BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//CalDiscovery//caldiscovery//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH DESCRIPTION:Atlanta: community\, next 7 days (Thu Sep 17 to Wed Sep 23\, A merica/New_York). Rolling: the window moves forward every day\, so subscri be rather than download. Discovered and maintained by CalDiscovery (https: //caldiscovery.com). Event details belong to their publishers. Contains in formation from CalDiscovery\, which is made available under the ODbL 1.0. SOURCE:https://caldiscovery.com/atlanta-ga/next-7-days-community.ics X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT12H REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT12H X-WR-CALDESC:Atlanta: community\, next 7 days (Thu Sep 17 to Wed Sep 23\, America/New_York). Rolling: the window moves forward every day\, so subscr ibe rather than download. Discovered and maintained by CalDiscovery (https ://caldiscovery.com). Event details belong to their publishers. Contains i nformation from CalDiscovery\, which is made available under the ODbL 1.0. X-WR-CALNAME:Atlanta · community · next 7 days · CalDiscovery BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Member Appreciation Month DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260901 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261001 DTSTAMP:20260902T011643Z UID:10005969-1788220800-1790812799@atlantabg.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:September is Member Appreciation Month\, a time to thank our m embers with extra-special perks\, valuable discounts and the chance to win great prizes. \nJoin or Renew \n\nEvery Member Bring a New Member! \nAny current member who brings a new member to join at Admissions at either Gar den location will receive two extra guest passes (value of up to $39.95 e ach)\, and so will the new member! The guest passes are valid during regul ar hours at both locations\, including Cocktails in the Garden this month and Fest-of-Ale evenings in Atlanta (October). This is an on-site offer o nly\, valid at both locations. \nNew Guest Pass perk for Members!\n \nNo g uest passes? No problem! As a new year-round member perk\, members who bri ng guests to the Atlanta Garden without a guest pass will receive $5 off o n the guest’s admission ticket. Not applicable at the Gainesville Garden . \nExclusive & Early Member Purchase opportunity for Garden Lights\, Holi day Nights tickets (Atlanta) and Gainesville Glows! \nSept. 1 – 30\, Gar den members receive exclusive early access to purchase discounted tickets* for the nights of their choice for the 16th annual Garden Lights\, Holida y Nights presented by Invesco and for Gainesville Glows! \nRemember\, the Member Premiere for Garden Lights\, Holiday Nights on Nov. 12 offers the lowest price of the season! Check Garden Lights\, Holiday Nights and Gaine sville Glows for details and to purchase tickets. \nExclusive & Early Memb er Opportunity to secure reservations at Longleaf Restaurant for Garden Li ghts\, Holiday Nights evenings!  \nAfter purchasing your tickets\, use th e links below to make Longleaf reservations: \nMake reservations for Nov. 12 Member Premiere.\nMake reservations for Garden Lights from Nov. 14 – Jan. 10. \nLongleaf Restaurant\, Quick Café and Magnolia Bistro \n10% off your bill* at Longleaf Restaurant and the Magnolia Bistro for members-onl y during September. Members now receive a year-round 10% discount at the Q uick Café. \n*Does not apply to alcoholic beverages \nGarden Gift Shop (A tlanta and Gainesville) \nMembers\, look in your PassPlay Member Rewards p rogram for your complimentary one-time 40% off coupon for purchase of one item in the Garden Shop.  You may use that coupon anytime through Decembe r 31\, 2026! \nGarden Center Perks \n\n20% discount on any purchase at Gar den*Hood\n20% discount on all perennial plants at North Georgia Native Pla nt Nursery\n25% off any one plant under $75 at Petal & Pond Garden Center\ n\nPlease note: A 10% discount is offered throughout the year at Garden*H ood\, North Georgia Native Plant Nursery\, Beech Hollow Wildflower Farm\ , Petal & Pond Garden Center and Pike Nurseries. You must present a val id membership card to receive your discount. \nPrize Drawings \nVisit the Garden’s Facebook and Instagram throughout September to participate in f un activities and have a chance to be entered into weekly prize drawings w ith winners announced every Friday! \nIn addition\, all current members as of Sept. 30 will be entered for a chance to win the following prizes. Win ners will be contacted via phone or email by Oct. 8. \nGrand Prize: Two-ni ght weekend getaway and more at Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta \nEnjoy a Premi er King room\, inclusive of taxes\, plus daily breakfast for two in Brasse rie Margot or Room Service (excludes Sunday Brunch)\, PLUS one dinner in  Brasserie Margot for two (excludes alcohol). Complimentary parking is inc luded. Total retail value of $2\,300.00. \n \n  \nMore prizes:\n \n\nGar den Lights\, Holiday Nights Premium Plus Package including 4 tickets\, 4 s’mores kits\, 4 hologram glasses\, and 4 drink tickets (6 winners)\n2 t ickets to Valentine’s in the Garden special event (1 winner)\n2 tickets to the annual Spring Garden Party 2027 (1 winner)\n2 tickets to the annual Summer Garden Party 2027 (1 winner)\n5-visit Multi-Visit Parking Pass – a $36 Value (2 winners)\n2 tickets to a Fresh Plates Series (1 winner)\nC omplimentary upgrade to next level of membership for one year (3 winners)\ n\nSWAPtember\nSwap the savings during the annual SWAPtember event at 20 m etro Atlanta attractions! Show your Atlanta Botanical Garden membership ca rd at these participating attractions Sept. 1-30\, and receive $10 off a m embership purchase or comparable offer. Some attractions offer additional admission discounts during the month-long savings event. For full offer de tails\, visit the participating attractions’ websites below. \n* Additio nal benefits and/or redemption limitations\n ** Comparable offer \nAtlant a Botanical Garden \nAtlanta History Center* \nBartow History Museum \nThe Breman \nBooth Western Art Museum \nCenter for Puppetry Arts \nChildren ’s Museum of Atlanta* \nChattahoochee Nature Center* \nThe Columbus Muse um \nMimms Museum of Technology and Art* \nDekalb History Center \nFernban k Museum of Natural History* \nHistory Cherokee* \nMuseum of Contemporary Art of Georgia* \nMuseum of Design Atlanta (MODA) \nNational Center for Ci vil and Human Rights \nSavoy Automobile Museum \nTellus Science Museum \nY MCA\, Metro Atlanta** \nZoo Atlanta\n \n\nLEARN MORE LAST-MODIFIED:20260902T011643Z LOCATION:Atlanta Botanical Garden\, 1345 Piedmont Ave NE\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30309\, United States URL:https://atlantabg.org/calendar/member-appreciation-month/?utm_source=c aldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Atlanta Botanical Garden X-SOURCE-URL:https://atlantabg.org/calendar/category/atlanta END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:September Churchwide Food Drive DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260901 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261001 DTSTAMP:20260914T001502Z UID:10001835-1788220800-1790812799@www.prumc.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Help stock the pantry at our Westside Table campus. \n\nTogeth er\, we will collect items to support the Collins Memorial Food Bank at ou r Westside Table campus. The pantry provides fresh food to residents of th e neighborhood and seniors from across Atlanta. Last year we provided food for over 800 families each month to prevent families in our community fro m going hungry. \nMost-needed items are: \n\nCanned fruit\nPeanut butter\ nGround coffee\nEnsure\n55-gallon trash bags\n\nPlease return filled groce ry bags to the donation bins near the first-floor reception area of the Ro llins Center. \nYou may also shop our Amazon wish list and have items deli vered directly to the Collins Memorial Food Bank. The wish list will autom atically populate the food bank’s address at checkout. \nhttps://media.b lubrry.com/prumc_sermons/content.blubrry.com/prumc_sermons/2026-09-13.mp3P odcast: Play in new window | Download LAST-MODIFIED:20260914T001502Z LOCATION:PRUMC\, 3180 Peachtree Road\, NE\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30305\, United States URL:https://www.prumc.org/event/september-churchwide-food-drive/?utm_sourc e=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Peachtree Road United Methodist Church X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.prumc.org/event/an-evening-with-tom-johnson END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:ADOG Classes Session 5 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260914 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260919 DTSTAMP:20260915T202909Z UID:0t8bmlk5t7vcbgn39ek0linqt2@google.com CATEGORIES:community LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T202909Z X-SOURCE-NAME:Atlanta Kennel Club X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.atlantakennelclub.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Tank Stranger DTSTART:20260915T233000Z DTEND:20261004T210000Z DTSTAMP:20260917T061149Z UID:13010-1789500600-1791133200@truecolorstheatre.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Written By: James Ijames\nDirected By: Jamil Jude\nDramaturg: Jonathan McCroryEVERY FAMILY HAS ROOTS. \nWhen generations of the Stranger family are drawn back together\, long-buried truths begin to surface\, bl urring the line between ancestry\, mythology\, and destiny. As Tank search es for where he belongs\, he discovers that understanding the future means confronting the past. \nLaunching the final year of True Colors Theatre ’s Blackness Is Not a Monolith series\, Tank Stranger is a bold world pr emiere that blends Afrofuturism\, Black folklore\, and breathtaking theatr ical storytelling into an unforgettable theatrical experience. \nBecause e very family tree has a story. BUY TICKETS HEREPerformances:Previews: Septe mber 15th – September 17th @ 7:30 PM\nOpening Night: September 18th @ 7: 30 PM\nRegular Performances: Fridays @ 7:30 PM\, Saturdays @ 2:30 PM & 7:3 0 PM\, Sundays @ 2:30 PM\nAdditional Evening Performances: September 22nd & September 30th @ 7:30 PM\nAdditional Matinees: September 24th @ 11:00 AM & 7:30 PM\, October 1st @ 2:30 PM & 7:30 PM \nRush Tickets:A limited numb er of same-day rush tickets may be available for $20 during previews and $ 25 during the regular run (excluding the closing performance). Rush ticket s are available in person at the Box Office beginning 30 minutes before cu rtain\, subject to availability. Rush tickets cannot be purchased online\, reserved in advance\, or combined with other offers. Limit 4 tickets per person. \nJamil JudeDirectorjames IjamesPlaywrightJonathan McCroryDramatur gCast: LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T061149Z LOCATION:Southwest Arts Center\, 915 New Hope Road\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30331\ , United States URL:https://truecolorstheatre.org/event/tank-stranger/?utm_source=caldisco very&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company X-SOURCE-URL:https://truecolorstheatre.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Ladies Night Out at Vinings Jubilee DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260917 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260918 DTSTAMP:20260914T050055Z UID:171243-1789603200-1789689599@travelcobb.org CATEGORIES:community,music DESCRIPTION:Vinings Jubilee hosts Ladies Night Out on Thursday\, September 17\, from 5–7 PM. The complimentary community event invites guests to e njoy shopping\, live music\, pop-up experiences\, giveaways\, and special moments throughout the Vinings Jubilee property. LAST-MODIFIED:20260914T050055Z LOCATION:Vinings Jubilee\, 4300 Paces Ferry Rd\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30339 URL:https://travelcobb.org/event/ladies-night-out-at-vinings-jubilee/?utm_ source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Cobb Travel & Tourism X-SOURCE-URL:https://travelcobb.org/event/southern-fried-gaming-expo END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Jack Black Trivia DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260917 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260918 DTSTAMP:20260914T050055Z UID:170926-1789603200-1789689599@travelcobb.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Get ready to rock\, laugh\, and unleash your inner Po — it ’s Jack Black Trivia Night! From unforgettable comedies and iconic chara cters to Tenacious D\, animated adventures\, and some seriously over-the-t op performances\, they’re putting your Jack Black knowledge to the test. Whether you know him as a teacher\, a rock star\, a kung fu panda\, or ju st an absolute legend\, there’s plenty of Black to go around. \nPlay det ails \nFree to playTeams: 1–6 playersPrizes for the top teamsQuestions c overing movies\, characters\, music\, Tenacious D\, voice roles\, and memo rable moments \nGood to know \nArrive early to grab your seat — trivia s tarts at 7:00 PM sharpOutside food welcomeAll ages welcome\; 21+ for alcoh olic beverages \nBring your best team\, your loudest rock voice\, and reme mber: “The answer is always Jack Black.” LAST-MODIFIED:20260914T050055Z LOCATION:Schoolhouse Brewing\, 840 Franklin Ct SE\, Marietta\, GA\, 30067 URL:https://travelcobb.org/event/jack-black-trivia/?utm_source=caldiscover y&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Cobb Travel & Tourism X-SOURCE-URL:https://travelcobb.org/event/southern-fried-gaming-expo END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Daytrippers September Event DTSTART:20260917T040000Z DTEND:20260917T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T203038Z UID:0-92@bethshalom.net CATEGORIES:arts,community DESCRIPTION:DAHLONEGA GOLD MUSEUM\n\nJoin the Daytrippers for a visit to D ahlonega\, where we will tour the Gold Museum and learn about the Georgia Gold Rush.\n\nThe Museum is housed in the 1836 Lumpkin County Courthouse\, one of Georgia's oldest courthouses.\n\nTour cost is $8.11 per senior and can be paid at the Museum.\n\nAfter the tour\, join us for lunch at Shena nigan's Irish Pub in downtown Dahlonega.\n\nCarpools can be arranged from the synagogue.\n\nRSVP to Marcy Liberty at mhl9240@ yahoo.com or Lucy Mose s at lucysmoses@yahoo.com\n\nCLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS. LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T203038Z URL:https://www.bethshalom.net/events/daytrippers-september-event/?utm_sou rce=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Congregation Beth Shalom X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.bethshalom.net END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:African American Women Trucking Association (AAWTA): Building Path ways. Creating Opportunities. Driving Change DTSTART:20260917T120000Z DTEND:20260917T210000Z DTSTAMP:20260909T183742Z UID:10036638-1789632000-1789664400@metroatlantaexchange.org CATEGORIES:community,education DESCRIPTION:The African American Women Trucking Association (AAWTA) is hos ting Building Pathways. Creating Opportunities. Driving Change. on Thursda y\, September 17th\, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. \nThe location with be annou nced soon. Join the African American Women Trucking Association (AAWTA) fo r the inaugural Education & Industry Workforce Collaborative\, a first-of -its-kind summit bringing together education leaders\, employers\, workfor ce agencies\, government officials\, higher education institutions\, nonpr ofits\, and industry partners to strengthen the future workforce in transp ortation\, logistics\, and supply chain. \nThis collaborative summit is de signed to create meaningful partnerships that connect education with indus try\, expand career pathways\, and prepare the next generation of talent f or high-demand careers. Whether you’re an educator\, employer\, policyma ker\, workforce professional\, or community leader\, you’ll leave with n ew connections\, actionable strategies\, and opportunities to make a lasti ng impact. \nClick here to learn more and register. LAST-MODIFIED:20260909T183742Z URL:https://metroatlantaexchange.org/event/african-american-women-trucking -association-aawta-building-pathways-creating-opportunities-driving-change /?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:MAX X-SOURCE-URL:https://metroatlantaexchange.org/event/georgia-chamber-of-com merce-future-of-energy-and-sustainability END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School Open House DTSTART:20260917T120000Z DTEND:20260917T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T204742Z UID:10018413-1789632000-1789653600@thequestatlanta.com CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Looking for a school where your child can thrive academically\ , grow spiritually\, and become servant leaders? St. Catherine of Siena Ca tholic School warmly invites you to our Open House on September 17th. \n Come experience what makes our school community so special! During your vi sit\, you will have the opportunity to explore our vibrant K-8 classrooms\ , see our teachers and students in action\, meet the principal\, learn abo ut our rigorous academic curriculum\, and discover how we integrate Cathol ic values into every aspect of school life. From early childhood learning in kindergarten to middle school leadership preparation\, we provide a saf e\, Christ-centered environment where every student is known\, loved and e ncouraged to reach their full potential. \nPlease visit www.scsiena.org  or call 770-419-8601 to register and reserve your tour time for your famil y! We can’t wait to meet you! LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T204742Z LOCATION:St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School\, 1618 Ben King Rd NW\, Ke nnesaw\, GA\, 30144-2945 URL:https://thequestatlanta.com/event/st-catherine-of-siena-catholic-schoo l-open-house-2/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlant a-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:The Quest Atlanta X-SOURCE-URL:https://thequestatlanta.com/events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Community Forum DTSTART:20260917T130000Z DTEND:20260917T140000Z DTSTAMP:20260813T122414Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53689383011302 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Faculty and Staff: Please join us for Community Forum! 