About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2020)
6A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com Wednesday, March 4,2020 Help homeless pets by becoming a foster parent By Jessica Taylor jtaylor@dawsonnews.com If you’ve wanted to help homeless animals experience a loving home, now’s your chance. The Dawson County Humane Society recently relaunched its foster program with the hopes that getting long time cats and dogs out of the shelter environ ment will help their chances of finding their forever families. “We’re excited, and we’re excited for the animals to be able to have the opportunity to get out there,” said Shelter Director Jason Hutcherson. For many of the shelter’s longtime residents, the foster program opens an opportunity for animals to experience a home environment that gives them a break from the harsh realities of life in a shelter pin while also allowing the staff to learn new information about their animals to find their ideal homes. “One of our biggest goals is to hopefully try and find foster homes for some of our long timers,” Hutcherson said. “One, it gets them out of the shelter and two, it gives everybody a chance to see how they’re going to do in a home setting because they may have been here for a long time.” Hutcherson said it’s a pretty simple process to become a foster. “Come in and let’s talk about what you’re looking to foster then, sort of like an adoption, you’ve got to make sure it’s going to be a good fit,” he said. Once you’re set to become a foster, the shelter will conduct a home inspection, a requirement by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, then you’re ready to bring your foster animal home. As a foster, you would be responsible for bringing foster animals to at least three adop tion events each month, with adoptions being held every weekend at multiple locations, Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News Above: Dawson County Humane Society Shelter Director Jason Hutcherson petsWheezer, a retriever mix who is waiting to be adopt ed. Wheezer is one of the dogs Hutcherson hopes will benefit from the shelter's new foster program. Left: Hutcherson pets Bianca, a pit bull mix who has been at the shelter for three years. Hutcherson said. At this time, Hutcherson said the shelter is looking for all types of foster families, from single people with no pets to families with children and other animals in the house. “Any foster is welcome, but if we could definitely get some of the ones without any pets that would be amazing,” Hutcherson said. “A lot of the ones that have been here the longest are the toughest ones to place. They’re good with peo ple but they don’t do dogs. They don’t do cats. Some of them don’t do small kids and stuff so when we’re doing our off site adoption events it’s almost always at PetSmart or Petco and everybody’s already got a dog or two or three... we’re trying to find that niche of people, single people or cou ples that don’t have other pets would be ideal for some of these guys.” Fostering would help with space issues at the shelter, too, but Hutcherson said that is not a main concern at this time. “Right now our primary (concern) is trying to learn what we can about what we can about the animals and trying to focus on the long timers,” Hutcherson said. “Once the program gets rolling and we have several fosters then we could look at it as a space sav ing type thing.” “I’m hoping that it will dra matically increase the likeli hood of them finding their for ever homes,” Hutcherson con tinued. “If nothing else it gives them an opportunity to experi ence being in a home...more hands on than we can give.” For more information about becoming a foster, call (706) 265-9160, visit www.dawson- countyhumanesociety.org or stop by the shelter at 633 Martin Road in Dawsonville. First 2 cases of coronavirus confirmed in Georgia 'Our team has been working around the clockto prepare for any scenario. Already, state health officials have established contact with these individuals to gather more information, monitor their condition and determine any exposure. We remain in constant communication with our partners at all levels of government, and we will continue to update members of the public as information becomes available.' By Nate McCullough DCN Regional Staff The governor late Monday confirmed the first two cases of coronavirus in Georgia. Gov. Brian Kemp said at a 10 p.m. press conference March 2 that two mem bers of the same household had been diagnosed with the virus, which has been spreading across the globe since first breaking out in China in 2019. Officials with the state Department of Public Health said one person had trav eled to Milan, Italy, where they believe the person was infected, and then spread the disease to another member of the same Fulton County household after returning home. Both patients are under home quaran tine, officials said, and in good condition with mild symptoms. The governor’s office said the Department of Public Health is working to identify anyone who may have been exposed to the patients while they were infectious. People who are identified as having been exposed will be contacted directly by a Department of Public Health epidemiologist and monitored for fever and respiratory symptoms, accord ing to a press release from Kemp’s office. The governor said that he’d spoken with Vice President Mike Pence, who has been tasked by the president with direct ing the American response to the virus, Brian Kemp Governor and that Pence emphasized that the virus continues to present a “low-risk” so far. “Our team has been working around the clock to prepare for any scenario. Already, state health officials have estab lished contact with these individuals to gather more information, monitor their condition and determine any exposure,” said Gov. Kemp. “We remain in constant communication with our partners at all levels of government, and we will contin ue to update members of the public as information becomes available.” Meanwhile, China’s coronavirus casel oad continued to wane Tuesday even as the epidemic took a firmer hold beyond Asia, with three countries now exceeding 1,000 cases and the U.S. reporting its sixth death. “We knew that Georgia would likely have confirmed cases of COVID-19, and we planned for it. The immediate risk of COVID-19 to the general public, howev er, remains low at this time,” said Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen E. Toomey. “I cannot emphasize enough the need for all Georgians to follow the simple pre cautions that DPH always urges to pre vent the spread of respiratory viruses.” COVID-19 spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Symptoms appear within two to 14 days after exposure and include fever, cough, runny nose, and difficulty breath ing. Those considered at risk for con tracting the virus are individuals who have traveled to areas where there are ongoing outbreaks of COVID-19 or indi viduals in close contact with a person infected with COVID-19. China in January imposed a virtual lockdown around Hubei’s capital, Wuhan, where the illness was first detect ed in December and which has been the epicenter of the outbreak. Many coun tries have canceled or curbed public events and discouraged travel to virus hotspots, but quarantines and similar restrictions have been on smaller scales, focused on those directly exposed. The worst-hit places outside China were South Korea, Iran and Italy. South Korea on Tuesday reported 477 new cases, bringing its totals to 4,812 with 28 deaths. Most are in the southeastern city of Daegu and neighboring towns. In Iran, a confidant of Iran’s supreme leader died from the virus. The Islamic Republic confirmed 1,501 cases and 66 deaths, but many believe the true number is larger. Its reported caseload surged more than 250% in just 24 hours. Italy’s caseload rose to 2,036, includ ing 52 deaths. Officials said it could take up to two weeks before they know whether measures including quarantining 11 towns in northern Italy are slowing the spread of the virus. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Jessica Taylor Dawson County News If you've looked up lately while traveling down Hwy. 53, you might have noticed that the city of Dawsonville water tower has received a slight make over. According to Dawsonville Mayor Mike Eason, a large "Dawsonville" sign was installed at the water tower in late February.The new sign is meant to help remind people when they've entered the city, Eason said. Visit our RESALE shop & boutique Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. | 54 S. Lumpkin Campground Rd. All proceeds benefits the Humane Society AM Collision Bradley M. Maple /j^xDawsonville Specialists CPA, PC () Veterinary 706-216-0992 706-216-2362 Hospital 103 Industrial Park Road, Dawsonville 2390 Thompson Road Suite 100 Dawsonville 706-265-8381 Special: Waived Adoption Fees If you have any questions, please feel freeto call our shelters. 706-265-9160 Are you looking for a new addition to your family? Someone who will love you for eternity? Boy, are you in luck! We have plenty of sweet babies to chose from. These kitties are FIV+ and have been with us for a while. They are very eager to find their furever homes! These sweet faces have some special needs, so we have waived their adoption fees in hopes we can find an amazing family for them. We can’t wait for you to come by and meet them. Form z^tthe ation Dawson County Humane Society 706-265-9160 | 633 Martin Road, Dawsonville adjacent to the Rock Creek Sports Complex
