2021 Newsletter
Fayette Humane Society Times
Spring 2021 Issue
Making a Difference in Fayette
Our Newsletter is Back!
The Fayette Humane Society Newsletter now named the Fayette Humane Society Times has been re-born.
It is our goal to bring to you, our volunteers, friends and patrons, updates on the many activities of the FHS in serving the Canines and Felines of Fayette County (and sometimes beyond) and the people that live here. As a new volunteer with the FHS, the first thing I noticed was the diversity of talent within our ranks and the important services that the FHS delivers in supporting the welfare of our fellow animals.
With the much appreciated assistance of our new President Rick DeLoach who has extraordinary IT skills, the Fayette Humane Society Times will be reaching you quarterly.
Paul A. Goldberg
Editor in Chief
Fayette Humane Society Times
Upcoming Events
April – June
April
13th – Cause for Paws – Beef O’Brady’s
19th – Cause for Paws – Twisted Taco
May
11th – Cause for Paws – Mike & C’s
27th – Cause for Paws – El Reposo
June
7th – Cause for Paws – Twisted Taco
22nd – Cause for Paws – Beef O’Brady’s
All events start at 5:00 pm. See you there!
All Adoptions are at PetSmart in Peachtree City
located at 2701 GA-54, Peachtree City, GA 30269
Cat Adoptions:
Every Saturday & Sunday 12:00 – 4:00
Dog Adoptions:
Every 1st and 3rd Saturday 12:00 – 3:00
Friday, April 30th, 2021
The golf course at Braelinn Golf Club will be filled on Friday, April 30th for the “Fore the Paws” golf tournament benefiting the Fayette Humane Society. The event is scheduled for a 9:30 A.M. shotgun start, but registration, the practice range, and a putting contest are open to golfers at 8 A.M.
Proceeds from the tournament will be used to support the mission of the Fayette Humane Society to end the needless suffering of our homeless dogs and cats in our community. The Society provides spay/neuter services, medical assistance, adoption services, and community feeding of homeless cats.
The tournament is a four-person scramble and golfers will receive a goody bag, lunch, refreshments and snacks, as well as a raffle with lots of good prizes. Some of the prizes included in the raffle include a football autographed by Vince Dooley, restaurant gift certificates, pet head covers, golf clubs and Club Corp rounds of golf to mention a few.
The deadline to register as a sponsor or golfer is April 21st. The number of spots available for golfers is limited, so please sign up soon. You may register online at Fayettehumane.org.
For additional information, please contact Penny Molis at 404-313-5783.
Meet Rick DeLoach, the newly elected President of FHS. Rick will be taking over the reins as the new Fayette Humane Society President April 1, 2021. He began his service to the FHS over two years ago as a seasoned volunteer having worked to combat homelessness through RentPath Give Back as well as through activities at his church.
Rick brings to the President’s position some substantial credentials. He is a graduate of Georgia Tech with a BS in industrial management, worked fourteen years with MCI in Finance and Business Analysis, was CEO for a medical wholesaler, Director of Operations for a start up in Boca Raton where he was instrumental in growing the company and managing the IT operations and currently is Director of Financial Systems and Process at RentPath. The extensive technical and administrative background and experience that Rick brings with him is a true asset to the Fayette Humane Society.
Interview with The New Fayette Humane Society President Mr. Rick DeLoach
With Paul Goldberg, Editor – Fayette Humane Society Times
A. I have been volunteering for FHS for several years now and on the board for almost two of those years. I think FHS is a vital part of a healthy community and any organization where you can help bring joy and love into a home is terrific cause. Our board, under the leadership of Stephanie Cohran, has done a super job with the challenges this past year and the years prior as well and I believe as President I can continue the good work underway and grow FHS to serve our community even more.
The FHS has a number of missions. Which do you think are the most critical ones that need addressing currently?
A. I think of all our purposes, spay/neuter has to top the chart. By spaying or neutering animals, we provide a better quality of life for both the animals and the community while simultaneously controlling overpopulation. Spay/Neuter prevents many forms of cancers and infections both dogs and cats can get if they are not altered.
FHS Mission: Fayette Humane Society advocates for animals, supports the community and enhances pet/owner relationships through spay/neuter programs, rehoming & adoption services, and community education and outreach. Fayette Humane Society envisions a community where all companion animals in Fayette County are spayed/neutered and treated with compassion and respect.