9-10am\ , in the Frannie. Hear college updates and celebrate your colleagues' birt hdays. LAST-MODIFIED:20260813T122414Z LOCATION:Campbell Hall\, C-Frances Bailey Graves Auditorium (Rm 128) URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/community-forum-3430?utm_source= caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:September OCI: 9/15 - 9/18 DTSTART:20260917T130000Z DTEND:20260917T220000Z DTSTAMP:20260913T000039Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53797483121082 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:The College of Law Career Development office welcomes employer s for September "On Campus Interviews" 9/15-9/18. LAST-MODIFIED:20260913T000039Z LOCATION:College of Law\, COL 1st floor interview rooms URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu/event/september-oci-915-918?utm_source=caldis covery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Georgia State University Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Homeschool Day: Go West DTSTART:20260917T140000Z DTEND:20260917T160000Z DTSTAMP:20260819T183439Z UID:10000394-1789639200-1789639200@www.atlantahistorycenter.com CATEGORIES:community,education DESCRIPTION:Not-Yet Member \n \n Tickets\n \n \n\n \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n Member \n \n Login\n \n \n\n \n\n\n\n\nHomeschool Day is included with the cost of admission. To reserve your spot\, add your general admission tickets to your cart. You w ill then be prompted to register for Homeschool Day.  \n\n\n\nTake a trip back to the Wild\, Wild West and learn about the different people who pla yed a role in westward expansion. After the fun\, your ticket includes acc ess to the rest of the museum\, including Goizueta Children’s Experience \, the farm\, and more! LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T183439Z LOCATION:Atlanta History Center\, 130 West Paces Ferry Road NW\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30305\, United States URL:https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/event/homeschool-day-go-west/?utm _source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Atlanta History Center X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/event/party-with-the-pas t-center-for-puppetry-arts END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Mobile Vaccine Clinic DTSTART:20260917T140000Z DTEND:20260917T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260901T061439Z UID:37638-1789639200-1789653600@lifelineanimal.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Our goal with this page is to share the current shelter needs with our community in an ongoing way. We hope to update this page seasonal ly or more frequently as needed. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n May 2024 \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n Last year\, we reached a pivotal break ing point in terms of the number of animals housed in our care. We recogni zed the physical capacity limitations of our buildings and made a commitme nt to work towards humane housing solutions\, which means both the county shelters need to reduce the number of animals living in the buildings. Whi le we continue to face severe overcrowding into 2024\, we have worked hard to increase resources to help more pet owners and improve the quality of life for the animals in our care. We are continuing to adapt to the challe nges we’re facing\, including many systemic problems that contribute to the number of animals arriving in our care. We have collaborated with many supportive community members and leaders in pursuit of creating a safer a nd more humane shelter environment for all. There are no overnight solutio ns to drastically reduce our shelter populations\, but we continue to have hope that with your support and the strategies currently in place\, our c ommunity will help us get more animals into homes where they belong. Here is a brief update for all three LifeLine shelters\, including the unique c hallenges and the most important ways you can get involved. \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal ServicesDog Population: 506 | Opti mum Capacity: 475 \n \n \n \n Last year\, DeKalb Count y Animal Services reached peak numbers of dogs housed in the shelter durin g an outbreak of Canine Flu.. Because of an incredible response from our c ommunity\, we successfully saw the population drop down to 312 dogs. Becau se the need in our community is so great\, this number steadily rose back up to 500+ dogs and has remained in that range for months on end despite o ur best efforts. It is a near constant struggle to balance the amount of “noses in”\, pets arriving at the shelter\, with the amount of “nose s out” each week\, pets leaving. As an open intake municipal facility\, we do not turn away animals in need in Dekalb County\, no matter how much or little space we have in our kennels when we begin a new day. It is impo rtant that the community understands this distinction from other rescue or ganizations and is aware of ways they can help prevent lost or stray pets from ever having to enter the shelter. We need to create room for pets tha t have the most urgent need for our help. We must find a way to help more animals find homes and keep the shelter at a capacity that is humane for t he pets in our care. Heartbreaking space euthanasia decisions must be made weekly and overcrowding is putting more dogs at risk. Instead of focusing our at-risk dogs\, we are asking our community to focus efforts and resou rces on getting more of our highly-adoptable dogs out so that those animal s identified as most at risk (struggling in the shelter and exhibiting a v ariety of challenging behaviors) can get the time that they need to find a home. Any animal that leaves the building will help us reach our target o f decreasing the dog population to below a threshold of 475. This new proc ess includes daily population updates on the website and improved communic ations with our volunteers and community about how to best support dogs in need in our shelters. Even still\, 475 dogs housed in the building is les s than ideal. This is an incredible number of pets to care for daily. Whil e their basic needs are met\, quality of life deteriorates the longer they are housed in a shelter intended to be a temporary safety net. The lower we can keep that number\, the less dogs there will be at risk for illness\ , increased stress and euthanasia. In addition to these adjustments in com municating the ongoing need\, we have partnered with DeKalb County leaders on both short and long-term solutions that were announced last fall to he lp more pets in need: Increased funding for support to pets of DeKalb Coun ty residents including:A free monthly pet food bankFree spay/neuter surger ies through SNIP DeKalbFree vaccinations through LifeLine’s Mobile Clini cAdditional kennel space to provide more humane housing for the dogs curre ntly in our care:Plans have been approved to build new\, additional kennel s which will provide better housing for court case dogs who are in our car e long termProjected installation is September 2024We believe programs lik e these that make pet resources more accessible\, including affordable spa y/neuter surgery\, are the key to helping more pets stay out of the shelte rs and in homes where they belong. \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal ServicesDog Population: 419 | Optimum Capacity: 325 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At the end of 2023\, we celebrated the grand opening of a brand new 40\,0 00 square foot shelter facility in Fulton County! With the opening of the new building\, we’ve fortunately seen improvement in all of these ways t o create a better environment for the teams and the animals as well as a b etter experience for visitors and supporters: Staff is less stressed. We h ave improved our ability to train\, onboard and implement new and efficien t processes.The building is easier to clean and has decreased the spread o f infectious disease.With separate kennel runs\, animals are less stressed or overwhelmed in the building and do not experience as high of stimulati on. It’s now easier to identify issues with dogs so we can work on getti ng them placed in a home more quickly.Visitors feel more welcome and have the ability to more easily spend time with individual animals. We have als o been able to increase the number of spay/neuter surgeries for our adopta ble animals and provide adopters\, fosters and rescue partners with better diagnostics for their pets with the new clinic.We have seen an increase i n the number of volunteers and hours spent with our team.We are able to ho st other shelters and bring more learning and collaborative opportunities to staff in-houseAt the same time\, we experienced a challenging transitio n as we worked to close the former facility\, adjust to the new set up\, a nd final projects and installations were wrapped up by the county. With th e new opening\, there was an uptick of stray or abandoned pets being broug ht to the new shelter. The shelter is a safe haven\, but can only be so te mporarily for pets in need of homes\, and we’ve seen the dog population quickly fill the building past its limits. Similarly to DeKalb County\, it has been difficult to balance the new intakes with finding outcomes for t he animals\, even in the wake of creative and successful adoption events. According to Animal Shelters Count’s recent annual report\, “In 2023\, 3% more dogs entered shelters than left\, resulting in an additional 107\ ,000 dogs in shelters at the end the year.” Fulton County Animal Service s is also an open intake municipal shelter facility and can’t simply “ stop” taking new animals in even when we’re overcapacity. Fortunately\ , we’ve also started 2024 with recent pawsitive media and exciting opera tional updates. The full-service clinic at Fulton County Animal Services i s now open for the public to make low-cost wellness appointments for their pets to receive the care they need! Additionally\, a Fulton County foster dog\, a pit mix now known as Miss Peaches\, has gone viral after being ad opted by celebrity and President of Barstool Sports\, Dave Portnoy. Miss P eaches’s story\, Dave’s choice to adopt and his initiative to raise fu nds for animal rescue has captured hearts nationwide. Lifesaving deserves to be trending so that we can keep up with the influx of dogs in need. We hope others will follow in his footsteps!  \n \n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal CenterDog Population: 119 | Optimum Capacity: 80 \n \n \n \n The incredible dedication of the team at our LifeLine Community Animal Center cannot be overlooked. Our county s helter facilities tend to take the spotlight in the news and on social med ia because of the massive number of pets that come through their doors\, b ut the Community Animal Center is always working quietly in the background to help the county operations. When the county shelters are over capacity \, so is this facility to keep up with the need. Not only do they consiste ntly take in pets from our county shelters and other rural facilities\, bu t\, when there is a neglect or hoarding case being investigated\, this loc ation takes in dozens of pets when they have nowhere else to go. As we ent er the warmer months of summer\, the Community Animal Center is also const antly preparing to help with the large numbers of kittens and puppies that are in need. Maintaining a full staff at this location is critical to its function. If you’re interested in joining our team full-time\, or even as a volunteer\, our Community Animal Center would love to have you! \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A National Crisis \n \n \n \n In conversations wit h other rescue organizations and in a review of data over the past few yea rs\, we’ve learned that these challenges are not unique to LifeLine or t he city of Atlanta. For the fourth year in a row\, we are faced with a “ new normal” in animal sheltering. According to the report\, “A total o f 900\,000 animals have entered and lingered in our nation’s shelters an d rescues since January 2021. This surplus is on top of the population alr eady residing within organizations\, resulting in an ongoing capacity cris is.” “The number of animals entering shelters through community intake s in 2023 remained roughly the same as 2022 at 6.5 million\, with intakes nearly evenly split between dogs and cats.” Compared to a national decre ase of 3.2% in intakes between 2019 and 2023\, our community intakes throu gh the Fulton and DeKalb County shelters decreased 6.89% from 2019 to 2023 . But\, intakes increased by 14.5% from 2022 to 2023. Even in the wake of these higher intake numbers\, we have been able to rally our community and find an incredible number of homes in 2023 compared to previous years. “While 2.2 million dogs were adopted in 2023\, dog adoptions are still 5 % lower than in 2019 (-108\,000 dogs adopted).” At LifeLine\, our overal l pet adoptions were only down by 1.92% in 2023 compared to 2019\, and ado ptions were higher in 2023 compared to 2018\, 2020\, 2021 and 2022. We are frequently partnering with more organizations who want to help and who ar e spreading the word that adopting is the way to go when searching for a n ew pet. For full shelter statistics across our organization\, please visit www.shelteranimalscount.org/stats. \n \n \n \n In Su mmary \n \n \n \n The animals in our city need help. W hile donations are the foundation for our work in the community and allow us to help more pets get the care they need\, donations don’t create mor e available kennel space. We need your help in getting more pets adopted o r fostered. We need the community’s help in getting more lost pets back home. We need our community to know about available resources for food\, v eterinary care\, and affordable spay/neuter options. Together\, we can sav e these lives and help the animals who need us most. \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Octob er 2023 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message To Our C ommunity \n \n \n \n We are in the midst of an ongoing crisis affecting city and county animal shelters across the country. Time s are extremely difficult for the animals housed in our shelters and the s taff and volunteers who care for them. We have frequently reported on the conditions of our shelters and how desperate we are to get hundreds of ani mals into homes. We hear the distress and complaints about the overcrowdin g from our volunteers\, fosters\, and community\; we experience the condit ions daily\; we see the news articles written and segments being broadcast on television and radio\; we feel and share your frustration and heartbre ak. We are heartbroken\, too. Let us express to you in no uncertain terms: the current conditions in our shelters are not humane or sustainable. We can and we must do better. We will exhaust all efforts to prioritize the h ealth and safety of both pets and people in our care. The balance of human ely sheltering a growing number of animals while giving each one the care and the time they deserve to be placed in a loving home is getting substan tially harder to achieve. The issues contributing to overcrowding primaril y are rooted in the community\, not the shelter\, and cannot be changed ov ernight. In the shelters\, we’ve reached a pivotal breaking point. We ha ve stretched the shelter capacity and resources to unsustainable limits wh ile hoping\, for too long now\, that there would be a turning point where more animals would leave these buildings than enter. But that has not happ ened this year and without homes to go to\, we must euthanize more dogs at both county shelters in order to reach and maintain safe and humane housi ng. There are many facets to the challenges we are currently facing and we will cover some of them in this blog. We also encourage you to check out two other blog posts that go into deeper detail on two important issues: T he No-Kill controversyThe Impact of Spay and Neuter (and other pressing qu estions) \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Are The Shelters So Overcrowded? \n \n \n \n We know there are a lot of questions around why this is happening. We are seeing a new reality\, a post-pandemic world\; E conomic challenges to families\, a lack of affordable and pet-friendly hou sing\, a national shortage of veterinarians\, a decrease in spay/neuter du ring the pandemic and a need for more accessible and affordable spay/neute r options\, a desire for specific breeds\, and a diminishing public capaci ty to help and home shelter animals are all taking a heartbreaking toll on the growing number of animals coming into LifeLine’s care. We have acce pted pets from families arriving at the shelter with all of their possessi ons in a U-haul and nowhere to turn for help. People newly arriving to the area are surrendering their dogs to the shelter because they are unable t o find affordable housing that will allow them to keep their companions.We are coming to terms with an untenable reality of the community relying on a singular shelter as the sole means of support for the growing number of animals at risk – animals who mostly were people’s pets and family me mbers at one time. Systemically\, the shelter alone cannot support the she er volume of need. Here Is A Look At Our Shelters In Crisis: \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 569Target Dog Capacity: 450 On Tuesday \, October 17th\, DeKalb County CEO\, Michael Thurmond\, visited DeKalb Co unty Animal Services. The following day\, he met with our CEO\, Rebecca Gu inn\, and other LifeLine leadership. Together\, LifeLine and DeKalb County leadership agreed that Dekalb County Animal Services must reduce the dog population at the shelter to 450 in 60 days and maintain the population at or below that number. They collaborated and decided on both short- and lo nger-term actions to help aid in this crisis including: Working with staff ing agencies for additional staff and support for cleaning.Deploying perso nnel from other divisions within LifeLine to assist with animal care\, man agement and training and restructuring staff schedules to ensure greater c overage\, particularly on weekends.Sadly\, increasing euthanasia rates if necessary and continuing to do so until we reduce the dog population to 45 0 or less. If we cannot increase lifesaving outcomes beyond the current ra te\, we will have to euthanize 9 animals each day\, or 63 animals each wee k.Constructing an overflow campus adjacent to the shelter\, designed to ho ld up to 120 additional dogs above the current target capacity and provide effective isolation areas\, to help alleviate the need for euthanasia for population control. This solution will take time to build\, staff and ope rate and until then we must get below 450 animals in the current building. Improving communications between DeKalb County’s Animal Services Enforce ment division and the shelter to more proactively address factors in the f ield that are causing animals to come into the shelter.Increasing support to fund access to veterinary care for DeKalb pet owners in need\, includin g subsidized and free spay/neuter\, and targeting areas of DeKalb County y ielding the highest number of animals impounded in the shelter.What it wil l take to change the situation most\, in the short-term\, is simply fewer dogs in the building. We are asking our community to help us achieve those target dog population numbers because\, without homes to go to\, dogs wil l be euthanized for space\, regardless of health and temperment. Please a dopt or foster a pet today. \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dog s: 357Sustainable Capacity for Dogs: 325 We’ve mentioned that there is h ope on the horizon in Fulton County in the form of a brand new shelter fac ility preparing to open before the end of the year. However\, this does no t change the fact that the current facility is in dire straits. On average \, 15 dogs are being euthanized for space each week. Each day\, 16 dogs en ter the facility. That’s\, on average\, 2 more dogs that come in than le ave. While some conditions will improve with the upcoming move to the new facility\, rising intake and overcrowding will not be solved entirely by t ransitioning from one building to another. Fulton County is in desperate n eed of adopters and fosters\, including Friendly Finders who are willing t o foster a lost or stray dog through its mandated stray hold (3 to 5 busin ess days total) instead of immediately dropping them at the shelter when f ound. