A van may not seem like much, but for the Humane Society of Blue Ridge (HSBR), it will allow them to place animals into a “forever home sooner.”
The organization was awarded a $47,000 grant December of 2019 from the DJ&T Foundation, which was established by Bob Barker, a well-known television personality.
The DJ&T Foundation funds clinics and programs across the country in hopes to control animal overpopulation.
“I asked for money to cover the cost of a transport van, meaning we will transport adoptable pets out of our local area, to other areas in the country where there’s a higher demand,” HSBR Development Director Diane Basco said.
To HSBR benefit, the foundation awarded the organization the full amount that was requested.
Purchased this past March, the van will be used to transport animals across the country, which is vital to the organization.
Spay and neuter laws are stricter in the north and to the midwest when compared to the southern regions of the United States, so there tend to be less strays in the regulated areas.
The Humane Society‘s shelter tends to stay full and relies on these other shelters across the country to take in their animals.
Often times, dogs and cats are left at the facility for months on end. This leaves the organization the cost of taking care of these animals and not generating much in return.
“The reality is, the turn over rate at our Humane Society is too slow. It’s averaging around 150 days, and that’s too long to keep an animal...” Basco said.
She said keeping animals for extended periods can be stressful on the animal and costly to the organization.
“Ideally, our goal is to turn animals more quickly,” Basco said. “...we only have a finite number of kennels, and right now, we only have 13... There’s so many people that come by and we can’t take an animal, you know, so we’re trying to move them so that we can accommodate and save more animals.”
With the grant, they were able to, not only purchase the van but, spray the inside with insulation, install a ventilation fan and window and wrap the van.
Crates to transport the dogs have also been ordered.
All of these upgrades were made in an effort to keep animals safe and secure during transports.
The HSBR will now be able to partner with Greenville Humane Society out of South Carolina.
The Greenville facility transports 6,000 animals a year and even has an on-site veterinary clinic.
“We use them as our vision for where we might want to grow to over time,” Basco said. “They will be who we start transporting with.”
The Gainesville, Georgia, Humane Society is a potential second partner with HSBR. HSBR will transfer animals from their own facility to Gainesville’s, Basco said.
HSBR takes in animals from several close-by counties: Fannin, Gilmer, Union, Towns and Polk.