because I'm not burned out," she says.

* * * * *

Garland was one of those kids who was always rescuing animals.

Baby birds that fell out of a nest. A litter of motherless kittens found behind a dumpster.

Even as a child, Garland always cared for the animals she brought home, says her mother, Pam Gibbes-Smith.

"She took responsibility to make sure they were fed and had exercise. I didn't have to remind her of those kinds of things," Gibbes-Smith says.

She remembers a phone call from Garland's kindergarten teacher one evening. The teacher read a story that day about a squirrel that lost its mom. As she read, the teacher noticed that Garland was crying.

"What's wrong?" she asked the little girl.

"I wish I could hold it," Garland said.

Garland grew up in a Florida beach community, not a rural farm. The family occasionally visited Gibbes-Smith's parents, who did have a farm. It was clear, early on, that animals were drawn to her.

"She could kneel down to a strange animal and put out her hand, and it always came to her," Gibbes-Smith says.

Garland also was a very ambitious, self-sufficient child. When she was a seventh-grader, she told her mother what she wanted to accomplish in ninth grade. In ninth grade, she told her mother what she planned to do in eleventh grade.

By the time Garland was a junior, she announced to her parents that she was skipping her senior year to start college a year early. Garland had already gotten her principal's approval, and made arrangements with the University of Florida to begin classes.

"She said she felt like she had already learned everything she needed to learn in high school, and we were like, 'what?" Gibbes-Smith says.

* * * * *

Gibbes-Smith always thought her daughter would be a veterinarian. Though she became a lawyer instead, Garland never outgrew her desire to rescue animals.

And it's a mission her husband, Gary, has adopted too. The two met 12 years ago at a fishing tournament in Florida. Garland's father introduced them. Gary was first drawn to her appearance -- 5 feet, 10 inches tall, she has long, straight brown hair and large brown eyes. Then he fell in love with the person she was: confident, driven and kind-hearted.

Gary Graham grew up with pets, but his wife inspires him to help rescue the unwanted, abandoned and abused. He's often at her side at fundraisers and adoption fairs. Still, his wife's dedication is extraordinary, he says.

"I love critters -- not like Garland though. She's one of a kind," he says.

When the Grahams lived in Kirkwood, they started fostering golden retrievers for Triad Golden Retriever Rescue. But goldens weren't the only breed that came their way, and Garland could never close her door to a stray. Once, the pizza man delivered a pie and a stray puppy to the Graham's home.

The Grahams paid the veterinary expenses themselves, took pictures of the animals, then e-mailed them to everyone they knew. They placed about 50 animals this way.

The nonprofit evolved from something they were doing anyway -- rescuing and placing animals. And once they moved to the farm in Summerfield, they started learning of farm animals needing homes -- goats, horses and donkeys. Red Dog Farm is the only area nonprofit that also rescues farm animals.

The nonprofit includes about 50 volunteers, some of whom completely manage specific areas of the rescue. The Grahams' farm won't accommodate many more animals than they already have, so they rely on volunteers to foster animals until they can be placed in permanent homes.

Garland's law colleague Jennifer Koenig provided legal advice on starting the nonprofit. Koenig describes her colleague as an excellent attorney, with good judgement and leadership skills -- skills she also uses with the rescue.

Those around Garland also say that Red Dog Farm flourished under her leadership because she works well with others.

"She's just fun to be around ... she's able to see the positive in things, I think that goes a long way in life," Koenig says.

Red Dog Farm's executive director, Lauren Riehle, respects Garland's work ethic and humility.

"So many founders will start something, get it going, then step back," Riehle says. "She's just as happy mucking stalls, and getting her hands dirty as she is talking to folks at conferences."

Large animal specialist Rebecca Stinson treats the Graham's farm animals, as well as the animals they rescue. She says Garland's charisma and enthusiasm motivates others.

"The animals are not going to go find themselves homes. Somebody has to be their voice. And she's very good at getting people charged up to help and excited about the organization," Stinson says.

Stinson cites Red Dog Farm as a well-run rescue because they place animals in a timely fashion, and because the Grahams take full care of the animals in their custody. They ensure animals receive any necessary medical treatment before they are adopted, and provide food, crates and litter to foster volunteers.

Those volunteers, Garland says, are the reason for the network's success. It thrives, she says, because of people like Linda Schwoeppe.

Schwoeppe, a retiree, completely runs the cat program of Red Dog Farm. She organizes weekly adoption fairs, and manages her own team of volunteers.

"She literally devotes her life to these cats," Garland says. "I couldn't do it without her."

* * * * *

Puppies and kittens always draw people.

That's why Red Dog Farm rescue animals are frequently at fundraising and networking events.

A crowd gatherers to check out the puppies and kittens available for adoption at a recent Red Dog Farm fund-raiser in downtown Greensboro.

This chilled-shrimp-and-wine event at Heart of Living art gallery also showcases the work of local artists who have painted many of the Graham's pets. Garland, wearing a black dress and pearls, tells a visitor how her group can help Red Dog Farm by organizing drives to collect pet food, towels or cat litter. Or they can recruit foster homes for animals until they can be permanently placed.

Events like this serve multiple purposes -- fundraising, volunteer recruitment and awareness building. Garland is starting to see more signs of their visibility in the community. At stoplights and in parking lots, she notices more cars with the Red Dog Farm bumper sticker.

But Garland is always looking ahead. The Grahams want to raise enough money to buy land to create Second Chance Ranch. The ranch would house rescued farm animals, many of which are surrendered because their owners can no longer afford to care for them. Farm animals are harder to place, but often find new homes with families just moving to a new farm.

The Grahams also hope that Second Chance Ranch could serve as an event and education facility. School groups could learn about responsible pet ownership and farm life out there. High school students needing service projects could volunteer. And it would be a place for fundraising events, such as adoption fairs and kids birthday parties.

Pam Gibbes-Smith admires her daughter's ambition, drive and work ethic. In many ways, Garland has changed little since she was a girl, Gibbes-Smith says: "She found her passion at a young age, and she's doing it."

Contact Tina Firesheets at 373-3498 or tina.firesheets@news-record.com