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n LifeLin e Midtown \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 105O ptimum Capacity for Dogs: 75 As an overflow facility\, for every dog adopt ed at LifeLine Midtown\, space opens up for another dog from the Fulton Co unty Animal Services. And\, because the shelter is smaller\, it is a less overwhelming experience for individuals to visit and bring home a pet. Ado pting a pet from LifeLine Midtown greatly supports the main Fulton County shelter. When the new Fulton shelter opens\, the Midtown facility will clo se and any dogs still there will have to move to the new shelter. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 111 O ptimum Capacity for Dogs: 60  LifeLine’s Community Animal Center adopti on center was designed as an overflow facility for our county shelters. St aff and volunteers also provide pets with special medical or behavioral ch allenges more time and attention to meet those needs. For dogs\, the Commu nity Animal Center is the primary overflow facility for the DeKalb County shelter. Because it is also full\, our Community Animal Center is limited in serving these critical functions. Beyond just dogs\, our staff is also caring for the majority of our organization’s cats. This adoption center \, like our Midtown location\, offers a calmer environment that may be eas ier to visit. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We Cannot Do This Alone \n \n \n \n Two things can be true: we can be proud of what we’ve accomplished together as a community in 10 ye ars’ time AND acknowledge the ways LifeLine needs to improve and perseve re as an organization. We have committed ourselves to helping these animal s\, but we are limited now by a lack of space and resources\, as well as e xternal challenges in the communities we serve. We are also human and make mistakes. And\, most importantly\, we cannot do this alone. While we are pursuing all avenues toward long-term solutions\, in the short term\, we n eed a miracle. We need you. We are asking our community to please foster o r adopt a pet today. You will be truly saving a life. If you have question s about any topic in this blog and would like to reach out\, please email feedback@lifelineanimal.org or write to LifeLine Animal Project\, ATTN: Op erations 3180 Presidential Drive\, Atlanta\, GA 30340. Thank you\, Atlanta . For believing in our work and helping us save lives today and always. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n February 2023 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Hello\, friends and supporters.  We wanted to share some critical u pdates and news as we turn the page on 2022\, and enter 2023 in a much bet ter position to give our deserving animals the love and space they need to thrive. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In January\, on the heels of a Canine Flu outbreak\, we were faced with a grim reality and life or death decisions. After more than a year of being at critical capacity at our DeKalb County Animal Services sh elter\, we were left with the heartbreaking possibility of having to eutha nize animals for space. We had nearly 600 dogs in need of home (at just th is one shelter). We put out a plea for help in the Greater Atlanta area\, and in a mere 7 days\, 373 dogs from DeKalb and 556 dogs from all LifeLine shelters found new homes! We are forever grateful to the Atlanta communit y for their support in our darkest hour. This is what lifesaving looks lik e. By the end of January\, our Fulton County Animal Services had fewer tha n 300 animals for the first time in almost a year. But within days of hitt ing that milestone\, we were called in with law enforcement on a rescue ca se and brought more than 60 new impounded animals safely into our care. Ea ch of these animals requires space\, food and immediate medical care. Our Fulton shelter team was also tasked with running LifeLine Midtown\, our te mporary shelter that opened in early January during the Canine Flu outbrea k to divert intake and keep dogs healthy. While it helped contain that out break\, a new location strains precious resources and manpower\, which has been challenging due to staffing shortages. \n \n \n \n Number of Dogs in Need of Homes as of February 15th \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services: 343 in the shelter and 928 in foster hom es\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services: 339 in the shelter and 22 0 in foster homes\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal Center: 65 in t he shelter and 85 in foster homes\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n LifeLine Midtown: 82 in t he shelter\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The LifeLine Community Animal Center con tinues to aid in the efforts of freeing up space at our county shelters an d helping dogs clear their quarantine period from the Canine Flu outbreak. Recent staffing hires have provided much needed relief to our existing te ams. After the incredible number of adoptions at our DeKalb shelter\, ther e are many animals in need of spay/neuter procedures. The Community Animal Center has stepped in to help temporarily house animals awaiting surgery and ensure that pets don’t have to wait any longer than necessary to go home with new\, loving families. Fortunately\, while the dogs in our care have been a major media focus in 2023\, we have also happily seen a steady flow of cat adoptions at the Community Animal Center and have enough open cat housing space to prepare for a busy kitten season to start in the spr ing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n It’s bee n a busy start to the new year. And\, while we are celebrating the wins\, the hard work isn’t over. Even though we successfully saved many lives\ , 20-40 dogs come into our county shelters every single day and they need your help to find their way home.  \n \n \n \n What We Need Most Now: \n \n \n \n Volunteers and new staff are urgently needed to keep this much-needed LifeLine Midtown shelter up and running\, as well as help at our other locations.We always need adopte rs and fosters to place more pets into homes where they belong.We need goo d Samaritans in our community to help lost pets make their way back home i nstead of to the shelter. Find out what to do if you should find a lost pe t.And\, if you can’t foster or adopt\, please consider making a donation .As always\, thank you for your critical support. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2022 Posts \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Novem ber\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n September\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n June\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n May\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n March\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n AN URGENT PLEA FROM OUR CEO TO THE CITY OF ATLANTA\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The current situation in our Atlanta animal shelters is dire. The animals in our care do not have the space they need\, or dese rve\, and we need your help. Our hard working teams are understaffed and w orking extreme overtime to ensure that kennels are clean\, bowls are full\ , and the pets in our shelters are well cared for. Our volunteers walk hun dreds of dogs a day. And it’s still not enough. We have teams covering r escue\, adoptions\, marketing\, volunteers\, and foster parents\, all work ing tirelessly to find homes and other ways Atlanta’s pets can get out o f the shelter. This is not the life our city’s animals deserve. This sta te our shelters are in is not sustainable for the pets nor the people who care for them. Animal shelters have never been\, and will never be\, the i deal solution for the animals. Atlanta\, we urgently need your help. Our a nimals are in desperate need of homes. Each of our shelters have exceeded capacity by the hundreds. DeKalb County Animal Services has nearly 600 dog s and over 50 cats in the building\, Fulton County Animal Services has alm ost 400 dogs in a building meant to hold 80. The more pets in our care\, t he harder it is to make sure they are living as comfortably as they deserv e during their time with us. We are meant to be a temporary refuge for pet s in need\, not a home. Pets cannot thrive here\, especially when there is an overwhelming amount of them. We know you’ve heard this plea before. And we hope you’ll hear it now. The situation is not improving. There ar e more animals in our care than ever and they really need your help. We ne ed your help. Adopt: Whether you’re looking for a calm couch potato\, wa lking partner\, or anything in between\, there are over 1\,000 deserving p ets waiting for you. Foster: If you have just two weeks to help a pet\, th at can make all of the difference. Sign up here.Donate: We need monetary d onations and supplies to continue caring for this many animals each day. Y ou can help by donating here or sending us much-needed items from our Amaz on wishlists. Help lost pets: Most pets are found within a mile of their h ome. If they come to a shelter\, their chances of being reunited greatly d eclines. If you find a pet\, follow these steps or become a friendly finde r. Spay/Neuter: Unlike humans\, dogs and cats give birth to 4-to-6 animals in one litter. Also\, dogs can give birth up to twice a year and cats up to 5 times a year! Because they can produce so many offspring each year\, it is important to spay/neuter your pet as soon as possible to reduce pet overpopulation. Learn more here about the benefits and how to book an appo intment with one of our Spay/Neuter clinics. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n September 202 2 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We wish we had bette r news to share\, but right now\, the shelters are still struggling. There is a lot of pressure right now on the county shelters to be the lifeline for more pets than the shelters have space to house. The reason for this o vercrowding is simple: more animals are coming in than are leaving. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In August\, we saw a total of 601 dogs adopted\, but 863 came in du ring that same time. That’s 262 more dogs entering our already full buil dings.  \nNumber of dogs that need homes: \n\n337 dogs in need at our Ful ton County shelter\n526 dogs in need at our DeKalb County shelter\n81 dogs in need at our Community Animal Center\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The situation is dir e. We are urging our communities in Fulton and DeKalb Counties to please n ot bring healthy pets they find straight to the shelter as first response. Please take a few steps in the first 48 hours to get lost pets back home where they belong. This does not mean pets will be without support in the community. Those injured or sick are always a top priority. We’re tryin g to make more space for those most in need. And\, we are also trying to f ind solutions for humans in emergency situations who have run out of optio ns. Here are a few things anyone can do to help during this crisis: Adopt a petFoster a pet. 200 emergency fosters are needed at our shelters right nowDonate to support pets in the shelterCollect newspaper\, towels and bla nkets to drop off at any locationCheck the shelter wishlist for items most in needHelp a neighbor who can’t keep their pet find a new home – her e’s howFollow our social channels and help us get the word out by sharin g posts from your preferred platform\, Facebook\, Instagram and Twitter.Wr ite an article in your local neighborhood paper about adopting/fostering s helter petsIf you find a lost pet\, fill out a found pet report\, follow t hese steps or become a friendly finder \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n June 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n You are the next chapter in animal w elfare. \n \n \n \n Animal shelters have never been\, and will never be\, the ideal solution for the animals. They have always b een a flawed answer to a bigger community challenge of how to best help lo st\, stray and unwanted pets.  Across the nation\, all communities are fa cing the aftershocks of the pandemic. For animal shelters\, those challeng es include overpopulated and understaffed facilities\, higher intake and f ewer adopters\, and a substantial decrease in rescue transfer support. In Atlanta\, we’ve had to restrict intake at varying levels due to the seve re overcapacity status at both county shelters.  But over the last few ye ars\, and through the recent challenges\, we’ve begun to see how a criti cal shift\, and a different path forward\, can actually save the lives of the animals in our community without having animals languish in shelters. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Over 60% of the animals in a shelter are stray/lost pets. Imagine if the shelters d idn’t exist to collect all the lost and stray pets of a community. What if the community itself was able to help those pets find and reunite with their families?  63% of animals are found just a mile from their home (26 % are just a block away). If neighbors could reunite pets with their famil ies\, instead of bringing them to the shelter\, our shelters would always have space to help those with nowhere to go. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n What if the community could help struggling neighbors rehome their pets instead of turning them over to a shelter? Wha t if more resources were spent on keeping pets and people together instead of housing pets in a crowded shelter? If we\, as a community\, could shif t the focus to support each other in creative and practical ways\, the she lters wouldn’t be overcrowded with lost pets missing their families\, or abandoned pets looking for new homes. There will always be a need for she lters to help animals in emergency situations and victims of animal cruelt y\, but the real safety net for pets is a caring community – neighbors h elping neighbors.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Especially now\, when the need continues to exceed available sh eltering resources\, we believe we must find more community-centric soluti ons by working together with pet-lovers and good samaritans to get more pe ts home where they belong.  LifeLine does not believe killing healthy and treatable pets to make more space in a shelter is ever the right answer. Population management through euthanasia has never worked. Reliance on eut hanasia constrains the development of lifesaving solutions\, and the resul ts are always tragic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n When faced with external pressure to euthanize healthy and treatabl e animals to create more shelter space last month\, we turned to our anima l-loving community and in one week found foster and adoptive homes for 300 + pets. Atlanta\, you are the ideal solution. With your help\, we can weav e together a new safety net for the animals in need. Whether you are a vet eran rescuer or new to animal welfare\, help us shift the response when we find lost and stray pets\, so that more pets can be returned to their hom es. If you hear of situations where people need help with a found pet\, he lp them find options\, contact friends to find a foster home and help canv as the neighborhood to reunite families. Share this page.If you read about someone needing to rehome a pet\, share these resources and ask your neig hbors and friends if anyone can help. The pet owner\, rather than the shel ter\, will be able to find the best match for a loved pet. If someone is missing a pet\, check the lost pet pages of our website to see if the pet ended up at the shelter.If you can’t adopt\, foster. If you can’t fost er\, donate. If you can’t donate\, volunteer. If you can’t volunteer\, become an ambassador and share information and resources. