Thanks to a donation from businessman John Linderman, a dozen pets at the Catoosa County Animal Shelter in Georgia have found a new home just in time for the holidays. Dozens more will be helped by his commitment to donate consistently to the animal shelter throughout the year.
Catoosa County spokesperson John Pless said Linderman, who owns Linderman's Furniture in Ringgold, Georgia, donated $600 to the animal shelter earlier this month, which allowed the county to offer half-off adoption fees for all of the cats and dogs in their care. Within a week of the promotion starting, 12 pets had been adopted.
(READ MORE: Catoosa County Animal Control shelter ends Saturday adoptions)
"That donation allowed us to offer those half-off adoptions. That means people were able to adopt a pet, complete a wellness check and get their pet spayed or neutered for $30," Pless said during a phone call with the Times Free Press. "That we were able to adopt out 12 animals in a week is great for us and great for the animals. We are not a facility that hosts a ton of them at a time, so that goes a long way toward alleviating the population in our shelter."
Pless said the response to the half-off promotion was unlike anything the Catoosa County Animal Shelter had ever seen before. While other animal shelters in North Georgia have reported fluctuating adoption rates throughout the pandemic, he said those rates have been fairly consistent in Catoosa County with a handful of pets getting adopted on average each week. There was a drop-off in weekend adoptions that resulted in the decision to end Saturday adoption services at the shelter in October, but otherwise, Pless said things were normal. There was not a high number of people returning pets immediately after adopting them, which he noted has been a common trend throughout the pandemic at many shelters, and it seemed like families were able to get pets whenever they sought them.
Because of this, the sudden demand for pets after the discount was offered was, as he called it, "shocking."
"We've never had a response like this to a half-off promotion," Pless said. "That is an amazing and wonderful thing, however, it is also why we are no longer able to offer the discounted price."
The half-off promotion was originally set to run through Wednesday, Dec. 22, but Pless said the county cannot support the cost of continuing to offer the discount. Even with Linderman's donation, it is too costly.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga animal shelters are at or near capacity)
"It is great that so many people took advantage of that promotion, and we wish we had the funding to support it further but when we reduce the price, we as the shelter have to make up the difference in what we pay to the veterinarians for the cost of procedures and the wellness check," he said. "Mr. Linderman is a wonderful man and it's a very kind and generous thing he did. He saw a need and he donated, and we appreciate that. We encourage anyone who feels that they want to do something similar to do so, so that we can do more things like this."
For his part, Linderman told the Times Free Press that he plans to make continued donations to the Catoosa County Animal Shelter "four or five times a year" so that they can support half-off adoptions more regularly. He has long donated to McKamey Animal Center and the Humane Educational Society in Chattanooga and said that while he will continue to do so, seeing the good that a one-time donation was able to accomplish locally was especially inspiring.
"Local shelters like the one in Catoosa County don't have the funding some of these others do. I own a local store in Ringgold, Georgia, and I live here, so it meant a lot to me to be able to help out with that shelter," Linderman said. "The goal of the involvement is helping clear the shelter and find animals homes, however that can be done. If it's just as simple as saying we'll cover the cost of adoption fees for people who are serious about adopting animals for their family, we'll do it that way. If it is fundraising or going around to other locals to get their involvement, we can do that too."
Currently, the cost to adopt a dog or cat at the Catoosa County Animal Shelter is $60, which includes the cost of spaying or neutering and a wellness check. Pless said that smaller donations to the shelter mean families may also get a free toy or starter amount of pet food to take home with their furry friend, though that is not guaranteed and is dependent on availability.
(READ MORE: Two new shelter directors talk animal welfare in Chattanooga)
To check out a full list of pets available for adoption at the Catoosa County Animal Shelter, visit the shelter in person from 8 a.m.-4:45 p.m., Monday-Friday at 101 Allmond Lane in Ringgold, or visit the Catoosa County Animal Shelter Facebook page. Those interested in donating to the shelter may reach out via Facebook or call (706) 935-2454.
Contact Kelcey Caulder at kcaulder@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @kelceycaulder.