CUMMING, Ga. — From pushing for an end to puppy mills to putting up puppy parks, Wednesday night's meeting at the Forsyth County Animal Shelter covered a wide range of topics.
The Georgia Pet Coalition and the Humane Society of the United States invited members of the Forsyth County Legislative Delegation, along with other elected officials from Forsyth County, to the shelter to hear about statewide dog concerns and solution-based achievements of the Forsyth County Animal Shelter.
Susan Bova with the Georgia Pet Coalition brought along her pup Gracie, who was recently rescued from a Barrow County puppy mill to share her story with those in attendance. Bova explained that at five years old Gracie had never stepped on grass, "when I rescued Gracie she had been in a crate her entire life just to reproduce and had never even learned how to eat dog food out of a dog bowl...this irresponsible breeding is a huge part of why we have so many homeless animals."
Bova stressed to legislatures the need to end these type of mills adding that it would give more animals a fuller life, "we need to remember that these dogs are living, breathing creatures that have emotions and feelings."
Shelter manager, Cynthia Iacopella also spoke explaining the shelters' philanthropic efforts to provide more mobile spay and neuter clinics in areas where homeless animals are known to populate."
"We don't want to be that big, bad animal shelter...we're here as a resource for our community to provide better care for animals," says Iacopella.
Commissioner Cindy Jones Mills also announced the county's plans for a $700,000 dog park to be constructed across the street from the shelter.
"I feel like this park is going to draw more people over to the shelter to see the dogs and cats available and just make the shelter more known to our community," said Mills.
Following the briefing, Iacopella gave those in attendance a tour of the shelter to see the updates and amenities which included 10 feet long outdoor runs, indoor/ outdoor transitional kennels, and a controlled sanitary intake room for incoming animals.
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