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Please continue to suppor t our county shelters. Know that the staff is making the best decisions fo r every individual animal and human who comes to our doors with the resour ces that are available.  \nPlease extend the benefit of the doubt to lear n more about decisions that are being made. The people who dedicate our li ves to help animals in the shelter are not perfect\, but we are doing thei r very best in every situation\, for every individual pet\, and we are wor king with very limited resources and the most challenging of circumstances .  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Right now\, we are at a pivotal moment to change the course of animal welfare and lif esaving in our city. Animals deserve to be in homes and people deserve the love of a pet. Will you join us in committing to turn to each other to fi nd ways to help the animals in your community? Are you in?  We are. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n May 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availabili ty ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n Metro Atlanta County Animal Shelters are Out of Space! \n \n \n \n The county shelters have reached peak capacity and no longer have kennel space to house dogs. Because of the sheer volume\, we have had to set up temporary crates to house new arrivals but this is n ot a sustainable or acceptable solution.  This year we have seen a declin e in adoptions by 14% and a 37% decline in the number of animals leaving w ith rescue partners (compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels). We also saw a decline in the number of lost pets finding their families again. Not only are there more animals currently in the shelters\, but they are staying lo nger which impacts their physical and mental wellbeing.  We URGENTLY need help to place our medium to large dogs into homes so that the shelters do not have to face difficult life or death decisions. We currently need to find 250 homes for dogs living at the DeKalb shelter. The Fulton County an imal shelter is facing a similar situation and needs to find 150 homes thi s week.  Here’s what we are experiencing currently across metro Atlanta . \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb Coun ty Animal Services \n \n \n \n Today\, there are 560 d ogs in our DeKalb facility*. In May 2019\, prior to the pandemic the shelt er held 440 dogs. Fewer animals are leaving the shelter\, and animals are staying longer looking for homes. They’re waiting an average of 80 days at DeKalb County Animal Services. Due to this critical status\, Dekalb Cou nty and LifeLine Animal Project\, in conjunction with the Georgia Departme nt of Agriculture\, are enacting emergency only intake protocols. This mea ns the DeKalb shelter is only able to accept animals from emergency situat ions or in critical need (injured animals\, animals involved in bite cases or cruelty situations). DeKalb County Animal Enforcement will also enforc e these emergency protocols and will only respond to high priority calls. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n *As of May 25\, 2022\, with the help of our community\, the number of dogs housed at DeKalb County Animal Service s has decreased to 433. We are making slow\, but steady\, progress towards reducing the number of pets housed at the shelter to a more comfortable t hreshold of 320. However\, the situation remains critical and your continu ed help is needed to find homes for the pets in our care. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n There are currently 360  dogs in our Fulton facility**\, which was bui lt to house only 80 dogs. Dogs are waiting an average 40 days to be placed in a home\, which is longer than previous years and is very stressful for the animals. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n **As of May 25\, 2022\, thanks to our community’s help in response to an urgent plea for fosters and ad opters\, the number of dogs housed at Fulton County Animal Services has di pped below 300. Additionally\, a generous volunteer has pledged to sponsor 100 dog adoptions this May at Fulton County. We always want to provide hu mane housing for the animals in our care and at the levels we are experien cing\, that is extremely challenging. Our community’s continued help at this critical time is needed to find homes for the pets in our care. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Community Animal C enter \n \n \n \n Our Community Animal Center takes in pets from our county shelters to help alleviate space constraints. Right now\, the center is full and can only take in more dogs when dogs currentl y in our care are adopted or head to foster homes.  Last week\, 128 cats arrived from our DeKalb and Fulton shelters. If you are looking for a cat\ , there are many available at the LifeLine Community Animal Center. There are also over 100 dogs available for adoption at this location. \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n Let's save lives together. \n \n \n \n Please share this blog with your community and network to help more pets find the homes they deserve today. \n \n \n \n Ways to Help \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n March 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel spa ce\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangero usly full\n \n \n \n \n \n Crit ical Needs This Week: Adopters and Fosters \n \n \n \n This February\, we saw the highest intake levels on record for the mont h since LifeLine took over shelter management in 2013. Both of our county shelters are in the red zone for space availability!  As we continue to f ace a growing space crisis\, we turn our attention to the impact of crowdi ng and the shelter environment on the health of our pets. It is a common m isconception that pets may fare better in a shelter than in a home where t he pet parent has to leave daily for work or doesn’t have a yard. There is no place like a home when it comes to animals. Even with the incredible support of our staff and volunteers\, it is impossible to replicate the c alm and one-on-one attention a pet will receive in a home. Shelters\, part icularly at the capacity level we currently face\, can be loud and overwhe lming for many pets. Though they are safe and fed\, the close proximity to so many other pets can lead to a spread in medical conditions. Ultimately \, we see a deterioration of our pets the longer they spend in the shelter \, along with added strain for our veterinary teams.  Our goal is to see all of our pets find their way to a warm and loving home. We need help giv ing our shelter pets a break\, including taking them out for a day or a we ekend\, while they await the arrival of their new family. We immediately s ee an improvement in our pet’s health and happiness when they are in a h ome. Plus\, you can provide key insights on the dog or cat’s personality (which tends to shine beyond the shelter walls) to share with potential a dopters! We are facing a particular need for fosters for our pets that hav e medical needs\, are part of an ongoing court case\, and dogs that are la rger in size. To find out more and help give our pets a break\, check out our Foster page. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \n There ar e currently 471 dogs at DeKalb County Animal Services\, 253 MORE than the ideal number of dogs that should be housed in our shelter here and putting us in the RED ZONE!  The need for special care fosters is imperative. Ce rtain pets\, such as those that have just given birth\, are undergoing med ical treatment or are part of a court case\, deserve a quiet space and may need a little extra care. This can include receiving regular doses of med icine\, restricted or regulated exercise regimes or extra space to care fo r their puppies. It is important that they have a home where they can rela x\, heal and rest stress-free.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n The Fulton County Animal Services shelter is in the RED ZONE! There are 265 dogs in the shelter\, an alarming 115 dogs over the ideal number of 150. This means some runs have up to five dogs s haring a space. As a result\, the shelter is seeing an uptick in medical i ssues\, particularly contagious ailments like upper respiratory infections . \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n In Feb ruary 2022\, the LifeLine Community Animal Center brought in 222 pets to h elp create space at our two county shelters. 94 dogs and 84 cats are waiti ng for a place to call home\, with many more patiently waiting in foster h omes. Our animals are showing tremendous resilience\, but we need urgent h elp from our community to provide these precious pets with homes! Our miss ion remains\, as always\, to save the lives of all healthy and treatable a nimals. We appreciate the support of our community! \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n Help us save lives together! \n \n \n \n Share this blog with your community\, and help get mor e pets into homes today! \n \n \n \n Ways to Help \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n January 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n We are kicking off the new year with an unfamiliar sight for this time of the year: shelters that are stil l full from this summer. Shelter space is unfortunately\, yet typically\, limited during the summer months\, but this is the first time we have expe rienced such a continued strain on our shelter capacity and team. The numb er of animals coming in our doors has increased by 12% over last year whil e the number of dogs adopted has decreased. People are also struggling to care for their pets and have been facing evictions and other challenges. T his means more pets have been surrendered. Over the last two years\, we ha ve seen a 39% decline in the number of animals our rescue partners have be en able to help pull to safety\, largely due to factors resulting from the COVID pandemic. All of these challenges would be difficult alone but\, li ke so many others\, we are also facing severe labor shortages. We currentl y have 34 open positions across three locations\, which means we are missi ng 13% of our workforce. Between the staffing challenge and the number of staff who have been out sick due to the latest wave of the COVID-19 virus\ , we are struggling. Animal care is always our top priority. Our understaf fed teams and volunteers are working doubly hard to care for all the anima ls in need\, covering extra shifts and taking on additional responsibiliti es. In these times\, we must depend even more so on our community’s supp ort. By adopting\, donating\, volunteering\, helping lost animals back hom e and finding new homes for those alone in the shelter\, our community off ers real and sustained hope for the animals in our care. We are continuing to take in animals for emergency situations and for those who do not have any other options. Our Animal Service Officers and community support team s continue to provide resources\, including access to veterinary care and pet supplies\, pet lost and found assistance and self-rehoming options for animals in non-emergency situations. We always work with individuals faci ng financial hardship who need help for their pets. We often reduce or wai ve reclaim and surrender fees in the hopes of helping people and finding t he best outcomes for the animals. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \ n The ideal number of dogs that should be housed at DeKalb County Animal Services is 218. This allows us to house one dog per kennel with ac cess to both sides of the kennel. We are currently in the red zone with 48 0 dogs in the building. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n With Fulton County Animal Services being a smaller\, older building\, there is space to optimally house only 150 dogs. As of la st week\, there were 221 dogs in the shelter. This forces us to house mult iple dogs in most of the kennels. Not only does this make cleaning the she lter a logistical challenge\, but it means the environment is less than id eal for our animals. Our goal is to safely house a large population while mitigating risk of disease and shelter stress on the animals. If we had fe wer dogs in the building\, we could provide larger\, single kennels for 26 of our larger breed dogs\, who need individual housing\, and who are curr ently residing in smaller cages. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n In December 2021\, the LifeLine Community Animal C enter transferred in 170 pets from Fulton and DeKalb to help make space at the our two county shelters. We currently have 95 dogs and 102 cats looki ng for homes\, and even more are waiting to find families while they live in foster homes. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We believe space limitations alone are an unacceptable reason to euthani ze healthy and treatable animals. LifeLine has been able to achieve “no- kill\,”  saving 90% or more of all the animals who enter our shelters\, but we are only able to maintain this lifesaving achievement with the com munity’s support and advocacy. We know our community has the ability to provide the support needed to save precious lives.  Their lives depend on it. \n \n \n \n Make a difference today! \n \n \n \n Share this blog post with your community\, and help g et more pets into homes today. LAST-MODIFIED:20260901T061439Z URL:https://lifelineanimal.org/lifeline-events/mobile-vaccine-clinic-2026- 06-24/2026-09-17/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atla nta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:LifeLine Animal Project X-SOURCE-URL:https://lifelineanimal.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:NPU University for Seniors DTSTART:20260917T140000Z DTEND:20260917T170000Z DTSTAMP:20260906T004049Z UID:ckpj0phj65hj2bb6cooj6b9k70s32b9oc9j3ab9pc4q3eoj2chhj6oj1cc@google.com CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:https://www.npuatlanta.org/event-details/cp-1003-civic-partici pation-for-seniors-2 LAST-MODIFIED:20260906T004049Z LOCATION:Atlanta City Hall\, 55 Trinity Ave SW\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30303 X-SOURCE-NAME:Atlanta Transit Events | MARTA Army X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.martaarmy.org/transit-events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Senior Clubhouse: Game Day DTSTART:20260917T140000Z DTEND:20260917T160000Z DTSTAMP:20260911T061301Z UID:10013679-1789639200-1789646400@www.kennesaw-ga.gov CATEGORIES:community,gaming DESCRIPTION:Senior Clubhouse Game Days\nThursdays | 10 AM – 12 PM at the Ben Robertson Community Center \nSenior Game Days offer a fun\, relaxed w ay to socialize and stay engaged through classic games and interactive gam e-show-style activities. Whether you prefer casual open play or friendly c ompetition\, each session is designed to spark laughter\, connection\, and a little playful brainpower. Register at https://secure.rec1.com/GA/kenn esaw-ga/catalog \nAugust \n\n20 – Password\n27 – Open Game\n\nSeptembe r \n\n3 – Open Game\n 10 – Open Game\n 17 – Wheel of Fortune\n24 – Wheel of Fortune\n\nOctober \n\n1 – Open Game\n8 – Open Game\n15 – Family Feud\n22 – Family Feud\n29 – Open Game\n\nNovember \n\n5 – Open Game\n12 – Open Game\n19 – 100K Pyramid\n26 – Open Game LAST-MODIFIED:20260911T061301Z LOCATION:Ben Robertson Community Center\, 2753 Watts Drive\, Kennesaw\, GA \, 30144\, United States URL:https://www.kennesaw-ga.gov/kennesaw-event/senior-clubhouse-game-day/2 026-09-17/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:City of Kennesaw X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.kennesaw-ga.gov/farmers-market END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Joseph E. Lowery Street Ribbon Cutting Ceremony DTSTART:20260917T140000Z DTEND:20260917T150000Z DTSTAMP:20260917T194422Z UID:9343-1789639200-1789642800@atldot.atlantaga.gov CATEGORIES:civic,community DESCRIPTION:Maintaining more than 1\,400 miles of roadway across Atlanta r equires more than responding to potholes.  It requires knowing where infr astructure is deteriorating\, understanding which improvements should come first and making informed decisions about where transportation dollars ca n have the greatest impact. The Atlanta Department of Transportation (ATLD OT) has partnered with Cyvl to do exactly that.  Cyvl is an AI-powered i ntelligence platform that uses LiDAR sensors\, advanced imagery\, and art ificial intelligence (AI) to collect detailed information about the cond ition of transportation infrastructure. The technology is helping teams p rioritize maintenance and make data-backed infrastructure investments.   Traditionally\, assessing a large roadway network can require extensive m anual surveys and months of work. Cyvl’s technology allows ATLDOT to sc an and analyze the City’s 1\,450-mile road network in days.  As vehicl es equipped with Cyvl’s technology travel Atlanta’s streets\, informat ion about the roadway is captured. AI then analyzes that information to identify pavement conditions. The result is objective data showing what infrastructure exists\, where it is located\, and what condition it is in . \n \n \n \n Better Pavement Across Downtown Atlanta \n \n \n \n Cyvl first worked with ATLDOT in 2024 to conduct a roadway assessment that established a baseline for pavement cond itions. A follow-up assessment helped guide the City’s 2025 Downtown Pav ement Program and identify where improvements were needed.\n\nBetween 2024 and 2026\, 85% of downtown roads were repaired and potholes decreased by 60%. By 2026\, 97% of downtown streets were classified as “great\,” up from 47% before the program began. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Taking the Approach Citywide \n \n \n \n Building on t he results of the Downtown Pavement Program\, Atlanta has expanded its par tnership with Cyvl citywide. The expanded program covers roadways\, sidewa lks\, curb ramps\, and street signs.