Effingham County Animal Shelter in Springfield, GA is open to the public only five days a week but taking care of the animals there is a full time job. Animals come in and the workers there start the process of networking. They call rescues and shelters to see if they have any room for any of the dogs or cats they currently have. Each person in the shelter has their own part in the process. Each person there takes their part very seriously, as a dog or cats’ life is in their hands. On Mother’s Day they had a very successful rescue operation where 15 dogs were transported to another shelter in New York that needed dogs for adoption, as they had people wanting to adopt but a shortage of dogs. In the next week or so there will be another transport to Florida with several other dogs going to rescue.
A lot of the dogs that come into the shelter are sweet, good natured, and fun loving dogs. The cats are sweet, compassionate, and very mild-mannered. The shelter has a system that works. They have an inmate program with the Effingham County Prison that is works very efficiently. They come in and clean the kennels, which are all indoors, provide food and clean water to each and every dog and cat there. The inmates also take the individual dogs out and provide some exercise to them as well as give them much needed attention. It really helps the dogs establish some sort of normalcy since when they come in they are usually confused and not sure of their surroundings. The kennels are cleaned throughout the day as needed and fresh water is always available. The weekends when they are closed, the workers are still there taking care of the dogs and cats.
The shelter workers, the girls, are a small group of animal lovers that takes pride in what they do. The girls are Sonya, April, and Elizabeth and they walk the halls and see the animals and pet them along the way each and every day. They take them up front and play with them and see what they are really like. When there is a momma dog, they often bring them up front to watch them more closely and provide her with the nurturing she needs. The girls really love and care for each one there and do their best to provide them the best care while they are in the shelter. The shelter loves it when people donate items like dog treats and cat treats so they can treat the animals there as if they were their own. It is like a close-nit family there with an extended family of animals.
There are others that work with the shelter volunteering their time and efforts to help in the quest to save each and every one of them, although saving each one is not totally possible, but they do their best. There is a volunteer named Pat that works closely with rescues and breed specific rescues. She calls upon them and provides pictures for them to see the dog and then tries to put together the transport once the rescue decides they want that particular dog. Pat as well as the girls has also participated in the transports to help provide that dog with a better life. There is also another volunteer named Dena that comes in weekly to assess the dogs and provide kennel sheets for potential adopters. Adopters can come in, look for a dog and read the kennel sheet to have a better understanding of that particular dog’s characteristics. This helps aid the adopters to find the best compatible dog for their family. This is just another way the shelter is helping to provide for the animals there, by working with people like this.
Most people have the misconception that all animal shelters and animal controls are nothing more than a killing facility. For this facility in Effingham, GA that statement is the furthest from the truth. Yes this particular facility is smaller than some and yes its capacity does get full often. There are even times when people show up to turn an animal over to the shelter as they call an “owner turn in” and the people are denied due to no space. There is a licensed veterinarian that comes in to assess animals in need and provides his expertise on that individual animal and provides any medical need necessary as well as performing the humane euthanasia. Effingham County Animal Shelter only humanely euthanizes dogs that are very unhealthy and create a health risk for the other dogs or dogs that come in that are extremely aggressive and often hurt themselves in their rage. Extremely feral cats that hurt each other or themselves or that are in seriously bad condition are also humanely euthanized. Every effort is made to NOT have to resort to doing this.
Effingham County Animal Shelter promotes spaying and neutering pets as without doing this it is what promotes breeding and so many unwanted animals ending up in shelters. Just in one day they received 21 puppies that all were extremely sick and over 30 extremely feral cats. This is due to people not spaying and neutering their pets or taking care of their responsibility to their pet. Effingham County Animal Shelter does not provide vaccinations, the spaying or neutering of the animals there but in their adoption contract, it is the responsibility of the adopter. The adopter has 30 days to provide the shelter with documentation showing this was done or they will result in a fine for not complying. The adoption fee for a dog is $45 and a cat is $35. This is much less than other facilities in their quest to help find each dog and cat a good home. The vaccinations and spaying and neutering can be done at the low cost clinic SNAC in Ridgeland, SC or by Webb Animal Hospital in Rincon, GA for nearly the same low cost.
Go to the Animal Rescue Site and click the purple paw print to help feed shelter animals for FREE. In 2010 they helped to provide shelters with over 72 million bowls of food, from just a click a day from people like you.
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