Pet overpopulation is a growing issue in Northeast Georgia, straining local shelters and putting animals at risk.
An increase of animals outside means increased fecal waste, polluted water runoff, and more fleas and ticks.
Why It’s Newsworthy: Pets like dogs and cats can birth up to 10 to 20 offspring a year, furthering the pet overpopulation problem in small, rural areas like Madison and Oglethorpe counties.
The Madison Oglethorpe Animal Shelter is tackling the problem head on with their Spay It Forward program. This program prevents shelter overcrowding by providing spaying and neutering services for free.
“We’re essentially avoiding 20,000 animals from trying to come into the shelter every year, which is a huge impact,” said Staci Cannon, clinical assistant professor of shelter medicine at the University of Georgia.
The Spay it Forward is showing how pet overpopulation can be combated in Madison and Oglethorpe counties, saving the lives of these animals and hopefully many more to come.
Samantha Lichter, Abby Lawson and Gabriela Lefkovits are journalism students at the University of Georgia.
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