National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week

What Is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week

 

November 6-12 is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week. This special week is the perfect time to recognize the organizations in your community dedicated to animals. It is a week created  for community members, animal members and pet guardians to come together to celebrate their local animal shelter.

 

In celebration of National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, Bark ATL would like to share our appreciation of a few animal shelters in our Atlanta community who are dedicate their time to save lives.

 

Some of Our Favorite Animal Shelters in Atlanta, Georgia

 

• Friends of Dekalb Animals (FODA)- Friends of DeKalb Animals is an all volunteer based 501(c)3 non-profit initiative formed to save the lives of at least 50 animals each month in Metro Atlanta and surrounding counties.  FODA works to raise funds needed to vet and transport these animals from local high kill animal control facilities to our pre-approved rescue partners in the northeast.  100% of all donations go to the vetting and transport of these animals giving them a chance to live and find loving homes.Bark ATL regularly partners with FODA by temporarily fostering FODA dogs awaiting transport to an out of state rescue group. To read more about Bark ATL's contribution to FODA, click here.

 

• Atlanta Humane Society- Atlanta Humane Society is located in Howell Mill and Alpharetta. It is one of the oldest private charitable organizations in Atlanta, founded in 1873 by Robert E. Lee. Atlanta Humane Society was originally created in attempts to protect women, children, and animals and remained a child protection and animal welfare society for 79 years. However, it is now a widely recognized pet adoption center, vet center, and educational program provider. Atlanta Humane Society serves about 25,000 animals each year, and places approximately 8,000 dogs and cats into forever homes. AHS is committed to finding homes for all adoptable pets.

 

• PAWS Atlanta- PAWS Atlanta is a private, not-for-profit animal welfare organization that was founded in 1966. They aim to provide love, nutrition, medical care and basic training to enrich the lives of homeless animals until permanent, safe homes can be found. PAWS Atlanta works to highlight their philosophy- no kill! They offer pet adoption services, low-cost vaccinations, spay and neutering, discount health preventatives, behavioral training, a pet dental clinic, a pet food bank and education through community outreach.

 

• Furkids Animal Rescue & Shelter- Furkids is a 501c3 nonprofit charitable organization that operates the largest cage-free, no-kill shelter in the Southeast for rescued cats and a no-kill division for dogs. They were founded in 2002 and their main mission is to help end pet overpopulation in Georgia through sterilization, high-quality adoption and by providing valuable spay/neuter services and pet care education to people in the community. Furkids has rescued over 15,000 animals and approximately 1,000 animals are are in the Furkids program today.

 

• Fulton County Animal Services- Fulton County Animals Services was founded in 2002, as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. It is managed  by the LifeLine Animal Project. LifeLine works to end the euthanasia of healthy and treatable dogs and cats in metro Atlanta shelters, and is the managing organization of Fulton County Animal Services and the DeKalb County Animal Services shelter. LifeLine has lowered the euthanasia rate at each by over 50%  and  over 12,000 animals were adopted, rescued or returned to their owners from the Fulton and DeKalb shelters in 2014.

 

• Angels Among Us Pet Rescue- Angels Among Us Pet Rescue is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity dedicated to saving dogs and cats from high-kill shelters in north Georgia. They primarily operate through a network of volunteers and foster homes in the metro Atlanta area. Their efforts are funded by tax-deductible contributions from compassionate people and organizations.

 

How You Can Celebrate National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week

 

• Adopt - What other way to celebrate this special week than to adopt a new best friend?! Before you make the decision to adopt, make sure you do all your research the time, resources and attention needed for your new furry friend before you make the decision. This is important!

 

• Give - Animal shelters are almost always in need of materials such as towels, toys, and other supplies. Be gracious and donate whatever you please. Every donation is appreciated!

 

• Volunteer - Volunteer at your local animal shelter. You can sacrifice some time throughout the week to help train dogs, or to provide care to animals such as cleaning cages, feeding, restocking supplies, walking dogs, or even socializing animals as directed. Not only is it rewarding, but it can save lives! Also, what is a better way to spend your free time training cute and furry pups?!

 

• Spread The Word - Social media is a very beautiful thing in a sense where you can easily spread awareness! Awareness is the first step you can take to helping a cause. Simply dedicating a post on your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or a social media platform of your choice to raise awareness for animal shelters can go a long way. In addition, if you've adopted a pet from a local shelter, give them a shout out on your social media as well, and provide them with an update of your pet to let them know how she is doing by sharing an updated photo of her.  Bark ATL loves spreading the word on social media  (feel free to share this post too!)

 

• Be Thankful - A simple 'Thank You' letter to your local animal shelter can do wonders. Let your local animal shelters know how much you appreciate them and their selfless work and dedication.