Animal control extends hours
Facility to open for Saturday adoptions
Beginning Saturday, the doors to Columbia County Animal Care and Control will be open on Saturdays.
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The Appling facility will be open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. each Saturday.
The department will continue to stay open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The hours will be extended in an effort to increase adoptions and allow people an extra day to look for lost pets that might have been impounded during the week, said Linda Fulmer, the manager of animal care and control.
"The more animals that are adopted would cut down on the number of animals that we have to euthanize," she said.
This isn't the first time the department has extended its hours.
Fulmer said the facility once was opened on Saturdays, but low turnout prompted the shelter to cut its hours.
"We're trying it again to see if there's any interest with people coming out here on Saturdays," she said.
The Animal Care and Control department will hold its quarterly special pet adoption event from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Friday, April 25, and from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday, April 26, at its facility.
Dogs and puppies will be available at the reduced price of $10. The fee for cats and kittens will be lowered to $5.
"We try to get the fee decreased, so we can hopefully increase the number of animals going out of here," Fulmer said.
She said the event usually results in a good turnout.
Visitors must wear closed-in shoes inside the facility.
Those who adopt pets must sign paperwork stating that they will take the animal to a veterinarian for shots within three days, Fulmer said.
"Anything adopted out of a shelter now, by state law, has to be spayed or neutered," she said.
Adult animals must be spayed or neutered within 30 days, while younger animals don't have to be neutered until they're about 6 months old, Fulmer said.
She reminds pet owners to make sure their pets have proper identification tags and up-to-date rabies vaccinations.
For more information about animal control's extended hours, or the pet adoption, call (706) 541-4077.