Written by FRANCES KIDD | Photographed by SANDY HISER

Imagine driving along a road in Coweta County when a hawk carrying something swoops low over the front of your vehicle before flying lower to the ground and dropping its bundle.

One sharp-eyed Coweta driver recently experienced this and stopped to find a tiny kitten, seemingly unharmed, on the side of the road. The driver took the kitten to the local humane society’s home, Pokey’s Place, and volunteers rushed it to the vet.

Not all animals in need of help reach Angie Whitlock and the Newnan-Coweta Humane Society in such dramatic fashion.

Whitlock is president of Newnan-Coweta Humane Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1975. In the early years, volunteers operated from their homes; in 2017, they purchased a former veterinary hospital on U.S. 29 just north of Millard Farmer Industrial Boulevard.

Their new home, Pokey’s Place, has 14 kennels, two cat rooms, four part-time kennel techs, and a building manager. According to Whitlock, the building manager was a necessity after a kitten pushed up a sink faucet handle while playing, turning on the water and flooding the building.

“It was a bunch of 9-month-old kittens,” Whitlock recalls. “We can laugh about it now, but it wasn’t funny then.”

The humane society has a wide-ranging mission to protect animals. That includes everything from promoting the adoption of rescued animals and working to eliminate animal abuse to improving awareness of spay/neuter programs and providing leadership in support of animal rights legislation.

They do all that – and a lot more.

The humane society works closely with Coweta County Animal Services, according to Whitlock. 

One of the humane society’s goals is to work with the county to establish a separate adoption center to provide a more welcoming environment for animals to meet their potential owners. 

“Coweta has outgrown the current county shelter  located at 91 Selt Road,” says Sandy Hiser, NCHS board member and volunteer. According to Hiser the number of dogs often surpasses the maximum shelter limit. “The dog area - industry standard when built - is now considered below par. Kennels are stacked and facing each other. Dogs live under considerable more stress than newly designed facilites that nearby counties have recently opened.”

 Humane Society volunteers take care of the Cat Room at Newnan’s PetSmart and are at the store every Saturday for cat adoption events. On the first Saturdayof every month, volunteers host a Pet Food Pantry at Pokey’s Place to support Coweta residents who need a little extra help with dog and cat food or kitty litter.

A lot of their work involves placing animals in foster homes.

“At this point, we’re foster-based,” says Whitlock, “and we work with animal services to place dogs and cats in foster homes.”

 Foster care is a great benefit for the animal as well as prospective owners – it helps the animal become more social and gain a feeling of security and calm, particularly if it has come from an abusive situation, according to Whitlock.

But sometimes the foster home experiences a “foster-fail,” which is not as bad as it sounds.

The fosters fall in love with the animal and decide to keep it permanently. It’s a good/bad thing for the humane society: While an animal gets a loving home, they may lose a foster family, according to Whitlock.

About six years ago, Lindsay Graff heard that the county facility was reaching cat capacity.

“The next day I saw a post about the humane society’s need for volunteers and signed up to help clean the cat room at PetSmart,” she says.

Graff already had one cat and wasn’t looking for another; but she fell in love with the cats and has had foster cats continuously since that time. She might have a cat or kitten for two weeks or 10 weeks, depending on the circumstances.

“After being fostered, most cats are more socialized,” Graff adds, though she goes on to say that one took two years to “decompress.” Her two children, ages 9 and 11, help out and are already experienced with the humane society’s foster care program.

James and Jacque McCulley have been fostering dogs for 22 years.

“My husband had just retired from Pepsi and a neighbor told us about the humane society’s need for volunteers to foster dogs,” says Jacque. “Sadie, our last foster, was one of nine puppies and was around three months old. We had her for about five weeks going through potty training, leash training and just learning how to play.”

The internet has changed the way animal service groups work today.

“We have a social media person,” Whitlock says, “and groups use social media to exchange information and connect with other organizations.”

Whitlock and the Coweta group assist in transporting animals to other locations with spay and neuter laws that enable a greater supply of potential homes.

“Anything we can do to get an animal out of animal services and into a home, we’ll do it,” Whitlock says.

While well-organized, the NCHS is always looking for more volunteers and foster homes. Some volunteers take dogs on walks or just spend time with them. It’s possible to run into a volunteer with a dog at the Barber Shop on the Boulevard at Avery Park. Or you might see a dog out for a car ride or maybe at the Starbucks drive-thru picking up a puppuccino. Imagine what great fun it is to watch a pup devour an espresso- or sample-size beverage cup of whipped cream.

All these things help make a dog more sociable and ready to be adopted. And due to these devoted volunteers and other local and national organizations, there are many happy endings for these deserving animals. NCM

A few pet adoption tips

• The Newnan-Coweta Humane Society (NCHS) website, nchsrescue.org/adopt, has information about animals available for adoption along with an application and costs and terms for adoption. If an application is accepted, someone from NCHS will be in contact to schedule a time for the prospective owner and dog or cat to meet.

• Cats are available for visits at PetSmart, in Newnan, every day and are available for adoption there on Saturdays from 12 noon to 3 p.m. Cats are also available at Pet Supermarket at Thomas Crossroads.

• Dogs and cats in the care of Coweta County Animal Services may be viewed and/or adopted by appointment each weekday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at  at 91 Selt Road in Newnan.

• Other options for adopting dogs or cats include adoptapet.com or www.petfinder.com.

• Pet lovers can help the Newnan-Coweta Humane Society by volunteering, making monetary donations, donating supplies to the Pet Pantry, or opening their home to a foster pet.

• If you find a stray animal, it's best to follow the law: Take it to Coweta County Animal Services (CCAS). In Georgia, pets are considered property, and it's illegal to take and keep someone else's property; you'll need to contact your local animal control unit at petharbor.com. Animal Services will try to find the owner, and if no one claims the animal after three days, it’s made available for adoption. NCM