Worth County humane society brings new ideas to overcrowded shelters

Credit: Lucille Lannigan

Credit: Lucille Lannigan

When Orr first came to the shelter about 3 1/2 years ago, she said it was doing a lot of euthanizing for space. Shelters across the country are being stretched thin with overcrowding related to post-pandemic and rising costs. Shelter Animals Count, a national database of shelter statistics, estimated that the U.S. shelter population grew by nearly a quarter-million animals in 2023.

The Worth County humane society isn’t immune to this phenomenon.

“It seems like every year is a little bit worse,” Orr said. “Our numbers keep going up.”

She said in 2022, the shelter took in more than 1,400 animals. In 2023, it took in more than 1,600.

“We’re probably going to surpass that this year,” Orr said.

The shelter has a small staff of five, with only three full-time employees. It’s standard at most shelters to have five animals per staff member in-house. Orr said they average about 10 to 15 animals per staff member at Best Friends.

“It’s just really hard to find people that want to do the job,” she said.

Credit: Lucille Lannigan

Credit: Lucille Lannigan

Despite these challenges, Orr and the staff have developed strategic initiatives and partnerships to move animals out of the shelter and make it a better space for the ones in it. Their work earned them the Sylvester-Worth Chamber’s 2023 Nonprofit of the Year title.

Orr has begun networking with rescue facilities across Georgia and outside of the state. The shelter uses Pilots for Paws, which is a service that provides private planes that fly to Albany’s airport and pick up as many as five to 10 pets and bring them as far as Maryland, Connecticut and Maine.

“So we don’t only have to rely on animals being adopted to get out of here, but they can also be transported out of here to other states,” she said.

Orr and her husband also transport animals outside of Poulan. She said they’ve ground-transported as many as 30 to 50 at a time to states as far as Virginia. The shelter also started working with area veterinarians to help people spay and vaccinate their animals against rabies to help combat costs that might drive people away from adopting.

Orr said the shelter also is pushing for microchipping, which helps them find owners of lost animals and keeps animals out of the shelter, which also doubles as the county’s animal control. Each day, the shelter’s Facebook page posts new missing animals in hopes of finding their owners.

The Humane Society also actively posts pictures of pets for adoption on its Facebook page and offers special discounted prices some weeks to get people into the shelter and adopting. Some community members also sponsor animals, paying for adoption costs.

Lindsay Roach, a Worth County resident, said her family fell in love with their dog, “Moose,” when they saw his picture on Facebook.

He was eight weeks old and tiny with a dark brown coloring and a white spot on his stomach. Their previous dog was a rescued spaniel, so Roach said they were familiar with Moose’s mixed Labrador and Spaniel breed.

Roach said when the family went to meet Moose, they knew they were bringing him home.

“He fit right in with my family immediately,” she said.

Roach has four children, and she said Moose responded well to all of them, even her child with a disability who is usually scared of dogs.

She said the family had never adopted from a humane society before, and she was shocked at how much actually goes on there. She said staff members were attentive and handled the adoption with care.

Credit: Jakin Tillery

Credit: Jakin Tillery

Orr also has transformed the Humane Society’s space into a nice place for the animals and those who volunteer or come to adopt. There’s fresh paint on the walls and a pet supply shop in the front. The biggest change is the volunteer partnerships Orr established.

She facilitated special education students from Worth County High School volunteering at the shelter as well as Beta Club and JROTC students. A group from The Arc of Southwest Georgia, a nonprofit that supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, also volunteers in the space.

Jakin Tillary, The Arc’s director of adult day programs, said a group of about seven to 10 people from The Arc’s day programs visits the shelter every other Tuesday to volunteer. She said they are always excited to go and put in real work while they’re there.

Half the group works on the dog side, cleaning kennels. Tillary said they do everything that the employees would do. The other half works with the cats, cleaning cages, washing dishes, etc.

“It took months and months of practice and teaching them the skills, but they do it,” she said. “They’re very proud when they’re done.”

Once the work is complete, they get to play with the animals, but Tillary said most prefer the work more.

“It’s very purposeful, and one of our goals at the center is to give our individuals purpose,” she said.

Tillary said many people are hesitant to have individuals with special needs do work, but Orr took a chance.

“They do a lot of the jobs that most people would not want to do, and they do it with a smile on their face,” she said. “They love it.”

Credit: Jakin Tillery

Credit: Jakin Tillery

Orr said the shelter could always use more volunteers – whether it’s helping in-house or at adoption events, which she said they would like to host more of. She said now that the community sees how the shelter has been restructured, she’s had more volunteers, fosters and adoptions.

“People just enjoy coming out here now,” Orr said.

While Orr said she never expected to take on this role, it’s been an amazing process. She’s even taken home a few dogs herself – one of them a senior dog, who she said didn’t spend one night in the shelter but came home with her immediately.

Now, Orr says she wants to focus on educating the public.

“I don’t think people realize how many strays are out there,” she said.

Another initiative the shelter has taken on is starting a Trap-Neuter-Return program, which helps care for feral cats.

Orr said they also want to continue ramping up the number of pet transports to eventually become a hub of transport for other animal rescues.

For more information on volunteer opportunities at Best Friends Humane Society, call (229) 777-7774 or message the shelter on Facebook.

Credit: Albany Herald

Credit: Albany Herald

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