Over the last few years one thing has become apparent, not only are the pets within our community suffering, our community is suffering as well. Whether it is lingering effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, the new heights of inflation within our economy, or minimal access to affordable housing, the Chattahoochee Valley is seeing a significant increase in the number of dogs and cats needing to be surrendered and removed from their households.
In a desperate response to the increasing numbers of pets within our community shelters, Paws Humane has collaborated with Animal Care and Control to create an owner support program to keep pets and their families together. The Neighborhood Pet Support program is getting to the root cause of why families need to rehome their pets so we can start making changes within our community. Some of these changes include access to pet friendly affordable housing, access to affordable veterinary care, and Home to Home pet adoption that prevents the pets from coming into our shelter system completely. The Neighborhood Pet Support program feels that pet homelessness is a symptom of a larger problem our community is facing and with your support, we hope to identify those problems and begin healing our community, one fur-ever family at a time.
Paws has focused on outreach and education in the community for many years. In addition to the newly created Neighborhood Pet Support program Paws also provides a Community Cat Program,and a Pets for Life program. Each program provides a specific service, which helps animals and people in critical need.
The Community Cat Program is the humane, effective way to reduce the number of outdoor cats living on our streets. Community cats are the un-owned, stray or feral cats who live outdoors in our neighborhoods. The Community Cat Program is provided to Muscogee County residents at no charge.
Pets for Life offers outreach services such as free or low-cost spay/neuter surgeries, educational events that include pet care and training, and humane education. By comprehensively addressing the lack of accessible, affordable pet care in under-served communities, Pets for Life keeps pets in the homes they already have, improving their quality of life and elevating the human-animal bond.
At Paws Humane, we understand the importance and value of the human-animal bond. All of our community outreach efforts reflect our goal of promoting animal welfare, preventing the overpopulation of pets and improving the lives of not only animals, but the community as a whole as well. If you are interested in learning more, visit www.pawshumane.org.