Anyone who has volunteered for an active county humane society like the FHS knows it can be stressful, demanding and sometimes heartbreaking. How do you plan to manage the FHS Programs to optimize their benefits to the animals and people of Fayette County?
A. Volunteers! Today we, like so many other organizations, have the challenge of attracting, training and retaining volunteers. Because we are a 100% volunteer organization with no facility, we have an uphill challenge with COVID to organize, train and deploy folks where they have a fulfilling volunteer experience. By training more volunteers as partners and backups, we can alleviate the strain on our extremely devoted teams that have been working so hard for so long.
You bring with you significant administrative, organizational, and technical skills. How do you visualize applying and incorporating those personal assets into improving the FHS?
A. I hope to put the support frameworks in place so that working with a distributed virtual volunteer force allows the volunteers to work independently and yet as part of a larger team working in concert with the Society’s goals and mission.
When and how did your interest in animal welfare begin?
A. I have always had pets, whether it was my pony in 4th grade complete with chickens, cats, fish tank and a rabbit or later in life with the family dogs and cats, I’ve always had a heart for our four-legged family members.
You have already served as a volunteer for the FHS for the past two years. What have you seen as its most important strengths and what areas do you see as the most critical areas for expansion and improvement?
A. I believe that FHS has excellent volunteers with the biggest hearts for animals and the love our foster families and volunteers have is amazing. Where we meet challenges is in our coordination and communication with each other.
As a Health Care Practitioner, Professor of Public Health , Father and Furkid Father I have often spread myself rather thin over the years to my peril. You have family responsibilities and full-time professional job responsibilities yourself. How do you plan to manage all these in addition to being the President of the FHS and avoid burn out?
A. As best I can is the simple response. I have to work smarter not harder, and I plan to coach and mentor where I can grow those around me by delegating tasks that I could do but someone else would benefit and grow from by actually doing and learning. I plan to focus on our structure, culture and sponsorship programs to create a sustainable, healthy organization poised for growth.
How can our friends, sponsors and volunteers assist in promoting the FHS and its missions?
A. There are so many opportunities for the broader community to help like designating FHS as your Amazon Smile charity; same thing for your Kroger Rewards card; participate in our Cause for Paws events at local restaurants. These things cost no more than one would normally spend but contribute to our ability to complete our mission in the community. I hope to launch a campaign in the near future to grow our recurring giving which would set us on trajectory to accomplish much.
Lastly Rick, what do you see as achievable goals that you would like to see reached over the next three years of your tenure as President of the Fayette Humane Society?
A. I would love to see us in a facility with at least part-time staff. But to accomplish that goal, we need to establish a strong base of donors and corporate sponsors to make those dreams a reality. With a facility, we would have a base of operations, center for communication and training and potentially short-term animal care. Admittedly, these goals are probably not within my three-year tenure, but by putting the frameworks in place, I know we can achieve great things for Fayette County’s pets.
PG: Thank you Rick.
Grants Update
The Fayette Humane Society is fortunate to be managing three active grants at the moment. Last fall, the Department of Agriculture gave us $5000 to use for public spay/neuter of cats or dogs living in Georgia. The Bernice Barbour Foundation awarded us $5000 for our Trap/Neuter/Vaccinate/Return program; our goal is to fix 144 free-roaming community cats this spring with these funds; we’ve trapped over 150 cats since January so we exceeded our goal in just one month!
PetSmart Charities has awarded us $15000 to help prepare 500 cats and/or dogs for adoption by next December. While the animals don’t all have to be adopted out of a PetSmart store, the goal is for at least 90% to be processed through PetSmart.
All the foundations that give us funding love to see pictures and read success stories. So, please remember to snap photos of happy adopters, animals we have helped, work in the field with TNVR or our clinic partners and send feel-good stories to: mailto:sharon.m@fayettehumane.org.
The grant and fundraising teams are always looking for fresh ideas and assistance. If you’d like to try your hand at grant writing or grant fund tracking, please contact Sharon Marchisello.
Junk Mama’s Food Drive
FHS saves countless cats and dogs year after year and how do we manage to do this? With volunteers and generous donations whether monetary or physical items such as pet supplies and food! An initiative FHS is taking this year is food drives and donations. Tens of thousands of dollars are spent on food to keep our programs running and mouths fed and if food gets donated, that’s more dollars that can be spent on medical costs, other supplies and bringing more animals into our programs.
