The Hall County Board of Commissioners heard the results of an independent assessment of the County’s animal services at their voting meeting Thursday night, where the board also adopted a proclamation, resolving to implement many of the best practice principles as recommended in that same report.
Best Friends Animal Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, conducted a customized, on-site assessment of the shelter and its Animal Services field operations at no cost to the county in December of last year.
Carrie Ducote, Best Friends’ Senior Manager, presented the findings of that assessment to the board, saying the shelter has made great strides recently when it comes to improving the outcomes for animals brought to the shelter; however, she also stressed that additional steps could be taken to see further improvement in years to come.
“The 2018 data shows a 17 percent decrease in non-live outcomes for dogs and cats over 2017, which is a good thing,” Ducote said. “While that does reflect great progress, we believe that by implementing our recommendations, the shelter will be able to reach a 90 percent save rate for its animals.”
Ducote outlined several of the organization’s recommendations for the shelter, which include a community cat program, managed animal intake and operational improvements. More information on each of those recommendations in coming months as they are implemented.
“Best Friends Animal Society is dedicated to working with Hall County Animal Services to implement these changes, and we are proud to partner with the Humane Society of Northeast Georgia, which also supports the recommendations made in our assessment,” she said.
Hall County Animal Services staff, who were recognized as being compassionate, loyal and dedicated in the Best Friends assessment, responded to the recommendations by saying they will be striving to implement as many of the recommendations as possible.
“We will also continue to work strategically to implement best practices as time and resources allow,” states the management’s response to the assessment.
The complete assessment by Best Friends Animal Society for Hall County Animal Services can be found online at www.hallcounty.org. A copy of the proclamation adopted by the Hall County Board of Commissioners can also be found there.
Anyone wishing to get involved in the overall mission of the Hall County Animal Shelter can learn more about volunteering, fostering, needed donations and fundraising opportunities here: http://www.hallcounty.org/283/Volunteering-Fostering.