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It's a familiar scene, played out in Cherokee County every day. A stray dog or cat taken in and sheltered by those barely able to afford food and shelter of their own. A stray dog or cat that soon turns into five or six puppies or kittens, since spaying or neutering those pets is a luxury to their owners. It may be a cat, or it may be a dog, but the fact is that there are some older adults, and other disadvantaged people in Cherokee county, who cannot afford proper care for their pets. Pets that bring love and comfort. Pets that don't care where they live or how old their owners are, pets that offer loyal companionship.
Pets that are reproducing. Pets that are contributing to the overpopulation of unwanted animals in Cherokee. Since one female cat can theoretically produce 1,278 offspring in three years and one female dog can produce 324 offspring in five years, altering just one cat or dog can help prevent more unwanted animals entering the shelter, or worse yet, roaming the county.
That's why the Cherokee County Humane Society (CCHS) is excited to introduce the society's SNAP program. SNAP, short for Spay-Neuter Assistance Program is designed to initially provide no-cost altering of companion animals for the county's seniors who cannot afford to pay for this important procedure.
This service, provided to those pre-qualified through the county's senior centers, is designed by CCHS to actively combat the pet overpopulation problem in the county. Once the SNAP program is underway, CCHS will be able to track the number of animals it has helped to alter.
"The Humane Society provides volunteers who help adopt animals from the county's animal shelter as well as provide foster homes for animals with special needs. Although these programs are valuable for the welfare of Cherokee County's animals, they do not solve the underlying problem, which contributes to Cherokee Co unty's abundance of unwanted and uncared for animals. That problem being the indiscriminate breeding of dogs and cats," said Dr. Tom Earley, Chairman of the Board of CCHS. He added that before implementing this program, the board reviewed literature and information from other communities that have started SNAP programs with great success. "The SNAP program provides the foundation for the solution to overpopulation of dogs and cats, for it financially assists those willing to sterilize their pets but who cannot afford to do so. Eventually, for the program to be successful, the |
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citizens of Cherokee County, the county government including the county health department, the Humane Society, and the County Veterinary Medical Association have to be firmly committed to ending the 4,000 annual deaths and the suffering of countless strays in Cherokee County," Earley added.
With help from the Cherokee County Veterinary Medical Association, a special spay-neuter day at the senior center in Canton recently took place where those qualified were able to have their pets altered at no cost. CCHS then hopes to continue the special spay-neuter days on a regular basis, opening the program to other populations who may not be able to afford to spay or neuter their pets.
An average of 50 animals per 1,000 people in the county are impounded every year -- with approximately 135,000 residents, that's about 6,700 animals entering the county shelter. Twice above the national average. And the grim statistic is that 25 animals per 1,000 are euthanized in our county -- half of those entering the shelter will never leave on four legs.
John Bodie, director of the Shelter, along with the county have already addressed a major concern by spaying and neutering all animals adopted out of the shelter. Other spay-neuter programs are being readied for launch by CCHS, including one for feral cat colonies scheduled to take place this month.
"Other benefits of controlling the unwanted pet population include reducing the number of animals which attack farm animals and scare or sometimes bite children; decreasing the exposure of dogs and cats to potential carriers of rabies such as raccoons; and reducing the number animals which wander onto our roads and cause accidents." Earley said. "The SNAP program, along with responsible pet owners having them spayed and neutered, is beneficial for all the residents of Cherokee County."
Volunteers are planning to work on the special spay-neuter days transporting the pets, helping owners with paperwork, comforting animals while they recover from surgery and then returning the pets to their owners. To find out how to qualify for assistance under the SNAP program, call (770) 928-5115. To donate to the CCHS spay-neuter fund, make checks payable to CCHS and send to P.O. Box 2299, Woodstock, GA 30188. Please be sure to designate SNAP on the check.
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