CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Good news! At least a dozen dogs who were in desperate need of new home at a metro animal shelter have been adopted or rescued!
The Clayton County Animal Control posted photos and names of the dogs that needed new homes due to the shelter being overcrowded. The shelter placed a deadline for Thursday or officials said they would have to begin to euthanize them for space.
The original 1 p.m. deadline was moved to 6 p.m. Thursday.
Channel 2 Action News called the animal shelter just before 3:30 p.m. and learned that all dogs had been adopted or rescued.
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The current euthanasia rate for the shelter is 3%.
“This is not an action that any of us take lightly or want to do. We wish that all of our animals would make it into loving forever homes where they are pampered for the remainder of their lives. Any assistance from the community and rescue groups would be greatly appreciated,” Capt. Jodi Turnipseed said.
Turnipseed said that when Clayton County Animal Control gets overcrowded, they put out a list of animals that urgently need adopting. The shelter gets some support from rescue groups, but Turnipseed said that without that help, they would have to euthanize more dogs.
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Channel 2 Action News first learned about the list of dogs set for potential euthanasia and reported on the dire need for adopters on Channel 2 Action News at 5:00 Wednesday.
Since our report, the community has rallied around the dogs and all had been adopted by Thursday afternoon.
Captain Jodi Turnipseed released the following statement on behalf of the animal shelter thanking the community and advocating for adoption and rescue efforts:
I would like to give a personal thank you to everyone that has stepped up to assist the Clayton County Animal Control Unit rescue and or adopt all 20 dogs off the Urgent List over the past two (2) days. There has been an amazing turn out from citizens and rescue groups to assist our animals here in Clayton County. Not only were all of the dogs either rescued or adopted from the Urgent List as of 3:45 pm today we had a total of 17 dogs rescued, 12 dogs adopted, one (1) cat and seven (7) dogs returned to owners for a grand total of 37 animals. This is amazing!
I also want to shed some light on what we brought into the facilities during the past two (2) days: Our officers brought in a total of 19 dogs and 1 cat into our facilities and the day is not over yet.
These animals are constantly being released by their owners to roam the streets freely, failing to have them spayed or neutered, thus allowing them to breed freely and over populate our communities unnecessarily. We urgently need owners to step up and take responsibility for their pets. They are your four legged children for the remainder of their lives, not discarded when they get sick, injured or no longer have time for them. Please be responsible owners, do not let your pets out without being in a fenced in yard or walked on a leash. This would greatly reduce the number of animals that we take in on a daily basis. We desperately need your help!
We still need support from our community and citizens to continue helping us adopt and or rescue these loving animals. Please do not stop with this week’s Urgent List. We, and all Animal Control Facilities, need your continued support in giving these animals forever homes.
The final adoption fee for families $95 and the dogs will be rabies vaccinated, dewormed, microchipped and spayed or neutered.
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