“The Downtown Pavement Program resul ts show what data-driven infrastructure management can do\,” ATLDOT Comm issioner Solomon Caviness said. “By using reliable\, continuously update d information\, we reduced potholes\, improved pavement conditions\, and m ade smarter investments. Expanding this approach citywide will help us str etch every infrastructure dollar\, prioritize where the need is the greate st\, and stay ahead of issues in every neighborhood.” \n \n \n \n Building a Better Transportation Network \n \n \n \n Atlanta’s downtown improvements received added attention as the city prepared to welcome visitors for the 2026 FIFA World Cup\, but the value of the work extends well beyond a major event. \n\nThe larger g oal is creating a more proactive way to manage Atlanta’s infrastructure. Instead of simply identifying a street that needs work today\, continuous ly updated data can help ATLDOT understand how conditions are changing acr oss the city and plan accordingly. \n\nFor residents\, the technology its elf may largely operate behind the scenes. Its impact is much easier to se e – fewer potholes and improved pavement. As ATLDOT expands this approac h across the city\, data is becoming another tool for building and maintai ning transportation infrastructure that better serves every Atlanta neighb orhood. LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T194422Z LOCATION:550 Lindsay St NW\, Atlanta\, GA 30314\, 550 Lindsay St NW\, Atla nta\, GA\, 30314 URL:https://atldot.atlantaga.gov/atldotevent/joseph-e-lowery-street-ribbon -cutting-ceremony/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atl anta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Atlanta Department of Transportation X-SOURCE-URL:https://atldot.atlantaga.gov/events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:PC Decatur Student Involvement Fair DTSTART:20260917T150000Z DTEND:20260918T053000Z DTSTAMP:20260729T170246Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_52860814097625 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:The PC Decatur Student Involvement Fair is designed to connect students with campus resources\, organizations\, and career development o pportunities that support both academic and professional success. This eve nt provides a one-stop environment where students can explore ways to get involved\, build skills\, and prepare for their future careers.\n\nA key h ighlight of the fair is the Career Services Overview\, which introduces st udents to the wide range of support available to help them navigate career planning from their first year through graduation. Career Services offers tools and guidance in résumé building\, interview preparation\, job and internship searches\, and professional development.\n\nFeatured resources include:\n\nVMock: An AI-powered résumé review platform that gives inst ant\, personalized feedback to help students strengthen their resumes.Hand shake: The primary career platform where students can search for internshi ps and jobs\, register for events\, and connect with employers.Steppingblo cks: A data-driven career exploration tool that helps students understand career pathways\, salary trends\, and skills needed for various industries .Career Closet: Provides students with access to professional attire\, ens uring they are prepared for interviews\, networking events\, and career fa irs.Professional Headshots: Students can receive high-quality headshots to enhance their professional profiles on platforms like LinkedIn.Overall\, the Student Involvement Fair empowers students to engage with the campus c ommunity while gaining valuable career resources that support their long-t erm professional goals. LAST-MODIFIED:20260729T170246Z LOCATION:3251 Panthersville Road URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu/event/pc-decatur-student-involvement-fair?utm _source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Georgia State University Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Corporate Gray: Virtual Military-Friendly Job Fair DTSTART:20260917T150000Z DTEND:20260917T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260910T063236Z UID:10036694-1789642800-1789653600@metroatlantaexchange.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Corporate Gray is hosting a Virtual Military-Friendly Job Fair on Thursday\, September 17th\, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. \nThis isn’t y our average job fair\; it’s a chance to step into a virtual space where top employers are genuinely excited to meet talented\, mission-driven indi viduals like you. Whether you’re transitioning out of military service o r hunting for your next career adventure\, this is where you’ll find org anizations that see and value your skills\, dedication\, and one-of-a-kind experience. This fair is open to all job seekers to meet with military-fr iendly employers. \nClick here to learn more and register. LAST-MODIFIED:20260910T063236Z URL:https://metroatlantaexchange.org/event/corporate-gray-virtual-military -friendly-job-fair-8/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign= atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:MAX X-SOURCE-URL:https://metroatlantaexchange.org/event/georgia-chamber-of-com merce-future-of-energy-and-sustainability END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:RecruitMilitary: Atlanta Veterans Job Fair DTSTART:20260917T150000Z DTEND:20260917T190000Z DTSTAMP:20260910T063236Z UID:10036695-1789642800-1789657200@metroatlantaexchange.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:RecruitMilitary is hosting an Atlanta Veterans Job Fair on Thu rsday\, September 17th\, from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM\, at the Georgia Interna tional Convention Center. \nThis job fair is a career-focused event where job seekers with military experience can connect with recruiters from loca l and national companies. This event is free for U.S. veterans\, military spouses\, transitioning service members\, and members of the Guard and Res erve. Don’t miss your chance to explore an organization’s culture\, be nefits\, and open roles as you interact with hiring managers in a relaxed\ , pressure-free environment. \nClick here to learn more and register. LAST-MODIFIED:20260910T063236Z LOCATION:Georgia International Convention Center\, 2000 Convention Center Concourse\,\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30337\, United States URL:https://metroatlantaexchange.org/event/recruitmilitary-atlanta-veteran s-job-fair-2/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta- ga X-SOURCE-NAME:MAX X-SOURCE-URL:https://metroatlantaexchange.org/event/georgia-chamber-of-com merce-future-of-energy-and-sustainability END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Atlanta Alumnae Fall Luncheon DTSTART:20260917T153000Z DTEND:20260917T170000Z DTSTAMP:20260818T182412Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53735868236658 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:The annual fall luncheon hosted by the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter will feature faculty and student speakers as well as highlight the Ring L eaders Campaign priorities. Register here or at the link above.\nLocation: Atlanta Fish Market\, 265 Pharr Rd NE\, Atlanta\, GA 30305 LAST-MODIFIED:20260818T182412Z LOCATION:Atlanta Fish Market\, Overlook Room A URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/atlanta-alumnae-fall-luncheon?ut m_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Senior Living Our Best Life: Women's Support Group DTSTART:20260917T160000Z DTEND:20260917T173000Z DTSTAMP:20260911T061301Z UID:10013692-1789646400-1789651800@www.kennesaw-ga.gov CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:There is power in a women’s group. The goal of the group is to provide emotional support.  By providing emotional support\, members w ill have the opportunity to improve their self-esteem and confidence\, dev elop and maintain healthier boundaries\, improve relationships with family and friends\, and improve their overall mental health. LAST-MODIFIED:20260911T061301Z LOCATION:Ben Robertson Community Center\, 2753 Watts Drive\, Kennesaw\, GA \, 30144\, United States URL:https://www.kennesaw-ga.gov/kennesaw-event/senior-living-our-best-life -womens-support-group/2026-09-17/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&u tm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:City of Kennesaw X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.kennesaw-ga.gov/farmers-market END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Cookies & Constitution DTSTART:20260917T160000Z DTEND:20260917T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260913T000039Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53476236586698 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Join Spotlight for Cookies and learn about the Constitution. \ n\nHosted by: POUNCE Rewards Program\, Spotlight Programs Board\n\nAdditio nal Information can be found at: https://pin.gsu.edu/event/12499678 LAST-MODIFIED:20260913T000039Z LOCATION:Student Center Lobby URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu/event/cookies-and-constitution?utm_source=cal discovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Georgia State University Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Sophomore Scoop DTSTART:20260917T170000Z DTEND:20260917T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260729T180352Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53025128532539 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Sophomore Scoop for the Sophmore Class Only! LAST-MODIFIED:20260729T180352Z LOCATION:Letitia Pate Evans Hall\, E-Conference Room ABC URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/sophomore_scoop_6083?utm_source= caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Student Org Advisor Meeting DTSTART:20260917T170000Z DTEND:20260917T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260729T180352Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53325931372691 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Welcome back student organization advisors! Join us in a meeti ng to discuss important policies and procedures for our student organizati ons to succeed. LAST-MODIFIED:20260729T180352Z LOCATION:Alston Campus Center\, AL-Luchsinger Lounge URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/student-org-advisor-meeting?utm_ source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Physics & Astronomy Meet-n-Greet DTSTART:20260917T170000Z DTEND:20260917T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260910T183502Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53936500143051 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:The Department of Physics and Astronomy invites you to an Ice Cream Open House! Come enjoy a sweet treat\, meet the department and check out the observatory. LAST-MODIFIED:20260910T183502Z LOCATION:Bradley Observatory & Delafield Planetarium\, Bradley Auditorium Room 101 URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/bradley-observatory-meet-n-greet ?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Business\, Beverages\, and the Bottom Line: European Expansion Str ategies for U.S. Companies DTSTART:20260917T200000Z DTEND:20260917T233000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T193057Z UID:10041458-1789660800-1789673400@www.globalatlanta.com CATEGORIES:community,drink DESCRIPTION:Aprio\, AGG\, and Metro Atlanta Chamber present “Business\, Beverages\, and the Bottom Line: European Expansion Strategies for U.S. Co mpanies” \nExpanding into the European market presents significant oppor tunities and complex legal\, tax\, regulatory\, and operational considerat ions. Join Aprio LLP\, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP\, and the Metro Atlanta C hamber for an exclusive networking event bringing together senior executiv es and experienced advisors with firsthand knowledge of doing business acr oss Europe. \nDuring an international wine and food tasting\, connect with business leaders\, advisors\, and referral partners while gaining practic al insights into the opportunities and challenges facing today’s global marketplace. \nWhat You Will Learn \n\nCross-border transactions and inves tment opportunities\nInternational tax and regulatory developments\nWorkfo rce and talent considerations\nStrategies for successful expansion into Eu ropean markets\n\nWhether your company already operates in Europe or is ev aluating future opportunities\, this program will provide valuable perspec tives and guidance to support informed business opportunities. \nSpace is limited. Please RSVP by September 8. \nDownload flyer here. LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T193057Z LOCATION:Aprio Office\, 2002 Summit Blvd. Ste.120\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30319\, United States URL:https://www.globalatlanta.com/event/business-beverages-and-the-bottom- line-european-expansion-strategies-for-u-s-companies/?utm_source=caldiscov ery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Global Atlanta X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.globalatlanta.com/events/category/culture END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Reception/Open House: APG Darkroom Opening Celebration DTSTART:20260917T220000Z DTEND:20260918T010000Z DTSTAMP:20260911T190155Z UID:593@atlantaphotographygroup.org CATEGORIES:arts,community,free DESCRIPTION:[vc_row width="full" height="auto"][vc_column][/vc_column][vc_ column][vc_column_text]\n\n[/vc_column_text][us_separator][vc_column_text] Please join APG in celebrating the opening of the APG Darkroom on Thursday \, September 17\, 2026\, 6-9pm ET.\n\nCome tour the darkroom\, get your qu estions answered and socialize with others from Atlanta's photography comm unity. We are excited to be able to offer this community resource to our m embers.\n\nThis event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments w ill be provided by APG. We look forward to seeing you there![/vc_column_te xt][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row disable_element="yes"][vc_column][us_btn l abel="REGISTER" link="%7B%22url%22:%22https:%2F%2Fatlantaphotographygroup. org%2Fshop%2Fvirtual-juror-artist-talk-filmisnotdead2024%2F%22%7D" align=" center"][/vc_column][/vc_row] LAST-MODIFIED:20260911T190155Z LOCATION:Atlanta Photography Group\, 1544 Piedmont Ave\, Suite 107\, Atlan ta\, GA\, 30324\, United States URL:https://atlantaphotographygroup.org/events/reception-open-house-apg-da rkroom-opening-celebration/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_cam paign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Atlanta Photography Group X-SOURCE-URL:https://atlantaphotographygroup.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Marietta Boulevard Sidewalk Installation Community Meeting DTSTART:20260917T220000Z DTEND:20260917T233000Z DTSTAMP:20260917T194422Z UID:9348-1789668000-1789673400@atldot.atlantaga.gov CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Maintaining more than 1\,400 miles of roadway across Atlanta r equires more than responding to potholes.  It requires knowing where infr astructure is deteriorating\, understanding which improvements should come first and making informed decisions about where transportation dollars ca n have the greatest impact. The Atlanta Department of Transportation (ATLD OT) has partnered with Cyvl to do exactly that.  Cyvl is an AI-powered i ntelligence platform that uses LiDAR sensors\, advanced imagery\, and art ificial intelligence (AI) to collect detailed information about the cond ition of transportation infrastructure. The technology is helping teams p rioritize maintenance and make data-backed infrastructure investments.   Traditionally\, assessing a large roadway network can require extensive m anual surveys and months of work. Cyvl’s technology allows ATLDOT to sc an and analyze the City’s 1\,450-mile road network in days.  As vehicl es equipped with Cyvl’s technology travel Atlanta’s streets\, informat ion about the roadway is captured. AI then analyzes that information to identify pavement conditions. The result is objective data showing what infrastructure exists\, where it is located\, and what condition it is in . \n \n \n \n Better Pavement Across Downtown Atlanta \n \n \n \n Cyvl first worked with ATLDOT in 2024 to conduct a roadway assessment that established a baseline for pavement cond itions. A follow-up assessment helped guide the City’s 2025 Downtown Pav ement Program and identify where improvements were needed.\n\nBetween 2024 and 2026\, 85% of downtown roads were repaired and potholes decreased by 60%. By 2026\, 97% of downtown streets were classified as “great\,” up from 47% before the program began. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Taking the Approach Citywide \n \n \n \n Building on t he results of the Downtown Pavement Program\, Atlanta has expanded its par tnership with Cyvl citywide. The expanded program covers roadways\, sidewa lks\, curb ramps\, and street signs.“The Downtown Pavement Program resul ts show what data-driven infrastructure management can do\,” ATLDOT Comm issioner Solomon Caviness said. “By using reliable\, continuously update d information\, we reduced potholes\, improved pavement conditions\, and m ade smarter investments. Expanding this approach citywide will help us str etch every infrastructure dollar\, prioritize where the need is the greate st\, and stay ahead of issues in every neighborhood.” \n \n \n \n Building a Better Transportation Network \n \n \n \n Atlanta’s downtown improvements received added attention as the city prepared to welcome visitors for the 2026 FIFA World Cup\, but the value of the work extends well beyond a major event. \n\nThe larger g oal is creating a more proactive way to manage Atlanta’s infrastructure. Instead of simply identifying a street that needs work today\, continuous ly updated data can help ATLDOT understand how conditions are changing acr oss the city and plan accordingly. \n\nFor residents\, the technology its elf may largely operate behind the scenes. Its impact is much easier to se e – fewer potholes and improved pavement. As ATLDOT expands this approac h across the city\, data is becoming another tool for building and maintai ning transportation infrastructure that better serves every Atlanta neighb orhood. LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T194422Z LOCATION:1925 Hollywood Rd NW. Atlanta\, GA 30318\, 1925 Hollywood Rd NW\, Atlanta\, G\, 30318 URL:https://atldot.atlantaga.gov/atldotevent/marietta-boulevard-sidewalk-i nstallation-community-meeting/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_ campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Atlanta Department of Transportation X-SOURCE-URL:https://atldot.atlantaga.gov/events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Locals & Legends Weekly Car Meet DTSTART:20260917T230000Z DTEND:20260918T010000Z DTSTAMP:20260829T121536Z UID:13753-1789671600-1789678800@shiftatlanta.