Featured Client

Forsyth Humane Society                    

People love animals at Forsyth Humane Society – and it shows.

Dogs greet visitors in gleaming individual kennels, faced with polished metal and glass and equipped with a comfy bed. Across the way, young women play with kittens in a sunny room filled with toys. Adult cats relax in display cases set into a paneled wall. Outside, dogs run in a play area or walk with volunteers. In an office area, a young couple meets with an “adoption counselor” before taking home a new pet. Everything appears spotless and functional.

FHS is a 77-year-old 501(c)3 charity, explained Sarah Williamson, executive director.  Its mission is “to promote and provide for the humane treatment of cats and dogs in Forsyth County.”

More recently, she said, it has set a more ambitious goal – to increase the rate of animals saved from euthanasia in the county from 36% in 2017 to at least 90% by 2023.

While that’s a big goal, it’s not impossible, she explained. “It’s part of a national trend. Many other communities – like Asheville, or Austin, Texas, or Richmond, Virginia – have achieved that.”

FHS approaches its task from both ends. It makes adoptions easy and affordable. At the same time, it publicizes the benefits of spaying and neutering, subsidizes the cost for owners in need, sterilizes all its sheltered animals and encourages people who can no longer care for their pets to arrange their own adoptions.

“Dropping a pet at the shelter should be your last resort,” Williamson said. “The first step is to re-home it yourself. We recommend adoptapet.com as one example. If you can do that, the pet never comes into the shelter, is not at risk of picking up a disease or developing behavior problems and you have the peace of mind of knowing where your animal lands.”

If someone wants to keep their pet but faces financial hardship, FHS will often help with food or supplies. READ MORE