Dear fellow pet lovers,
Thank you so much for your prior donations, time, and effort to the Humane Society of Valdosta/Lowndes County. We are proud to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. We know that without your support, we would not have been able to help thousands of animals over the past 30+ years of servicing our community. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, we’ve evolved our methods to continue to help the less fortunate animals in our community.
Since September 2013, we have been collecting the statistics of the animals we’ve positively impacted. We started data collecting because the information was needed for grant applications. We have focused our efforts to make Lowndes County reach No-Kill zone status. No Kill zone status means that 10% or less of animals that are admitted in the Lowndes County Animal Shelter are euthanized.
After we started collecting data, we found that only 45% of less fortunate animals admitted into the Lowndes County Animal Shelter made it out alive in 2013. As a result, Lowndes County has been labeled as a high kill area for several years. We began to develop intensive programs that have gradually improved these disappointing figures. For example, when there is overcrowding in the animal shelter the euthanasia rate rises. Therefore, preventing unwanted animals from being born is an effective method to counteract the overcrowding within the animal shelter. With the implementation of the Trap-Neuter-Return of Feral Cats program and the Citizens Assist/Spay Neuter program, we have been able to spay and neuter over 5,700 animals and raise the Out Alive rate to 71%.
For the remainder of the companion animals, we began our Life Ride Transport program. This program allows us to transport at-risk animals from kill shelters and move them to no-kill shelters and rescues out of the state of Georgia. Other states have spay/neuter laws which causes a need for adoptable animals. Our state-of-the-art transport trailer can transmit over 20 dogs and cats to their potential loving homes. We frequently travel to destinations such as Maryland and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
As a result of our programs, we have lowered the number of intakes at the animal shelter from 5,637 in 2013 to 916 in 2020. We are pleased with the program’s progress, and the collaborative efforts between the Humane Society, other rescues, and the Lowndes County Animal Shelter. Although we work with both the Humane Society of the United States and the
Lowndes County Animal Shelter, we are not affiliated with either organization. While all of these programs require a lot of money to operate, we are almost close to change the status from High Kill towards No Kill. We continuously strive to adapt to any obstacle that may come before us. Over the last 30+ years, we have been thrilled to be able to help these loving companions reach their furever homes. We just need your support to help us reach the finish line. Will you help those who cannot speak for themselves?
