Gracie is a boxer/bulldog mix. She is five months old and available for adoption through the ACT rescue group. She was one of the dogs looking for a ‘forever home’ Saturday at the Lowndes County Animal Shelter’s open house.

Barks and meows could be heard all around during the Lowndes County Animal Shelter’s open house Saturday. Dozens of interested adopters turned out to try to offer these pets a forever home.

Following a policy change at PetSmart, the shelter will be holding their events quarterly at their location until another storefront can be found. While the policy change does not prohibit groups from holding adoption events, the new policy does require that all cats and dogs be spayed/neutered and have all of their vaccinations. This puts a huge financial burden on the already-struggling shelter and makes it nearly impossible for them to hold their adoption events there.

Young and old, large and small, residents could find it all during the open house. Sadly, the shelter always has a huge selection of all breeds of cats and dogs available. Dogs are $105, which includes spay/neuter, vaccinations, a vet exam, deworming, rabies tag and more. Cats are available for $85 and receive the same procedures as dogs, in addition to a blood test for feline leukemia and FIV.

Lowndes County Commission Chairman Bill Slaughter came out to show his support. “It’s good to see the shelter doing events like this and taking time out of their personal schedules to show off the pets. It’s good that the community is coming out not only to see the pets, but to also look at the shelter. Thanks to the SPLOST referendum, the shelter will be able to make their building much better, not only for the animals and staff, but for the community as well, and that will allow them to take care of the animals,” he said.

The shelter invited the Humane Society, ACT Rescue, J’s ARK and BARC to bring their rescue pets to the event as well.

“We invited them to bring their rescues, because the more of their rescues that are adopted, the more dogs they can rescue from the shelter after,” said Paige Dukes, county clerk and public information officer.

During the open house, current and future pet owners could get free information on everything from pet health and grooming to training and proper nutrition and shelter. The shelter also informed those in attendance about cruelty prevention, rescue opportunities and low cost spay/neuter options.

Pet owners could also have their pets microchipped for $25 during the open house. The shelter encourages all pet owners to have this simple procedure done so lost pets can be found.

Bob and Myra De Line had their dog, Princess, microchipped during the event.

“She likes to get outside. I guess you could say she’s a free spirit,” Bob said.

The shelter plans to hold events like this every quarter this year.

The shelter will be holding their annual rabies and microchip clinic on April 26 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. During the clinic, rabies vaccinations and tags will be available for $10, cash only. The clinic will take place at the Lowndes County Civic Center, building “D,” located at 2012 E. Hill Avenue.

If you are interested in learning more about the shelter, volunteering your storefront for adoption events or adopting an animal, please contact the Lowndes County Animal Shelter at (229) 671-2760 or stop by their location at 337 Gil Harbin Industrial Blvd.

The shelter is open Tuesday-Friday from 12-4:30 p.m. and Saturday from 12-3 p.m.