SAA now in Franklin County helping local animals
Cheryl Jones with Shoals Animal Advocates holds Cabella, one of the dogs currently looking for a loving family to adopt her. Photo by Kellie Singleton.
What could be sweeter that a cuddly kitten or a lovable dog?
For those who are part of Shoals Animals Advocates, that answer is pretty simple – the only thing sweeter than these animals themselves is seeing one of these animals being adopted into a loving, forever home.
Such is this mission of SAA, which has recently branched into Franklin County in attempt to help with the overpopulation of dogs and cats the county has experienced for years now.
SAA promotes the rescuing, fostering and adoption of homeless dogs and cats in Colbert, Lauderdale and Franklin counties. They also implement programs to benefit shelter animals such as daily pet care, sterilization prior to adoption, vetting, vaccination, re-homing, fundraising, offsite adoption and educating the community on responsible pet ownership.
SAA has been in operation since July 2011 in the Shoals, but Cheryl Jones, who works with SAA, said that Franklin County has a legitimate need for an organization that is willing to help shelter animals or animals that are homeless find a place of their own, and they were willing to step in and fill that void.
“The biggest issue we face is that people don’t realize what a demand there is for finding homes for all of these animals that have been abandoned, neglected or just born without a home,” Jones said.
“People don’t understand the great responsibility there is with pet ownership and how vitally important it is to spay and neuter your pets so that we can curb the overpopulation that is currently taking place.”
SAA doesn’t have their own facility where they house these animals in need of a family. Instead, they depend on local shelters or animal clinics that are willing to help board the animals under their care until they can find these animals a home or find a rescue organization that will take them in.
“When we decided to start reaching out to animals in Franklin County, Russellville Animal Clinic was gracious enough to let us board several of our dogs there and they have been very helpful and supportive of what we’re trying to do,” Jones said.
Currently, SAA has five dogs and four puppies from Franklin County that are boarded, three more in a foster home, and they had their very first adoption a couple weeks ago.
Jones said all dogs that are rescued in Franklin County are vetted in Franklin County as well.
“These dogs are ones that we have gotten off the streets and a couple were pulled from Craigslist from people trying to get rid of them,” she said.
“They are precious dogs that would be a great addition for any family, and we’re sure we can find them loving homes right here locally.”
Jones said their greatest needs right now as they branch out into Franklin County are adopters, fosters, and supporters. Adopters are people willing to give one of the animals a forever home; fosters are people who are willing to house an animal at their home until a permanent home or rescue can be found; and supporters are people who cannot do either of the other two jobs but can help support SAA financially.
“Rescuing these animals and getting them the care that they need isn’t inexpensive,” she said.
“It costs money to board them, have any medical needs tended to, and take care of them until we can find them a home.
“We realize not everyone can adopt an animal or be a foster, but we can always use donations. We are able to apply for and receive some grants, but beyond that, we are funded through donations.
“And even if someone cannot do any of these things – adopt, foster, or support financially – they can help spread the word about the animals we have available or about the importance of spaying and neutering or they can volunteer their time to help.
“There is something everyone can do to help us tackle this problem of animal overpopulation in this area.”
SAA also sponsors “Homes from the Heart”, which is a program that provides dog houses to make sure needy animals can stay warm, dry, and safe year-round. For this program, they collect houses, tarps, straw, shavings and blankets for distribution.
They are also associated with several Homeless Pet Clubs at area high schools.
“We think these clubs are a great way to teach these younger generations the importance of being a responsible pet owner,” Jones said.
“They need to learn now how animals should be treated so we can have a new generation that knows the right things to do.”
SAA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so any donations made to them are tax-deductible.
To see all the animals SAA has available for adoption or to request information about becoming a foster or a supporter or even making a one-time donation, visit www.facebook.com/ShoalsAnimalAdvocates, or call or text Cheryl at 256-653-7561 or Stephanie at 256-349-9997.