In January 2021, Junk Mama’s located near the Fayetteville Square generously became a food drive host. Citizens could drop off food and supplies to her door and she got to show them her lovely and groovy shop. It was a win-win for both Junk Mama’s and FHS and helped so many animals along the way! Food drives like the one with Junk Mama’s may seem like a small event, but it makes a huge impact on the community and allows us to continue getting the word out about all of our services!
Are you interested in partnering with FHS for a pet food and/or supply drive?
Reach out to brooke.b@fayettehumane.org and we’d love to discuss partnering with you!
Daphne & Fred
Here are stories about two of our many dog rescues. What is notable here is not only the knowledge that two pups have been rescued but also the great joy these bundles of love give to their new families. There are many people that play a role behind the scenes in our dog rescues and adoptions including our donors.
Daphne and Fred came to FHS as part of the “Scooby” litter in 2020. Being such fun and laid-back pups, they quickly found their forever homes.
Daphne is now “Maple” and is deservedly well spoiled. She is larger than her new beagle sister and they are the best of friends! Her mom reports that she is thankful every day that she was picked for Maple.
Fred went to a loving home that had been hoping for a puppy for a long time! Thankfully with the assistance of the FHS volunteers both of these pups ended up in secure homes where they are well taken care of and in turn showering love and affection upon their new families.
Have Community Cats?
What is TNVR? TNVR is an acronym for Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return.
Trap Neuter Vaccinate Release is a nonlethal strategy for reducing the number of community cats and improving the quality of life for cats, wildlife and people. At its most basic, TNR involves:
- Humanely trapping community cats
- Spaying or neutering them
- Vaccinating them against rabies
- Surgically removing the tip of one ear (a “tipped” ear is the universally-recognized sign of a cat who has been spayed or neutered)
- Returning the cats to their home
Without TNVR, community cats continue to reproduce. Although up to 75 percent of their kittens may die, the number of community cats will continue to overwhelm animal shelters and rescue groups that are already trying to care for large numbers of cats.
What is “Cat Transport”?
“Cat Transport” means we transfer adoptable cats to rescues in other parts of the country so they can be adopted there instead of here.
Why would we need to do that?
Mother nature keeps the stray population north of the Mason Dixon line in control by freezing those areas for months at a time. Strays either don’t survive to be rescued or don’t go in heat and make more since survival of a litter is almost impossible. Also, those areas of the country tend to have spay and neuter ordinances, so they do not have the cat overpopulation we do.
We need S/N ordinances! The demand up north for kitties to adopt is huge during the winter months. We have an abundant supply.
The cats we transport are spay/neutered, vaccinated and have health certificates. This costs a lot for any rescue!
In many instances, we get reimbursed by the receiving organizations; in many we do not. By placing these cats with organizations that find loving homes for them way quicker than we can, we relieve our local rescues and shelters of the overabundance of adoptable cats. We can then help more.
Both of these reasons are rewards enough but this process also supports our mission for rehoming and adoption services.
Transporting cats in the van is challenging. The cats must be kept warm and fed and clean throughout the multi-day journey.
The driver(s) must also be caretakers, navigators and shelter workers to deliver their charges to their new shelter. Sometimes we deliver cats to multiple organizations in multiple states and our
Cat Transport warriors are totally dedicated to finding these cats new homes.
Tribute and Kudos to Outgoing President Stephanie Cohran
By Paul Goldberg, Editor, Fayette Humane Society Times
My recent entry into the hallowed halls of the Fayette Humane Society (FHS) was through the adoption of my companion dog Caesar, an FHS Alumni. Through Caesar I met Jeanne and Christine who transacted the adoption process which was performed with a high degree of care and professionalism.
Soon after I had the opportunity to meet Stephanie Cohran the President of the FHS at the time. Stephanie brought me into the FHS and made me feel at home as a volunteer and board member. A bit later I learned of Stephanie’s long record of service to animals through her service to the FHS.
Stephanie began as a volunteer with the FHS in 1997…twenty-four years ago! During her tenure she in her early years worked at the adoptions at PetSmart assisting in adopting over 300 pets per year. That is a lot of pets saved and placed into good homes…and for Stephanie that was only a starter. Over the years since she has helped with event planning, answering phone lines, transporting animals AND served as Treasurer, Vice President, and then as President since 2007 to 2021.
