Comments on: Finding Homes Up North For DeKalb Shelter Dogs and Cats

By: J Murdock

J Murdock — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 04:00:12 +0000

Any word on whether they require negative heartworm tests on the animals before they transport them up north? When you transport animals you also transport anything they carry, and heartworms aren’t (yet) as prevalent up north as they are down here.

By: runswithdogs

runswithdogs — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:12:16 +0000

I absolutely must somewhat derail this topic by giving a HUGE shoutout to Dekalb Animal Services’ shelter.

PLEASE when you think of adopting a shelter pet PLEASE don’t forget the little angels here! They have a group that has been vetted, neutered and temperament tested. I call them “the chosen ones”.

The shelter, as an arm of Dekalb County, receives almost no press & no marketing money. As a result the animals in the shelter get a far less than average chance of being adopted. And it IS a kill shelter unlike PAWS ( who used to be known as the Dekalb Humane Society)

We adopted the MOST awesome Aussie/Lab Mix from DAS in April. She is a true sweetie who’d had previously had alot of training. Not what you’d imagine from “the pound”. And she’d been there for 4 months!! There were many others that we “interviewed” who were nice, apparently well-adjusted dogs just waiting for a home.

If you can’t donate $$ or bring a(nother) pet home, maybe consider volunteering?

By: Crazy Aussie Rescues

Crazy Aussie Rescues — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 19:12:16 +0000

Another favorite animal rescue charity is Atlanta’s Ahimsa House (http://www.ahimsahouse.org/). They help victims of domestic violence by sheltering their pets. Apparently, perpetrators of domestic violence also inflict violence on the pets, which can make it harder for the human victim to leave the situation (http://www.ahimsahouse.org/about-us/what-we-do).

By: Deanne

Deanne — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:59:45 +0000

Thanks for the heads up on this Dekalb effort! It’s terrible that this problem exists. All the awareness in the world can’t make some folks act responsibly. For that, animals suffer needlessly. May the Friends of Dekalb Animals be big time successful in raising money & finding the lucky dogs & cats homes!

( “Last Chance Highway” on Animal Planet is about a similar venture. Talk about boohoos & smiles! )

By: Boondoggle Troll

Boondoggle Troll — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:42:25 +0000

I’ve never spent a frozen winter trapped in the house with snow drifts piled up outside the front door, but the weather may significantly contribute to keeping the numbers of strays a little lower. Sorry for the image.

By: Muffin

Muffin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:34:06 +0000

Thanks for posting this! Just donated. This is the first i’ve heard of this initiative and i support a lot of local animal charities. My favorite show on tv right now is Last Chance Highway and they do the same thing, every week.

By: Crazy Aussie Rescues

Crazy Aussie Rescues — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:12:41 +0000

The issue is apparently a lot worse in the South because we don’t have strong spay/neuter laws like they do in the North. Check out the FODA page http://www.friendsofdekalbanimals.org/What_We_Do.html
for more info. As an example of the prevalence of the problem, our neighbors do not vet their pets and like to see what kind of kittens they make so allow them to breed. FODA is a 501c3 and you can set up a monthly payment via PayPal.

By: Decatur's Token Republican

Decatur's Token Republican — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:29:14 +0000

This is a tough one. We’ve been encouraging the kids to contribute a portion of their allowance to the “less-fortunate people” fund for the local family whose father killed their son (I can’t remember the name).

But I have always felt strongly about animal issues, so we also want to contribute to this excellent organization. So I think maybe we can siphon a bit of that fund toward this effort.