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COVER STORY
‘TRANSFURRING’ LOVE ACROSS STATE LINES
By Donna Williams Lewis
Each year, about 6.5 million
animals enter animal shelters
nationwide, and about 1.5 million
are euthanized, according to the
ASPCA.
In Georgia, about 150,000
adoptable cats and dogs are
euthanized every year, simply
because they are homeless, says
Furkids, the nonprofit operator of
what, according to its website, is
the largest cage-free, no-kill shelter
in the Southeast for cats and a no
kill shelter for dogs.
Atlanta-based Furkids is going
the extra mile — actually, lots of
extra miles — to help put a dent in
Georgia’s animal euthanasia rates.
Last year, the 17-year-old group
launched its TransFUR animal
transport service, a program that
is picking up unwanted animals
from high-kill shelters across
Georgia and sending them to no
kill animal shelters in northern
states, where there is high demand
for adoptable animals and a low
inventory of them.
The warmer climate and
lack of laws or enforcement
of laws requiring spaying and
neutering contribute to animal
overpopulation in the South,
according to Samantha Shelton,
Furkids’ CEO and founder.
“They can’t comprehend the
sheer volume of what we’re
dealing with in the South,” she
said. “They have the demand. We
have the supply.”
TransFUR has delivered just
under 2,000 cats and about 150
dogs to partner shelters awaiting
them since the program’s
inception in March 2018. “They’re
begging us for these animals,”
Shelton said. “Shelter staff
welcome the animals with open
arms and big smiles.”
The group partners with
Georgia shelters and with shelters
in the North so they all can
know what types of animals are
available and which are needed
at any given time. The requests
can be pretty specific, ranging
from the number and age range
of animals to requirements for
recent vaccinations and certain
medical treatments, Shelton said.
Furkids picks up animals
from animal control and rescue
agencies as far as three hours’
drive away, delivers them to the
program’s shelter in Doraville,
and then prepares them to be
transported to north U.S. locations
on the next TransFUR run.
“Our vet techs and
veterinarians spend a good part of
the day checking them from head
to tail, making sure they’re totally
healthy and preparing a health
record,” she said.
Once they get to the North,
“whole teams are outside to help
unload them and check them on
their end,” Shelton said. “They
typically quarantine them for a
day or two. These cats are adopted
immediately, once they hit the
adoption floor.”
Karina King, director of
operations at the Dakin Humane
Society in Springfield, Mass.,
talked about the shelter’s win-win
relationship with Furkids. “We
love working with our Southern
partner shelters and supporting
their efforts to save lives,” King
said. “We ourselves had far too
many cats/kittens in our own
community not too many years
ago and remember what a blessing
it was when we could get others
to take some animals from us.
Furkids does a wonderful
job working with us, and
together we save more
lives.”
A plea for help
TransFUR had its
genesis in October 2017
with Hurricane Irma.
As the hurricane
approached the U.S.,
dozens of Furkids
volunteers and staff in
vans and planes worked
around the clock for six
days to rescue 120 dogs
and cats from animal
shelters in mandatory
evacuation areas along
Georgia’s coastline.
Getting them out of
danger was just the first
major step. Caring for and
finding them homes was
the next huge deal.
When a group from
Minnesota heard about
their emergency need
for adopters, they called
to say they could take 30
cats. A donor paid for a
rental van and off the cats
went.
Interest grew, and
TransFUR was born.
These days, there is
typically one transport
per week, usually of about
30 to 65 cats, to currently
12 states, from Minnesota
to Maine. The focus is on
cats because most other
Samantha Shelton, CEO and founder of
Atlanta-based Furkids, relaxes at home in
Peachtree Corners with her four senior
animals. From left are Betsy, 20; Uncle Buck,
20; Tortie, 18; and Misty, 8.
Photo courtesy of Samantha Shelton
Robert and Jean Schmidt
adopt their new cat, Trebor.
Photo courtesy of Furkids.
AUGUST 2019
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