Stephanie was instrumental in helping coordinate low cost spay neuter services in the heart of Peachtree City, re-establishing a working relationship with animal control and helping provide improvements to their building. She was involved with getting local vets to offer their time to provide services for the animals at animal control, worked diligently with the Board of Commissioners to approve TNVR in Fayette County and for the shelter to make the change that all animals adopted are spayed or neutered before they walk out the door, thus lowering the number of homeless animals in Fayette County.
The number of hours, hard work and her dedication to the welfare of animals that Stephanie has given over the past decades has been generous, selfless and the embodiment of humane service. To add to that Stephanie continues on the Board of Directors and in active service on multiple levels within the FHS helping promote the welfare of dogs and cats throughout Fayette County.
Many, many, ongoing thanks and kudos to you Stephanie! You are very much appreciated!
A Letter from Stephanie Cohran
Happy 2021 to all of you. Thank you for a great 2020. Here are some of the Highlights:
| Other | |||
| Intake | Adoptions | Outcomes | |
| Dogs | 435 | 425 | 10 |
| Cats | 1211 | 590 | 621 |
| Total | 1646 | 1015 | 631 |
In addition to the above, we have provided community assistance to over 229 pets in our community. There are plans to provide community education by attending local events and offering education in schools. We have also been able to provide TNVR services to 833 cats.
The only way we have been able to offer these services, is thanks to all you wonderful Volunteers. During a pandemic, you rose to the challenge and made it possible for all of these animals. THANK YOU!
2021 has also paved the way for us to add two new board members, one to fill Emma’s spot and the other one to replace Marcia upcoming in March as she will focus her efforts on our TNVR program. We want to give a warm welcome to Paul Goldberg and Lucy Hess.
Paul will be helping Brian in the search for a future location for FHS as well as developing/resurrecting our Newsletter, as you can see! He wants to get to know all of you and will be reaching out to your team leads to schedule a time to meet you. Or you can send him an email directly to paul.g@fayettehumane.org to introduce yourself and share what position and responsibilities you have. To learn more about him, click here.
Lucy is going to be joining Sally Young and Jeanne Elmore in Volunteer Services. We want to make sure you are being supported and get the information you need from us to perform your tasks. They maintain our database of volunteers and your contact information and provide to the department heads your interest in the areas you are interested in helping within FHS. They are also responsible for ensuring that our lines of communications are working and that you feel that you are receiving the resources and information that you want and need as you volunteer with us. To learn more about her, click here.
One more exciting change for 2021 is that Rick DeLoach, will be assuming the role of President on April 1st. I will help transition him into the role, and I will continue to serve our mission by remaining a Board Member at Large.
Over the past few years, we have been able to work on our framework, but we still have work to do. He has the skills we need to continue our efforts. In his own words, “By nature, I am a very process-driven person, always seeking to understand what is driving a behavior, an outcome, a number on a report, or a failure somewhere in the system (people, process or computer systems); I love to establish repeatable processes that build toward a larger framework or goal.”
It has been my pleasure to serve as President and I am excited to support Rick as he leads us to the future.
Stephanie Cohran
Whose Board?
Incorporated in 1973, the Fayette Humane Society is the oldest nonprofit humane organization in Fayette County, Georgia.
Fayette Humane Society advocates for animals, supports the community, and enhances pet/owner relationships through spay/neuter programs, rehoming & adoption services, and community education and outreach. Fayette Humane Society envisions a community where all companion animals in Fayette County are spayed/neutered and treated with compassion and respect.
We are staffed by volunteers and are supported entirely by individual and corporate donations. Because we do not have a shelter, most animals we rescue live in temporary foster homes until they are adopted.
FHS Board Members:
| Officers: | Members At Large: | |
| President: | Rick DeLoach | Brooke Baker |
| Vice President: | Molly Young | Stephanie Cohran |
| Secretary: | Sharon Marchisello | Lucy Hess |
| Treasurer: | Penny Molis | Julie Lueder |
| Dr. Paul Goldberg | ||
“To Save A Life Is To Save A World”
Please Donate today!
Sign up for these easy ways to give to FHS:
- Amazon Smile
- Kroger Rewards
- Monthly Giving directly to FHS
Please consider donating $25 per or more per month. This will help FHS plan even greater things for Fayette and our four-legged friends.
P. O. Box 244
Fayetteville, GA 30214
770-487-1073
