Humane society changes coming next month

GAINESVILLE - Beginning next month, the Humane Society of Hall County will have a new name and with it a new service area... as well as a change in the services it offers.

It will now be called the Humane Society of Northeast Georgia and will serve not only Hall County but Jackson, Banks, Lumpkin, Habersham, White, Rabun and Stephens counties, as well. And, it is going back to its original mission as a "selective admissions" shelter.

That means it will no longer houses animals for Hall County's Animal Control Service. The focus will be on sheltering animals and finding them homes.

"We want to concentrate our efforts toward protecting animals and placing them in good homes," Humane Society president Rick Aiken said. "We will focus on the areas of adoption, spaying and neutering, education and legislation for greater protection of animals. We will no longer euthanize because of space limitations or length of time available to animals."

The changes had been planned for Oct. 1 but recent rains have slowed construction of the animal shelter the county will operate as part of the changes, pushing things back to probably around the middle of the month.

The Humane Society of Hall County was founded in 1913 by Miss Bessie Bickers, a Hall County school teacher. The present shelter is built on property formerly owned by the Bickers family. The mission of the Society is to prevent the neglect of, cruelty toward and exploitation of animals in the Hall County area.

No longer providing space for Animal Control will allow the agency to house animals longer, which will give it more time to find the animals a home.

"We will provide a safe haven for adoptable pets," Aiken said.