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Ask and you shall receive! @locals_and_legends returns with ou r friends at in the Sake Roswell Thursdays from 7-9PM–📸 @atl._.prod –🚫NO FIREWORKS / NO WHEELIES🚫‼️⚠️Please treat our gracious hosts with respect and respect all posted rules. Please enjoy delicious 🍣🍱 Sushi\, Hibachi\, or a drink from their bar. .🅿️LEAVE THE FR ONT TWO ROWS OPEN for regular guests as the car-meet will start on the thi rd row back. –🍻***ALL ALCOHOL MUST BE KEPT INSIDE THE RESTAURANT AT A LL TIMES\, NO OUTSIDER ALCOHOL PERMITTED.*** –🦮All animals must be le ashed at all times\, no animals inside unless service animal (speak to man agement). –⚠️NO HOONING\, NO EXCESSIVE REVVING\, NO WINDOW SHAKINGLY LOUD MUSIC \, 5MPH PARKING LOT SPEED LIMIT\, VENDORS ARE ALLOWED WITHOUT TENTS\, NO BURNOUTS\, NO DRIFTING\, NO TWO STEP\, FAMILY FRIENDLY LAST-MODIFIED:20260829T121536Z LOCATION:Sake Japanese Steak & Sushi URL:https://shiftatlanta.org/atlanta-car-event/locals-legends-weekly-car-m eet-29/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:ShiftAtlanta X-SOURCE-URL:https://shiftatlanta.org/atlanta-car-events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Trivia at Blue Moon DTSTART:20260917T230000Z DTEND:20260918T010000Z DTSTAMP:20260905T060305Z UID:10005546-1789671600-1789678800@batteryatl.com CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Think you’ve got what it takes to claim the top spot? Join u s every Thursday (when there’s no home game) at 7 PM for Trivia Night ho sted by Dirty South Trivia! \nGrab a drink\, gather your smartest friends (or luckiest guesses)\, and put your knowledge to the test. The top three teams will take home gift card prizes — and bragging rights\, of course. \nNo entry fee required — just come ready for a fun night out with grea t company\, good drinks\, and plenty of laughs. \nClick here for more info rmation! LAST-MODIFIED:20260905T060305Z LOCATION:Blue Moon Brewery & Grill\, 755 Battery Ave SE\, Atlanta\, GA\, 3 0339\, United States URL:https://batteryatl.com/event/trivia-at-blue-moon/?utm_source=caldiscov ery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:BatteryATL X-SOURCE-URL:https://batteryatl.com/events-calendar/tag/live-music END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Thursday Trivia Night hosted by Dirty South Trivia DTSTART:20260917T230000Z DTEND:20260918T010000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T194838Z UID:10000137-1789671600-1789678800@www.bluemoonbreweryandgrill.com CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Think you’ve got what it takes to claim the top spot? Join u s every Thursday (when there’s no home game) at 7 PM for Trivia Night ho sted by Dirty South Trivia! \nGrab a drink\, gather your smartest friends (or luckiest guesses)\, and put your knowledge to the test. The top three teams will take home gift card prizes — and bragging rights\, of course. \nNo entry fee required — just come ready for a fun night out with grea t company\, good drinks\, and plenty of laughs. LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T194838Z LOCATION:Blue Moon Brewery & Grill\, 755 Battery Ave SE\, Atlanta\, Atlant a\, 30339\, United States URL:https://www.bluemoonbreweryandgrill.com/visit/upcoming-events/thursday -trivia-night-hosted-by-dirty-south-trivia-30/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm _medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Blue Moon Brewery and Grill X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.terrapintaproombaratlanta.com/contactus END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Yearbook Meeting DTSTART:20260917T233000Z DTEND:20260918T003000Z DTSTAMP:20260911T183443Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53936499552162 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:The Silhouette Yearbook meeting is open to anyone who would li ke to help out with the production of the yearbook. LAST-MODIFIED:20260911T183443Z LOCATION:Mary Brown Bullock Science Center\, BSC-102W URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/yearbook-meeting?utm_source=cald iscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Unity Atlanta Men's Group DTSTART:20260917T233000Z DTEND:20260918T010000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T203106Z UID:10002261-1789673400-1789678800@unityatl.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Unity Atlanta Men’s Group \nThe men’s group meets onsite at the church the 1st – 3rd Thursdays of the month.  The 4th (and if ap plicable\, the 5th) Thursday is often a Game Night\, or one of a number of various activities. \n \nFor any questions\, including the logistics for the 4th and 5th Thursdays\, please TEXT Steve Peck at 770-639-5242 or emai l him at speck3053@comcast.net   \nLocation:  Unity Atlanta Room 108   Time: 7:30 – 9:00 PM \nFor any questions\,  please TEXT Steve Peck at 770-639-5242 or email him at speck3053@comcast.net/      \nThe Unity Atlanta Men’s Group Meetings begin with a brief 1-2 minute check-in dur ing which each member shares how his week went\, what’s gong on in his l ife\, and any success or challenges he may be experiencing. \nWe then move on to a topic\, which either arises during the check-in or has been prepa red in advance by one of the members.  Topics\, week from week\, have a w ide range of subjects.  We share from our own experience rather than giv ing opinions or advice or telling stories.  Through this sharing\, a sens e of brotherhood develops with the individual members while retaining an o penness that is welcoming to all. \nOccasionally\, we also conduct public outreach\, and each fall we sponsor a men only retreat. \nMission Statemen t: \n\nWe are a self-supporting\, self-facilitating\, spiritually-based gr oup\nWe remind each other that we are all connected and learn from our col lective wisdom\nWe promote spirituality\, growth\, learning and community\ nWe support each other and remind each other to live “in faith”\nWe sh are our lives\, our joy\, and our abundance to become like-minded brothers \nWe radiate our spirituality to our families\, friends and the world\nWe express our feelings and emotions through healthy communication\nRegardles s of our means and circumstances\, we are friends and equals\nWe are here –join us! LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T203106Z LOCATION:Unity Atlanta Church\, 3597 Parkway Lane\, Peachtree Corners\, 30 092\, United States URL:https://unityatl.org/events/unity-atlanta-mens-group-18/2026-09-17/?ut m_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Unity Atlanta Church X-SOURCE-URL:https://unityatl.org/events/congregational-care-team-training END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Coffee\, Campfire\, and Cryptids DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260918 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260919 DTSTAMP:20260914T050055Z UID:171385-1789689600-1789775999@travelcobb.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Coffee\, Campfire\, and Cryptids returns as an award-winning e vent… A night of myths\, legends\, and cryptic creatures! \nDid you kno w North Georgia is one of the most infamous Bigfoot sighting hubs? Or that Savannah has its very own Loch-Ness Monster? Come join Marietta Parks\, R ecreation\, and Facilities in Atherton Square as it celebrates the fascina ting myths that surround the area! They will discuss the stories of the Mo thman… see if you can sniff out the Skunk Ape… and learn the origins b ehind the Wendigo. While enjoying coffee/hot chocolate from Cool Beans\, o r a drink from a restaurant on the Marietta Square\, visitors can shop for folklore at the Reading Attic or research local Marietta Myths at the Mar ietta History Center. LAST-MODIFIED:20260914T050055Z LOCATION:Atherton Square Park\, 4 Depot Street\, Marietta\, GA\, 30060 URL:https://travelcobb.org/event/coffee-campfire-and-cryptids/?utm_source= caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Cobb Travel & Tourism X-SOURCE-URL:https://travelcobb.org/event/southern-fried-gaming-expo END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Donor Preview DTSTART:20260918T120000Z DTEND:20260918T210000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T210208Z UID:10002063-1789718400-1789750800@www.woodlandsgarden.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Preview for Donors to the Garden. By invitation only. LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T210208Z URL:https://www.woodlandsgarden.org/event/donor-preview/?utm_source=caldis covery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Woodlands Garden X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.woodlandsgarden.org/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:September OCI: 9/15 - 9/18 DTSTART:20260918T130000Z DTEND:20260918T220000Z DTSTAMP:20260913T000039Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53797483122107 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:The College of Law Career Development office welcomes employer s for September "On Campus Interviews" 9/15-9/18. LAST-MODIFIED:20260913T000039Z LOCATION:College of Law\, COL 1st floor interview rooms URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu/event/september-oci-915-918?utm_source=caldis covery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Georgia State University Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:She Said\, She Said: A Discussion Group for Women DTSTART:20260918T133000Z DTEND:20260918T153000Z DTSTAMP:20260917T191300Z UID:10319810-1789723800-1789731000@www.atlantajcc.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Join us for a fun and dynamic new discussion group created for women to connect\, share\, and explore together\, meeting in person at th e MJCCA. \n \nShe Said\, She Said offers a warm and welcoming space for re al-time conversations on topics that matter to you. Volunteer facilitators will help encourage the discussion. Each session will feature a different theme. \n \nThis group is all about community and conversation. Join in a nd let us know what you’d like to discuss! LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T191300Z LOCATION:MJCCA Zaban Park\, 5342 Tilly Mill Rd.\, Dunwoody\, Georgia\, 303 38\, United States URL:https://www.atlantajcc.org/event/she-said-she-said-a-discussion-group- for-women/2026-09-18/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign= atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Marcus JCC of Atlanta (MJCCA) in Dunwoody\, GA X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.atlantajcc.org/calendar END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Greet the Sheep and Goats DTSTART:20260918T150000Z DTEND:20260918T170000Z DTSTAMP:20260826T183259Z UID:10000419-1789729200-1789729200@www.atlantahistorycenter.com CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Not-Yet Members. \n \n Tickets\n \n \n\n \n\n \n\n\n\n \n \n Members \n \n Login\n \n \n\n \n\n\n\n\nThis event is included with the cost of admission. To r eserve your spot\, add your general admission tickets to your cart. You wi ll then be prompted to register for Greet the Sheep. \n\n\n\nHead outside the museum and over to the 19th-century Smith Farm to meet our flock of h eritage-breed sheep and goats. Brett Bannor\, Manager of Animal Collection s\, will demonstrate how agile they can be\, hopping up on a barrel and fo llowing instructions in hopes of earning a special peanut treat. Learn abo ut their daily routines and the distinct personalities of the Gulf Coast s heep – Gulliver\, Samson\, Daisy\, and Maribelle\, plus our Angora goats \, Claud and Dorothy. \n\n\n\nIf you’d like Brett to sign his book\, Am erican Sheep: A Cultural History (available in our gift shop)\, you’re welcome to bring it along. Capacity is limited\, reserve your spot now! LAST-MODIFIED:20260826T183259Z LOCATION:Atlanta History Center\, 130 West Paces Ferry Road NW\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30305\, United States URL:https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/event/greet-the-sheep-sept-18/?ut m_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Atlanta History Center X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/event/party-with-the-pas t-center-for-puppetry-arts END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:2026 AUCC Career Fair DTSTART:20260918T170000Z DTEND:20260918T220000Z DTSTAMP:20260819T001336Z UID:90547-1789736400-1789754400@aucenter.edu CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Your future begins today! Come meet hundreds of employers at t he AUC’s largest career fair of the year! Get suited up and bring plenty of resumes. LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T001336Z LOCATION:AmericasMart\, 240 Peachtree Street NW\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30303\, U nited States URL:https://aucenter.edu/event/2026-aucc-career-fair/?utm_source=caldiscov ery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Atlanta University Center Consortium X-SOURCE-URL:https://aucenter.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:ProBo Meeting DTSTART:20260918T183000Z DTEND:20260918T203000Z DTSTAMP:20260729T180352Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53379020047630 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Programming Board Weekly Meetings LAST-MODIFIED:20260729T180352Z LOCATION:Alston Campus Center\, AL-Meeting Room 304 URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/probo-meeting?utm_source=caldisc overy&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Six Flags Shuttle Check-Out 2026 DTSTART:20260918T200000Z DTEND:20260919T060000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T193411Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53502787657676 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Shuttle check out.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nHosted by: POUNCE Rew ards Program\, Spotlight Programs Board\n\nAdditional Information can be f ound at: https://pin.gsu.edu/event/12519709 LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T193411Z LOCATION:Student Center East URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu/event/six-flags-shuttle-check-out-2026?utm_so urce=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Georgia State University Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Members Only DTSTART:20260918T203000Z DTEND:20260919T000000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T201239Z UID:7rrj0ukg8gf1s8if70tfs06i3t@google.com CATEGORIES:community LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T201239Z X-SOURCE-NAME:GardenHillsPool X-SOURCE-URL:https://gardenhillspool.com/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Yo Soy Smyrna: Hispanic Heritage Celebration DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260919 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260920 DTSTAMP:20260917T123253Z UID:171816-1789776000-1789862399@travelcobb.org CATEGORIES:community,festival,food,free,music DESCRIPTION:Celebra La Cultura! Disfruta de la Comida y El Baile. Join us Saturday\, September 19th\, as we honor and celebrate the rich cultures\, traditions\, and contributions of Hispanic communities for National Hispan ic American Heritage Month. Enjoy vibrant live entertainment\, delicious H ispanic cuisine\, and a diverse array of local vendors. Bring the whole fa mily for a day of music\, flavor\, and fun as we celebrate heritage and un ity! This all-ages event is free to attend. LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T123253Z LOCATION:Village Green Park\, 200 Village Green Cir SE\, Smyrna\, GA\, 300 80 URL:https://travelcobb.org/event/yo-soy-smyrna-hispanic-heritage-celebrati on/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Cobb Travel & Tourism X-SOURCE-URL:https://travelcobb.org/event/southern-fried-gaming-expo END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:St. Jude Walk DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260919 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260920 DTSTAMP:20260915T195348Z UID:171512-1789776000-1789862399@travelcobb.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:oin St. Jude for the Annual St. Jude Walk on September 19\, 20 26\, at The Battery Atlanta!Gather with friends\, family\, and supporters as we come together to raise awareness and funds for the lifesaving missio n of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. \nEvent Schedule:7:00 AM – Registration Opens & The Plaza Green Activates for Participants and Famil ies.7:30 AM – Opening Ceremonies.8:25 AM – 5K Walk/Run Begins.10:30 AM – Event Concludes.Splash pad will be closed until 12:00PM* LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T195348Z LOCATION:Battery Atlanta\, 800 Battery Ave. SE\, Suite 110\, Atlanta\, GA\ , 30339 URL:https://travelcobb.org/event/st-jude-walk/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm _medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Cobb Travel & Tourism X-SOURCE-URL:https://travelcobb.org/event/southern-fried-gaming-expo END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Second Collection—Saint Vincent the Paul Society DTSTART:20260919T040000Z DTEND:20260921T035959Z DTSTAMP:20260915T203413Z UID:10000035-1789776000-1789948799@archatl.com CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:St. Vincent de Paul has been serving Georgia for more than 120 years and provides vital programs to feed\, shelter\, clothe\, and educat e the poor with a spirit of compassion\, respect\, and dignity. The Societ y of St. Vincent de Paul empowers people to achieve stability and self-suf ficiency regardless of their background\, race\, ethnicity\, or faith. \n\ n\n\nDonate LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T203413Z LOCATION:GA\, United States URL:https://archatl.com/event/second-collection-saint-vincent-the-paul-soc iety/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:archatl.com X-SOURCE-URL:https://archatl.