Pet adoptions from WR shelter get new sponsorship

WARNER ROBINS — Julie Cranford has a soft spot for animals.

Cranford, 41, an administrative secretary at the Houston County jail, has three black dogs, Virginia, Merlot and Tara, all mixed breeds adopted from the Warner Robins Animal Control shelter.

Her beloved Bear, a black chow-lab mix who died three years ago at age 15, also was adopted from the Warner Robins shelter.

So, it’s not surprising that when she heard about a new cooperative program among Warner Robins Animal Control and animal rescue groups to sponsor dogs for adoption, she signed up.

In fact, Cranford was the first person to participate in the adoption-sponsorship program, donating $150 to cover two $75 “Guardian Angel” packages that each provide two weeks of boarding for a dog with an animal rescue group to place it in a good home.

“It’s worth it,” Cranford said. “You can give up some things and save two dogs.”

Cranford, who lives in Bonaire with her husband and two daughters, may have actually helped save three dogs.

It turns out the chihuahua mix she sponsored for adoption the day before it was scheduled for euthanization captured the hearts of other shelter visitors: the daughter of one of Cranford’s co-workers and the daughter’s college friends who traveled from Americus to see the dog.

One of the friends adopted the chihuahua mix, which Cranford had posted on her Facebook page. And that meant now an Irish setter-retriever mix, in addition to a chow mix, would go to a loving home.

“What makes it worthwhile is you’re saving a life,” said Misty Turner, president of Byron-based Starbright Animal Rescue.

Cranford’s sponsorship of the chow mix and Irish setter-retriever mix went to Starbright, which picked up the dogs Friday.

The group adopts dogs through the Internet mostly in the New England states, Turner said. There are waiting lists for dog adoptions in those states, while there’s an over-abundance here, she said.

That phenomenon, also experienced by other local adoption groups, resulted in the sponsorship program being named, “GA — Dogs Of Ours Going Out Of State,” said Tabitha Pugh, public information officer for Warner Robins police.

The sponsorship program makes it possible to place more animals up for adoption and save them from euthanization, Pugh said. About 2,000 animals were euthanized at the shelter last year, she said.

Sponsoring animals for adoption is costly, and rescue groups can afford to handle only so many at one time, Pugh said. But the sponsorship program allows for a third-party to step in and sponsor the cost of care, allowing the rescue groups to pull more dogs from the shelter to find the animals homes, she said.

To promote the program, the shelter has established several packages. The $150 “Puppy Passport” provides for shots and worming, a health certificate indicating a clean bill of health and transport to a new home. A $200 “Adult Passport” does the same for an adult dog, while the “Mending Hearts” package provides $200 for heartworm treatment and the $200 “Save A Senior” provides for medical expenses and necessities for aging animals.

However, any donation amount is welcomed, noted Warner Robins Capt. Brenda Parks-Mathern, animal control director. Donations go into a separate fund from the operation of the shelter, and when there are enough funds set aside, a need will be matched with one of the participating rescue groups, she said.

For animals to be sponsored for adoption, rescue groups must provide the shelter a record of shots, spaying or neutering, and a health certificate indicating a clean bill of health before the animal may be placed in a home.

Other rescue groups participating in the program include Animal Lovers, Georgia Canine Rescue and Rehabilitation and the Houston County Humane Society.

For more information, stop by the shelter at 208 Stalnaker Ave. in Warner Robins from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, or call 929-7290.

To contact writer Becky Purser, call 256-9559.