Cherokee County Humane Society Inc

PREVENTION OF ANIMAL CRUELTY.

THE CHEROKEE COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY (CCHS) REMAINED FOCUSED ON ITS FIVE PRIMARY GOALS: SAAVE- SAVE, ALTER, ADOPT, VACCINATE AND END EUTHANASIA. WE RESCUED AND ADOPTED IN EXCESS OF 700 ANIMALS IN 2022. THESE ANIMALS WERE RESCUED PRIMARILY FROM NORTH GEORGIA ANIMAL SHELTERS AND INDIVIDUALS WHO ABANDONED OR TURNED IN THEIR PETS. ACHIEVING 700 DOCUMENTED ADOPTIONS IS A REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT. THE LEGACY OF THE PANDEMIC GREATLY IMPACTED ANIMAL RESCUE BECAUSE MANY FOSTER HOMES, VOLUNTEERS AND DONATIONS WERE LOST. OUR ADOPTION PARTNERS, PETSMART AND PETCO ENACTED MULTIPLE RESTRICTIONS INCLUDING NOT ALLOWING ON-SITE ADOPTIONS FOR MONTHS. HOWEVER, CCHS PERSEVERED BY UTILIZING ONLINE APPLICATIONS AND ADOPTIONS WHICH PRESENTED UNIQUE CHALLENGES. ALL OF THE 700 ADOPTED ANIMALS, PLUS, THE APPROXIMATELY 75 ANIMALS IN "FOR ADOPTION INVENTORY," WERE EXAMINED BY A VETERINARY SURGEON, GIVEN APPROPRIATE VACCINATIONS AND TESTED FOR DISEASES. THEN, THEY WERE SPAYED/NEUTERED, FLEA TREATED AND MICROCHIPPED. NO ANIMAL LEAVES CCHS WITHOUT MEDICAL CLEARANCE, BEING SPAYED OR NEUTERED, AND HEARTWORM TESTED. IF A DOG TESTS POSITIVE, THEN IT IS TREATED. IN TANDEM WITH THE MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS, ALL "FOR ADOPTION ANIMALS" ARE QUARANTINED AT APPROVED FOSTER HOMES AS CCHS DOES NOT HAVE A PHYSICAL SHELTER. WE ALSO PROVIDED DOG/CAT FOOD TO INDIGENT PET OWNERS WHO CANNOT AFFORD TO FEED THEIR PETS. CCHS PROVIDES BASIC FELINE AND K-9 SHOTS AT NO CHARGE. PLUS, WE OFFER DEWORMING LIQUID AS PARASITES ARE A FREQUENT PROBLEM. IN ADDITION, THROUGH PROGRAM SERVICES, CCHS CONTINUES TO HELP INDIGENT PET OWNERS BY PROVIDING MUCH NEEDED MEDICAL ATTENTION TO ANIMALS WHO OTHERWISE WOULD NOT RECEIVE CARE. OFTEN, INDIGENT PET OWNERS ARE ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS WHOSE FAMILY ARE THEIR PETS. CCHS CONTINUES TO REGULARLY SUPPORT SPAY AND NEUTER CLINICS FOR LOCAL DOGS AND CATS WHICH ARE HELD IN MOBILE UNITS AND THROUGH SUPPORT OF THE "ALL THE FIXINS" FORMERLY KNOWN AS GEORGIA ANIMAL PROJECT (GAP) WHICH HAS ITS OWN SPAY/NEUTER SURGICAL FACILITY IN BALL GROUND, CHEROKEE COUNTY. IN 2022, CCHS HELPED OR PAID FOR SPAY/NEUTER OF OVER 100 LOCAL PETS - THIS IS IN ADDITION TO THOSE SEVEN HUNDRED ANIMALS SPAYED AND NEUTERED PRIOR TO ADOPTION. WE CONTINUE TO SPONSOR LOW-COST SHOT/VACCINATION CLINICS CALLED CATSNIP CLINICS AT THE CCHS THRIFT STORE, 5900 BELLS FERRY RD., ACWORTH, OR IN GEOGRAPHIC AREA. RABIES SHOTS ARE A REQUIREMENT IN GEORGIA. DISEASES LIKE PARVO, DISTEMPER, FELINE LEUKEMIA AND FELINE HIV ARE OFTEN FATAL. THUS, CCHS PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PET OWNERS TO SAVE THEIR PETS. FINALLY, WE HELP TO EDUCATE SCHOOL CHILDREN AND COMMUNITIES BY SPEAKING AT VARIOUS GRADE, MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONS. HOWEVER, COVID LEGACY SEVERELY IMPACTED THIS PROGRAM WITH FEWER GUEST SPEAKERS BEING INVITED TO SCHOOLS.