Staff from Macon-Bibb County’s new Animal Welfare Center (4214 Fulton Mill Road) have been working with animal advocacy and adoption organizations on a series of events to prepare the Center to open in a few weeks, celebrate its opening and the community’s support, and get all of the animals in the old Center adopted.
On Saturday, February 28, local volunteers are holding a “Fur Baby Shower” for the new Center from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. People can donate supplies used on a regular basis or items for the offices, including food, treats, chew toys, cotton swabs, blankets, towels, and more. If unable to come to the event, items can be dropped off at Tailspin on Mulberry Street, Ocmulgee Traders on Poplar Street, or Georgia Public Broadcasting on Linden Avenue. For a complete list of items, visit the Facebook event page by clicking here.
“The daily work of our current shelter and the opening of our new Animal Welfare Center wouldn’t be possible without the support and assistance of our animal advocacy community,” has said Assistant County Manager Steve Layson of these events and partnerships. “They have helped us along throughout this process, and we’re all looking forward to working together in the new facility.”
“This shower will help us gather items the Center needs and give people a chance to take a look around, and I really hope some of them will leave with a new family member,” says Josephine Bennett, one of the event organizers and a volunteer at the Center.
Bennett became involved with Animal Welfare after fostering a Beagle mix named Lucy and realized there are wonderful animals waiting for a home at the Center. Even if you are unable to adopt or foster, she points out you can still support rescue efforts by coming by the Center to walk a dog, play with a cat, or donate items like food. “The animals at the Center are just pets that lack a family, and I’m committed to doing anything I can to find them homes and increase our community’s interaction with them.”
With the shelter opening in a few weeks, members of an Animal Welfare Advisory Committee are preparing to host a Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting at the new Center. It will feature speakers from the Macon-Bibb Commission, animal groups, and other leaders, as well as a tour of the facilities and adoption event. That event is tentatively scheduled for early March.
In early February, Animal Welfare worked with national and local animal advocacy organizations to pardon all of the animals housed in the shelter and hosted a four-day adoption event with reduced fees and a significant push on social media. Working with Shane Smith, who promotes and organizes these types of pardons and adoption events across the country, and former Animal Control Officer and local animal advocate Van VanDeWalker more than 30 animals were adopted or rescued during this time period.
About the new Animal Welfare Center
The construction of the new Animal Welfare Center is funded with approximately $3.5 million from the voter-approved Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). Its design is more than double the size of the current Center and will help encourage more adoptions by separating that area from the intake entrance. Its location on Fulton Mill Road is also a much more desirable area, featuring woods and grassy areas where the animals can be walked and kept healthy. The current Center, by contrast, is in a small, cramped building near the landfill.
