Southern Pines Animal Shelter

I have volunteered with this shelter and their low cost, high volume spay/neuter clinic for the past 10 years. This shelter has made remarkable strides in the past few years. They are an open enrollment shelter serving many counties in South Mississippi, yet they have maintained a 94% or higher live release rate for the past two years! Quite an accomplishment for a shelter that once euthanized 70& or more of their animals.

I've been volunteering at the shelter for about a year now and I really enjoy working there. The staff are nice and take the time to connect with you and explain to you what help they need done. I also enjoy how there are more opportunties to volunteer than just at the shelter. There is the spay/neuter clinc and fundraising events. A few months ago, I showed my shelter pride by helping them out in a fairy tale themed parade. I've volunteered in other places, but I continue volunteering at the Shelter because the people there make me feel like I am one of their own.

I have volunteered at the Southern Pines Animal Shelter for several years in a variety of roles. I started by assisting with the shelter's animal adoption program at our local PetSmart. I then began working along with other volunteers at the SPAS low-cost spay/neuter service program. We started with a two day per month cooperative service through a statewide alliance. After two years of demonstrating the need and support for such services, SPAS opened a four day per week low-cost spay/neuter clinic. This successful effort is a clear demonstration of the organization's focus on long-term solutions. This focus is paired with an absolute committment to providing humane and responsible care for every animal at the shelter.

I have always been interested in the plight of lost, abandoned, and surrendered companion animals. I was a long-time donor to Southern Pines Animal Shelter before I began to be active on the Advisory Committee and, later, the Board of Directors, where I serve now as Treasurer. SPAS has undergone significant transformation from an under-funded holding facility with bad conditions for the animals to a clean, bright and large facility where there is hope for those animals who come into our care. In the past few years, we have enlisted community support, such as PetSmart where we are an adoption partner and keep cats and kittens in their store for adoption. We have many community businesses who donate money and services, including some on our Board of Directors. In 2008, I led the Board on a strategic planning session, the first ever for this group. Out of that planning, we have grown our budget, our funding, our donor list, our contact with the community, and,most importantly, we opened a low-cost, high quality Spay & Neuter Clinic during Summer 2009. We recognize that the only way to effectively reduce the euthanasia rates is to address the issue of companion animal over-population. Our Shelter is still under-funded and under-staffed. We continue to build our donor base and have a plan to address and expand our municipal support base. The Board of Directors is active, committed, and engaged. Our two programs, Shelter & Spay/Neuter Clinic have operations managers who are excellent at their jobs. We are currently working to hire an Executive Director who will oversee both programs and work primarily on funding issues.