Best Friends Animal Society plans to end its community cat program on July 16 if the Augusta Commission doesn’t accept an offer to provide more services – an offer shelter officials and volunteers say amounts to the organization taking over the facility.
Gina Burrows, Southeast regional strategist for Best Friends, said the agreement to provide the cat program ended June 1, but was extended while the commission considered the new offer. Continuing the cat program is contingent on accepting the new offer, she said.
In 2023, Best Friends partnered with Augusta Animal Services to help implement a Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TRVR) program. Groups of wild cats are caught and taken to the animal shelter. A mobile vet clinic from the Northeast Georgia Humane Society comes to the shelter to spay and neuter those cats, who are then returned to their outdoor location.
Previously:Augusta officials ask animal shelter, animal welfare nonprofit to find way to work together
Earlier this year, Best Friends, a nonprofit group that works throughout the U.S., offered additional staff and training for a year to improve conditions at the Augusta Animal Shelter. The organization valued the grant at almost $1 million.