Chatham County Animal Services has been teaming up with various rescue organizations and local interest groups to improve the lives of animals in our community. These collaborations, including One Love Animal Rescue, Renegade Paws Rescue, the Humane Society, and Best Friends Animal Society, aim to boost our "live release" rate.

But what exactly is a "live release" rate? It's the number of animals that enter the shelter and find new homes through adoptions, fostering, rescue, or being reunited with their owners if they were lost. Over the years, this rate has been around 50% to 60%, but the hard work of everyone involved has increased it to 70% in the last five years. Now, they are striving to reach an impressive 90% live release rate.

To achieve this goal, the Chatham 90 Coalition was established. This coalition recently launched a website called Chatham90.org, designed to help residents in various ways. The website includes features like a lost and found pets section, information on adoptable animals, and resources for pet owners who may need support, such as access to pet food, affordable vet care, microchipping services, and low-cost spaying/neutering.

One noteworthy feature of Chatham90.org is the option for people to report found animals by making an online report and uploading pictures. “Chatham90.org, allows someone who finds an animal to report it on the website and attach a picture.  Animal Services gets the report and the pictures to track the animal but rather than bring animals to the shelter, it gives finder a chance to keep animal in their home, and we can find pet when owners come to the shelter,” says Dr. Jake Harper, Director of Animal Services. “Not only does this keep shelter space open; it allows the animal to be in a less stressful environment”.

“This isn't just an animal welfare problem. This is a community problem. You know, pets are part of our community. They’re part of our family. So, we're asking the community to be part of the solution and really asking them to work with us to try to improve things”, states Gina Burrows of Best Friends Animal Society.

By collaborating with local organizations and creating Chatham90.org, Chatham County Animal Services and the Chatham 90 Coalition are making a big difference in the lives of animals and their owners. Let's all be part of this amazing effort to ensure that every pet in our community finds a loving home and lives a happy life.