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A one year old kitten sits in her create as she is ready to be taken home after newly getting adopted. (Lily Murphy/Oglethorpe Echo) -
Lee Short with the Oglethorpe Echo holds Harold, one of the adult cats waiting for adoption at the Madison Oglethorpe Animal Shelter. (Lily Murphy/Oglethorpe Echo) -
Colby is a young husky waiting for adoption. He is one of many adult dogs who is still in need of a permanent home. (Lily Murphy/Oglethorpe Echo) -
Jake, a three-legged dog, sits in the office after recovering from surgery. He was brought into MOAS after being hit by a car and is waiting to be adopted. (Lily Murphy/Oglethorpe Echo) -
Jake, a three-legged dog, sits in the office after recovering from surgery. He was brought into MOAS after being hit by a car and is waiting to be adopted. (Lily Murphy/Oglethorpe Echo) -
Juli Huth, the Shelter Manager, plays with Buddy, a stray that was brought in. Buddy is waiting for adoption while happily living in a foster home. (Submitted Photo) -
Shelter dog Tanner outside with his favorite green toy. Tanner is available for adoption and sponsorship through the Madison Oglethorpe Animal Shelter sponsorship program. (Lee Short/Oglethorpe Echo)
It is becoming tougher for the Madison Oglethorpe Animal Shelter to help find animals a permanent home.
“In the South, the adoption rates have just stopped,” MOAS shelter manager Juli Huth said.
To address this issue, Huth created a business sponsorship program, which allows Oglethorpe and Madison County businesses to sponsor an animal by paying its adoption fee. That creates an easier adoption process for those interested by waiving the adoption fee.
“The ASPCA actually had this whole flowchart of ways that they say have been proven to get animals out,” Huth said. “Amongst other things, they had business sponsorship partnerships.”
The adoption fee for dogs over six months old is $100. Puppies under 6 months old have a fee of $200.
Cats have a standard fee of $65, or $75 to include a microchip.
Sponsors can also donate extra money to support medical fees and more.
“We’re not necessarily going to just give the dog to whoever, but if it’s somebody who can care for it, and that’s the one thing, they might not have the $100 right now to adopt an adult dog, but they do have the money to care for it,” Huth said about the adoption process.
Shelter director Erica Hendrix said it’s important for people to know that when sponsors provide the adoption fee, it doesn’t mean “free.” It just means that the adoption fee isn’t a factor after the application has been approved.
The program has led to nine adoptions in three months.
Dr. Keri Bunn of Madison County Veterinary Services is a successful adopter. She frequently uses the Madison County Vet Services Facebook page in order to boost awareness of the animals she sponsors.
Dr. Bunn has helped four animals get adopted.
“I tell Dr. Bunn all the time, she’s my good luck charm,” Hendrix said. “Everything she sponsors gets adopted, and usually, it gets adopted before the end of the day.”
However, there are limitations to the program.
The biggest problem is finding resources to speak with businesses about the program, and following up with those that have said they are interested.
“Juli and I literally work over 100 hours every two weeks, and as much as we would love to get out there and help advertise, literally, we have to rely on social media right now and word of mouth,” Hendrix said.
Hendrix and Huth said they have aspirations for this program and said they believe it can do good beyond pet adoption.
“I think it kind of brings the community together,” Huth said. “I mean, if you walk through and you see that there’s a local business that is sponsoring this dog, whoever adopts that dog is probably going to be invested in that business in some capacity.”
This mutual benefit for animals and businesses is one of the keys to the program.
“That’s one thing that I don’t think a lot of the business owners have got to see yet is, we will actually take the logo and put it with the animal,” Hendrix said. “We not only put it on social media, we also print it on their cage card so it’s viewable out there. So it’s also a good advertisement for them.”