*****Author’s Note: The following post was published on May 27, 2018 and has not been updated since its initial publication. As this post was written as part of a bigger, older project that has already ended, I do not intend on updating this post with new information about the organizations featured in it. This means some or all of the information in this or other posts in this series may be outdated by the time you read this post.
If you need the latest information on these organizations, it is your responsibility to conduct that research on your own. These posts can be used as a jumping off point for that research, but it is still your responsibility to look up these organizations on your own to verify whether or not their services still exist or will actually work for your needs.
***This blog post is part of a weekly series titled #SignalBoostSunday. This series will highlight organizations and social causes that are of importance and provide assistance to the Greater Atlanta area. ***
This week we’re looking at two local organizations that specialize in helping homeless pets find loving forever homes, provide pet healthcare services and behavioral training for our favorite metro Atlanta doggos and kittehs.
1.) PAWS Atlanta
Located in Decatur, Georgia, PAWS Atlanta is a no-kill shelter that provides comprehensive assistance for pets in need of healthcare services and homes. PAWS offers services such as discount preventative medications (for heartworms, fleas and ticks), a dental clinic, adoption and re-homing services and spay and neuter procedures.
PAWS Atlanta also offers three other notable programs to help facilitate healthier lives for Atlanta’s pets: the Summer Lovin’ foster program, a bi-monthly Pet Wellness Clinic and a pet food bank.
Summer Lovin’ is a foster program that allows volunteers to spend either a fun weekend or day with a shelter dog. There are two ways to love on these dogs. You can either be a Weekend Warrior and house a shelter dog in your own home for a weekend or you can be a Daytripper and just a spend a Saturday with a shelter dog. The Summer Lovin’ program runs from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.
PAWS’ Pet Wellness Clinics are held every other Sunday and appointments are not required. Services such as vaccinations, microchip installations and nail clipping are offered. The next Wellness Clinic will be held on June 10.
If you are a pet owner that is struggling financially and in need of food to feed your pet, PAWS Atlanta does have a pet food bank from which eligible pet owners can receive free pet food.
Second Chance Greyhounds is an organization that specializes in fostering and finding adoptive homes for former racing greyhounds. But the fact that they focus on finding homes for a specific dog breed is not the only reason that Second Chance is unique.
The Douglasville, Georgia non-profit also partners with correctional facilities in Georgia. The partnerships allow prison inmates to foster and train greyhounds to be well-behaved pets. Within this program, the dogs are trained for 10 weeks by the inmates prior to being adopted into their forever homes.
Owners who complete the adoption process are also assigned a “Greyt Buddy,” which is a person who helps new owners with transitioning their greyhounds into their homes.
Anita M. George: Journalist, Writer 