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:September Run/Walk Meetup DTSTART:20260919T120000Z DTEND:20260919T140000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T203106Z UID:10005881-1789804800-1789812000@unityatl.org CATEGORIES:community,outdoors DESCRIPTION:Join In For The September Run/Walk Group Meetup!\n \nDate: Sat urday\, September 19\nTime: 8:00 am\nLocation: Sims Lake Park at 4600 Su wanee Dam Road\, Suwanee\, GA \nLook for a white Honda Accord with a teal flag attached. \nRemember to bring your fluids\; water\, Powerade\, etc. \ nAnyone who can\, please join us for breakfast after the event. \nIf you p lan to participate or if you have any questions\, contact Chuck Speight at \n770-842-4150 or cesdisc@yahoo.com.  Please contact Chuck if you are ru nning late. LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T203106Z LOCATION:Unity Atlanta Church\, 3597 Parkway Lane\, Peachtree Corners\, 30 092\, United States URL:https://unityatl.org/events/september-run-walk-meetup/?utm_source=cald iscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Unity Atlanta Church X-SOURCE-URL:https://unityatl.org/events/congregational-care-team-training END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Koffee & Kibbutz DTSTART:20260919T130000Z DTEND:20260919T133000Z DTSTAMP:20260917T131511Z UID:0cmi5urn9ndja4hc99pfvj9u94@google.com CATEGORIES:community LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T131511Z LOCATION:Anshi S'Fard\, 1324 North Highland Avenue Northeast\, Atlanta\, G A 30306\, United States X-SOURCE-NAME:Anshi S'fard X-SOURCE-URL:http://www.anshisfard.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Shacharit/Mussaf DTSTART:20260919T133000Z DTEND:20260919T144500Z DTSTAMP:20260917T131511Z UID:lmsom4s16bl9jaui4heh25ci1s@google.com CATEGORIES:community LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T131511Z LOCATION:Anshi S'Fard\, 1324 North Highland Avenue Northeast\, Atlanta\, G A 30306\, United States X-SOURCE-NAME:Anshi S'fard X-SOURCE-URL:http://www.anshisfard.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Fall Fest 2026 with 4-H DTSTART:20260919T140000Z DTEND:20260919T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260821T183250Z UID:10000372-1789812000-1789826400@www.atlantahistorycenter.com CATEGORIES:community,family,festival,food DESCRIPTION:Not-Yet a Member \n \n Purchase Ticket\n \n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n Member \n \n Login\n \n \n\n \n\n\n\n\nCelebrate the season with harvests\, history\, a nd hands-on fun! Enjoy historic demonstrations\, seasonal garden activitie s\, interactive programs from Georgia 4-H Extension\, fall-themed games\, delicious food\, and more. \n\n\n\nAll activities are included with gener al admission—bring the whole family for a festive celebration as autumn begins! *while supplies last \n\n\n\nPlease note programming will take pla ce from 10:00am-2:00pm and admission to the museum is for the full day\, 9 :00am-4:00pm. \n\n\n\n\n \n \n This event is sponsored by\n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\ n \n \n This event is in partnership with\n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\ n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n 4-H\n \n \n Fall Festival i s part of Atlanta History Center’s partnership with 4-H\, a community of more than 100 public universities across the nation that provides experie nces where young people learn by doing. For more than 100 years\, 4‑H ha s welcomed young people of all beliefs and backgrounds\, giving kids a voi ce to express who they are and how they make their lives and communities b etter. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n Family and Kids Activities\n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Blender Bikes\n \n \n Use the power of pedaling to create your own d elicious fall treat with the 4-H blender bike! \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Fall Hayride\n \n \n Experience the fun of a fall hayride at AHC! Tickets will be available for purchase on site\, first come first se rved. Rides moving consistently. \nAnyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Fall Crafts\n \n \n Bri ng art to autumn with an array of seasonal crafts from making leaf people to creating fall corn for harvest!   \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Fall Games\n \n \n Enjoy festive fall games including pumpkin bowlin g\, hay bale tossing\, and much more! \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n\n \n \n Quarry Garden Scavenger Hunt\n \n \n Explore our most diverse collec tion of native plants in an historic Quarry! Use clues to discover fl ora\, fauna\, and more in this unique garden through an interactive scave nger hunt. Make sure to get your prize at the end!   \n*Please know th at the Quarry Garden has limited accessibility through dirt ramps and stai rs for entrance.   \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Animal Encounters\n \n \n Since 1994 the Arrowhead Environmental Education Center (AEE C)\, part of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources\, offers programs to allow students of all ages to experience and learn about wildlife and ecology in Georgia. \nJoin us while AEEC staff will be onsite and have som e live wild animals to teach kids about the native animals and ecology of Georgia. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Photo Ops\n \n \n Snap a festive fall photo at one of our campus photo ops! \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Goizueta Children ’s Experience\n \n \n Join us for fall fun at the Goizueta Children’s Experience! Enjoy festive\, hands-o n crafts\, playful activities\, and creative experiences inspired by the s eason. It’s the perfect way to welcome the season through imagination and play\, designed especially for children ages 0–8.  \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n 4-H and UGA Extension Resources\n \n \n Learn mor e about the many ways to get involved in 4-H and the resources UGA Extensi on offers! \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n Demonstrations & Agriculture\n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Greet the Sheep and Goats \n \n \n Say hello to our heritage b reed Angora Goats and Gulf Coast Sheep that live their best lives at Smith Farm. \nBrett Bannor\, Manager of Animal Collections\, will lead d emonstrations at  11:00am and 1:00pm.   \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Candle Making\n \n \n As the days get shorter\, learn the histor ic practice of candlemaking. Make your own candle to take home with you! \n*while supplies last \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Beekeeping\n \n \n Visit our Gardens team to learn how honey and wax were harveste d and used in daily life. See live bees (safely contained in our observa tion hive!) while you learn about honey\, try a sample from the hives at AHC!    \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Cider Pressing\n \n \n Cider pressing was an important way to preserve fruit from the harvest. Visit our farm to learn about the machinery and techniques used\, as well as try your hand at pressing apples.  \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Three Sisters Activity\n \n \n For centuries\, indigenous groups—i ncluding the Cherokee of the southeast—grew squash\, beans\, and corn. This trio became known as the Three Sisters and continues as an important piece of Native American culture and agricultural practice. Learn more a bout the story and realities of the Three Sisters with 4-H members.    \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n Ente rtainment & Refreshments\n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \ n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Live Music: Animal Signs\n \n \n Animal Signs is a string band based in A tlanta\, Georgia. They combine their background in old-time with an apprec iation for folk/singer songwriter music for a uniquely spry and warm sound . \n11:30am—1:00pm \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Live Music\n \n \n Enjoy a variety of live music from 4-H members\, including Piano an d Saxophone performances! \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \ n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n \n \n AHC Bar Stations \n \n \n Soft drinks and alcoholic dr inks available for purchase from our AHC bar.   \n\n \n \n \ n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Chick-fil-A\n \n \n A selection of Chick Fil A menu ite ms will be available for purchase. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Ginny’s Apples\n \n \n Stop by Ginny’s Apples for an apple or peach treat—while you’re there\, be sure to pick up some stewed apples or salsa to take home!   \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\ n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Facepainting by India\n \n \n Kids of all ages can enjoy complimentary facepainting  designs from Facepainting by India!   \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Pop-Up Shop\n \n \n Stop by our museum shop and our outdoor Pop Up Shop to load up on fall goodies\, from books to stuffies and more!     \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Members-Only Lounge\n \n \n Members can enjoy a special break area with complimentary refreshments! In terested in securing a membership? Visit the link below to learn more. LAST-MODIFIED:20260821T183250Z LOCATION:Atlanta History Center\, 130 West Paces Ferry Road NW\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30305\, United States URL:https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/event/fall-fest-2026/?utm_source= caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Atlanta History Center X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/event/party-with-the-pas t-center-for-puppetry-arts END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Saturday Adventures at the Center: Side Quest DTSTART:20260919T140000Z DTEND:20260919T200000Z DTSTAMP:20260827T003347Z UID:144503-1789812000-1789833600@www.civilandhumanrights.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:For nearly a decade\, the National Center for Civil and Huma n Rights has served as the home of the LGBTQ+ Institute\, which advanced  research\, education\, and leadership development  Today\, we are proud t o announce that a program developed under the Institute has evolved into the Rustin Institute for Leadership Development\, an independent nonprof it inspired by Bayard Rustin’s legacy of moral courage\, coalition-build ing\, and imagination.   Named for the visionary strategist\, organizer\ , and architect of the 1963 March on Washington\, the Rustin Institute is dedicated to cultivating intergenerational leadership and movements roote d in justice\, dignity\, and democratic change.   Tim’m West\, who s erved as the director of the LGBTQ+ Institute\, established the Rustin  Institute as an independent 501(c)(3) organization to deepen its impact\ , pursue new funding opportunities\, and expand partnerships.   “As our programs expanded and our vision grew\, I knew establishing an indepen dent organization would help us focus on building a new generation of le aders\,” said Tim’m West\, now the Executive Director of the Rust in Institute for Leadership Development. “I am deeply grateful to the Na tional Center for Civil and Human Rights for helping to make this possibl e.”  As the Rustin Institute embarks on this exciting new chapter\, th e Center congratulates Tim’m West and the Rustin Institute team.   “We look forward to seeing the organization cultivate courageous leaders  and carry forward Bayard Rustin’s enduring legacy of moral courage\, c oalition-building\, and the pursuit of justice and equal dignity for all\, ” said Jill Savitt\, CEO of the National Center for Civil and Human Righ ts. LAST-MODIFIED:20260827T003347Z LOCATION:National Center for Civil and Human Rights\, 100 Ivan Allen Jr. B lvd\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30313\, United States URL:https://www.civilandhumanrights.org/events/mystery-changemaker/?utm_so urce=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:National Center for Civil and Human Rights X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.civilandhumanrights.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:College Park Vaccine Clinic DTSTART:20260919T140000Z DTEND:20260919T170000Z DTSTAMP:20260901T061439Z UID:36701-1789812000-1789822800@lifelineanimal.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Our goal with this page is to share the current shelter needs with our community in an ongoing way. We hope to update this page seasonal ly or more frequently as needed. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n May 2024 \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n Last year\, we reached a pivotal break ing point in terms of the number of animals housed in our care. We recogni zed the physical capacity limitations of our buildings and made a commitme nt to work towards humane housing solutions\, which means both the county shelters need to reduce the number of animals living in the buildings. Whi le we continue to face severe overcrowding into 2024\, we have worked hard to increase resources to help more pet owners and improve the quality of life for the animals in our care. We are continuing to adapt to the challe nges we’re facing\, including many systemic problems that contribute to the number of animals arriving in our care. We have collaborated with many supportive community members and leaders in pursuit of creating a safer a nd more humane shelter environment for all. There are no overnight solutio ns to drastically reduce our shelter populations\, but we continue to have hope that with your support and the strategies currently in place\, our c ommunity will help us get more animals into homes where they belong. Here is a brief update for all three LifeLine shelters\, including the unique c hallenges and the most important ways you can get involved. \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal ServicesDog Population: 506 | Opti mum Capacity: 475 \n \n \n \n Last year\, DeKalb Count y Animal Services reached peak numbers of dogs housed in the shelter durin g an outbreak of Canine Flu.. Because of an incredible response from our c ommunity\, we successfully saw the population drop down to 312 dogs. Becau se the need in our community is so great\, this number steadily rose back up to 500+ dogs and has remained in that range for months on end despite o ur best efforts. It is a near constant struggle to balance the amount of “noses in”\, pets arriving at the shelter\, with the amount of “nose s out” each week\, pets leaving. As an open intake municipal facility\, we do not turn away animals in need in Dekalb County\, no matter how much or little space we have in our kennels when we begin a new day. It is impo rtant that the community understands this distinction from other rescue or ganizations and is aware of ways they can help prevent lost or stray pets from ever having to enter the shelter. We need to create room for pets tha t have the most urgent need for our help. We must find a way to help more animals find homes and keep the shelter at a capacity that is humane for t he pets in our care. Heartbreaking space euthanasia decisions must be made weekly and overcrowding is putting more dogs at risk. Instead of focusing our at-risk dogs\, we are asking our community to focus efforts and resou rces on getting more of our highly-adoptable dogs out so that those animal s identified as most at risk (struggling in the shelter and exhibiting a v ariety of challenging behaviors) can get the time that they need to find a home. Any animal that leaves the building will help us reach our target o f decreasing the dog population to below a threshold of 475. This new proc ess includes daily population updates on the website and improved communic ations with our volunteers and community about how to best support dogs in need in our shelters. Even still\, 475 dogs housed in the building is les s than ideal. This is an incredible number of pets to care for daily. Whil e their basic needs are met\, quality of life deteriorates the longer they are housed in a shelter intended to be a temporary safety net. The lower we can keep that number\, the less dogs there will be at risk for illness\ , increased stress and euthanasia. In addition to these adjustments in com municating the ongoing need\, we have partnered with DeKalb County leaders on both short and long-term solutions that were announced last fall to he lp more pets in need: Increased funding for support to pets of DeKalb Coun ty residents including:A free monthly pet food bankFree spay/neuter surger ies through SNIP DeKalbFree vaccinations through LifeLine’s Mobile Clini cAdditional kennel space to provide more humane housing for the dogs curre ntly in our care:Plans have been approved to build new\, additional kennel s which will provide better housing for court case dogs who are in our car e long termProjected installation is September 2024We believe programs lik e these that make pet resources more accessible\, including affordable spa y/neuter surgery\, are the key to helping more pets stay out of the shelte rs and in homes where they belong. \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal ServicesDog Population: 419 | Optimum Capacity: 325 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At the end of 2023\, we celebrated the grand opening of a brand new 40\,0 00 square foot shelter facility in Fulton County! With the opening of the new building\, we’ve fortunately seen improvement in all of these ways t o create a better environment for the teams and the animals as well as a b etter experience for visitors and supporters: Staff is less stressed. We h ave improved our ability to train\, onboard and implement new and efficien t processes.The building is easier to clean and has decreased the spread o f infectious disease.With separate kennel runs\, animals are less stressed or overwhelmed in the building and do not experience as high of stimulati on. It’s now easier to identify issues with dogs so we can work on getti ng them placed in a home more quickly.Visitors feel more welcome and have the ability to more easily spend time with individual animals. We have als o been able to increase the number of spay/neuter surgeries for our adopta ble animals and provide adopters\, fosters and rescue partners with better diagnostics for their pets with the new clinic.We have seen an increase i n the number of volunteers and hours spent with our team.We are able to ho st other shelters and bring more learning and collaborative opportunities to staff in-houseAt the same time\, we experienced a challenging transitio n as we worked to close the former facility\, adjust to the new set up\, a nd final projects and installations were wrapped up by the county. With th e new opening\, there was an uptick of stray or abandoned pets being broug ht to the new shelter. The shelter is a safe haven\, but can only be so te mporarily for pets in need of homes\, and we’ve seen the dog population quickly fill the building past its limits. Similarly to DeKalb County\, it has been difficult to balance the new intakes with finding outcomes for t he animals\, even in the wake of creative and successful adoption events. According to Animal Shelters Count’s recent annual report\, “In 2023\, 3% more dogs entered shelters than left\, resulting in an additional 107\ ,000 dogs in shelters at the end the year.” Fulton County Animal Service s is also an open intake municipal shelter facility and can’t simply “ stop” taking new animals in even when we’re overcapacity. Fortunately\ , we’ve also started 2024 with recent pawsitive media and exciting opera tional updates. The full-service clinic at Fulton County Animal Services i s now open for the public to make low-cost wellness appointments for their pets to receive the care they need! Additionally\, a Fulton County foster dog\, a pit mix now known as Miss Peaches\, has gone viral after being ad opted by celebrity and President of Barstool Sports\, Dave Portnoy. Miss P eaches’s story\, Dave’s choice to adopt and his initiative to raise fu nds for animal rescue has captured hearts nationwide. Lifesaving deserves to be trending so that we can keep up with the influx of dogs in need. We hope others will follow in his footsteps!  \n \n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal CenterDog Population: 119 | Optimum Capacity: 80 \n \n \n \n The incredible dedication of the team at our LifeLine Community Animal Center cannot be overlooked. Our county s helter facilities tend to take the spotlight in the news and on social med ia because of the massive number of pets that come through their doors\, b ut the Community Animal Center is always working quietly in the background to help the county operations. When the county shelters are over capacity \, so is this facility to keep up with the need. Not only do they consiste ntly take in pets from our county shelters and other rural facilities\, bu t\, when there is a neglect or hoarding case being investigated\, this loc ation takes in dozens of pets when they have nowhere else to go. As we ent er the warmer months of summer\, the Community Animal Center is also const antly preparing to help with the large numbers of kittens and puppies that are in need. Maintaining a full staff at this location is critical to its function. If you’re interested in joining our team full-time\, or even as a volunteer\, our Community Animal Center would love to have you! \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A National Crisis \n \n \n \n In conversations wit h other rescue organizations and in a review of data over the past few yea rs\, we’ve learned that these challenges are not unique to LifeLine or t he city of Atlanta. For the fourth year in a row\, we are faced with a “ new normal” in animal sheltering. According to the report\, “A total o f 900\,000 animals have entered and lingered in our nation’s shelters an d rescues since January 2021. This surplus is on top of the population alr eady residing within organizations\, resulting in an ongoing capacity cris is.” “The number of animals entering shelters through community intake s in 2023 remained roughly the same as 2022 at 6.5 million\, with intakes nearly evenly split between dogs and cats.” Compared to a national decre ase of 3.2% in intakes between 2019 and 2023\, our community intakes throu gh the Fulton and DeKalb County shelters decreased 6.89% from 2019 to 2023 . But\, intakes increased by 14.5% from 2022 to 2023. Even in the wake of these higher intake numbers\, we have been able to rally our community and find an incredible number of homes in 2023 compared to previous years. “While 2.2 million dogs were adopted in 2023\, dog adoptions are still 5 % lower than in 2019 (-108\,000 dogs adopted).” At LifeLine\, our overal l pet adoptions were only down by 1.92% in 2023 compared to 2019\, and ado ptions were higher in 2023 compared to 2018\, 2020\, 2021 and 2022. We are frequently partnering with more organizations who want to help and who ar e spreading the word that adopting is the way to go when searching for a n ew pet. For full shelter statistics across our organization\, please visit www.shelteranimalscount.org/stats. \n \n \n \n In Su mmary \n \n \n \n The animals in our city need help. W hile donations are the foundation for our work in the community and allow us to help more pets get the care they need\, donations don’t create mor e available kennel space. We need your help in getting more pets adopted o r fostered. We need the community’s help in getting more lost pets back home. We need our community to know about available resources for food\, v eterinary care\, and affordable spay/neuter options. Together\, we can sav e these lives and help the animals who need us most. \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Octob er 2023 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message To Our C ommunity \n \n \n \n We are in the midst of an ongoing crisis affecting city and county animal shelters across the country. Time s are extremely difficult for the animals housed in our shelters and the s taff and volunteers who care for them. We have frequently reported on the conditions of our shelters and how desperate we are to get hundreds of ani mals into homes. We hear the distress and complaints about the overcrowdin g from our volunteers\, fosters\, and community\; we experience the condit ions daily\; we see the news articles written and segments being broadcast on television and radio\; we feel and share your frustration and heartbre ak. We are heartbroken\, too. Let us express to you in no uncertain terms: the current conditions in our shelters are not humane or sustainable. We can and we must do better. We will exhaust all efforts to prioritize the h ealth and safety of both pets and people in our care. The balance of human ely sheltering a growing number of animals while giving each one the care and the time they deserve to be placed in a loving home is getting substan tially harder to achieve. The issues contributing to overcrowding primaril y are rooted in the community\, not the shelter\, and cannot be changed ov ernight. In the shelters\, we’ve reached a pivotal breaking point. We ha ve stretched the shelter capacity and resources to unsustainable limits wh ile hoping\, for too long now\, that there would be a turning point where more animals would leave these buildings than enter. But that has not happ ened this year and without homes to go to\, we must euthanize more dogs at both county shelters in order to reach and maintain safe and humane housi ng. There are many facets to the challenges we are currently facing and we will cover some of them in this blog. We also encourage you to check out two other blog posts that go into deeper detail on two important issues: T he No-Kill controversyThe Impact of Spay and Neuter (and other pressing qu estions) \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Are The Shelters So Overcrowded? \n \n \n \n We know there are a lot of questions around why this is happening. We are seeing a new reality\, a post-pandemic world\; E conomic challenges to families\, a lack of affordable and pet-friendly hou sing\, a national shortage of veterinarians\, a decrease in spay/neuter du ring the pandemic and a need for more accessible and affordable spay/neute r options\, a desire for specific breeds\, and a diminishing public capaci ty to help and home shelter animals are all taking a heartbreaking toll on the growing number of animals coming into LifeLine’s care. We have acce pted pets from families arriving at the shelter with all of their possessi ons in a U-haul and nowhere to turn for help. People newly arriving to the area are surrendering their dogs to the shelter because they are unable t o find affordable housing that will allow them to keep their companions.We are coming to terms with an untenable reality of the community relying on a singular shelter as the sole means of support for the growing number of animals at risk – animals who mostly were people’s pets and family me mbers at one time. Systemically\, the shelter alone cannot support the she er volume of need. Here Is A Look At Our Shelters In Crisis: \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 569Target Dog Capacity: 450 On Tuesday \, October 17th\, DeKalb County CEO\, Michael Thurmond\, visited DeKalb Co unty Animal Services. The following day\, he met with our CEO\, Rebecca Gu inn\, and other LifeLine leadership. Together\, LifeLine and DeKalb County leadership agreed that Dekalb County Animal Services must reduce the dog population at the shelter to 450 in 60 days and maintain the population at or below that number. They collaborated and decided on both short- and lo nger-term actions to help aid in this crisis including: Working with staff ing agencies for additional staff and support for cleaning.Deploying perso nnel from other divisions within LifeLine to assist with animal care\, man agement and training and restructuring staff schedules to ensure greater c overage\, particularly on weekends.Sadly\, increasing euthanasia rates if necessary and continuing to do so until we reduce the dog population to 45 0 or less. If we cannot increase lifesaving outcomes beyond the current ra te\, we will have to euthanize 9 animals each day\, or 63 animals each wee k.Constructing an overflow campus adjacent to the shelter\, designed to ho ld up to 120 additional dogs above the current target capacity and provide effective isolation areas\, to help alleviate the need for euthanasia for population control. This solution will take time to build\, staff and ope rate and until then we must get below 450 animals in the current building. Improving communications between DeKalb County’s Animal Services Enforce ment division and the shelter to more proactively address factors in the f ield that are causing animals to come into the shelter.Increasing support to fund access to veterinary care for DeKalb pet owners in need\, includin g subsidized and free spay/neuter\, and targeting areas of DeKalb County y ielding the highest number of animals impounded in the shelter.What it wil l take to change the situation most\, in the short-term\, is simply fewer dogs in the building. We are asking our community to help us achieve those target dog population numbers because\, without homes to go to\, dogs wil l be euthanized for space\, regardless of health and temperment. Please a dopt or foster a pet today. \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dog s: 357Sustainable Capacity for Dogs: 325 We’ve mentioned that there is h ope on the horizon in Fulton County in the form of a brand new shelter fac ility preparing to open before the end of the year. However\, this does no t change the fact that the current facility is in dire straits. On average \, 15 dogs are being euthanized for space each week. Each day\, 16 dogs en ter the facility. That’s\, on average\, 2 more dogs that come in than le ave. While some conditions will improve with the upcoming move to the new facility\, rising intake and overcrowding will not be solved entirely by t ransitioning from one building to another. Fulton County is in desperate n eed of adopters and fosters\, including Friendly Finders who are willing t o foster a lost or stray dog through its mandated stray hold (3 to 5 busin ess days total) instead of immediately dropping them at the shelter when f ound. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n LifeLin e Midtown \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 105O ptimum Capacity for Dogs: 75 As an overflow facility\, for every dog adopt ed at LifeLine Midtown\, space opens up for another dog from the Fulton Co unty Animal Services. And\, because the shelter is smaller\, it is a less overwhelming experience for individuals to visit and bring home a pet. Ado pting a pet from LifeLine Midtown greatly supports the main Fulton County shelter. When the new Fulton shelter opens\, the Midtown facility will clo se and any dogs still there will have to move to the new shelter. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 111 O ptimum Capacity for Dogs: 60  LifeLine’s Community Animal Center adopti on center was designed as an overflow facility for our county shelters. St aff and volunteers also provide pets with special medical or behavioral ch allenges more time and attention to meet those needs. For dogs\, the Commu nity Animal Center is the primary overflow facility for the DeKalb County shelter. Because it is also full\, our Community Animal Center is limited in serving these critical functions. Beyond just dogs\, our staff is also caring for the majority of our organization’s cats. This adoption center \, like our Midtown location\, offers a calmer environment that may be eas ier to visit. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We Cannot Do This Alone \n \n \n \n Two things can be true: we can be proud of what we’ve accomplished together as a community in 10 ye ars’ time AND acknowledge the ways LifeLine needs to improve and perseve re as an organization. We have committed ourselves to helping these animal s\, but we are limited now by a lack of space and resources\, as well as e xternal challenges in the communities we serve. We are also human and make mistakes. And\, most importantly\, we cannot do this alone. While we are pursuing all avenues toward long-term solutions\, in the short term\, we n eed a miracle. We need you. We are asking our community to please foster o r adopt a pet today. You will be truly saving a life. If you have question s about any topic in this blog and would like to reach out\, please email feedback@lifelineanimal.org or write to LifeLine Animal Project\, ATTN: Op erations 3180 Presidential Drive\, Atlanta\, GA 30340. Thank you\, Atlanta . For believing in our work and helping us save lives today and always. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n February 2023 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Hello\, friends and supporters.  We wanted to share some critical u pdates and news as we turn the page on 2022\, and enter 2023 in a much bet ter position to give our deserving animals the love and space they need to thrive. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In January\, on the heels of a Canine Flu outbreak\, we were faced with a grim reality and life or death decisions. After more than a year of being at critical capacity at our DeKalb County Animal Services sh elter\, we were left with the heartbreaking possibility of having to eutha nize animals for space. We had nearly 600 dogs in need of home (at just th is one shelter). We put out a plea for help in the Greater Atlanta area\, and in a mere 7 days\, 373 dogs from DeKalb and 556 dogs from all LifeLine shelters found new homes! We are forever grateful to the Atlanta communit y for their support in our darkest hour. This is what lifesaving looks lik e. By the end of January\, our Fulton County Animal Services had fewer tha n 300 animals for the first time in almost a year. But within days of hitt ing that milestone\, we were called in with law enforcement on a rescue ca se and brought more than 60 new impounded animals safely into our care. Ea ch of these animals requires space\, food and immediate medical care. Our Fulton shelter team was also tasked with running LifeLine Midtown\, our te mporary shelter that opened in early January during the Canine Flu outbrea k to divert intake and keep dogs healthy. While it helped contain that out break\, a new location strains precious resources and manpower\, which has been challenging due to staffing shortages. \n \n \n \n Number of Dogs in Need of Homes as of February 15th \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services: 343 in the shelter and 928 in foster hom es\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services: 339 in the shelter and 22 0 in foster homes\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal Center: 65 in t he shelter and 85 in foster homes\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n LifeLine Midtown: 82 in t he shelter\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The LifeLine Community Animal Center con tinues to aid in the efforts of freeing up space at our county shelters an d helping dogs clear their quarantine period from the Canine Flu outbreak. Recent staffing hires have provided much needed relief to our existing te ams. After the incredible number of adoptions at our DeKalb shelter\, ther e are many animals in need of spay/neuter procedures. The Community Animal Center has stepped in to help temporarily house animals awaiting surgery and ensure that pets don’t have to wait any longer than necessary to go home with new\, loving families. Fortunately\, while the dogs in our care have been a major media focus in 2023\, we have also happily seen a steady flow of cat adoptions at the Community Animal Center and have enough open cat housing space to prepare for a busy kitten season to start in the spr ing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n It’s bee n a busy start to the new year. And\, while we are celebrating the wins\, the hard work isn’t over. Even though we successfully saved many lives\ , 20-40 dogs come into our county shelters every single day and they need your help to find their way home.  \n \n \n \n What We Need Most Now: \n \n \n \n Volunteers and new staff are urgently needed to keep this much-needed LifeLine Midtown shelter up and running\, as well as help at our other locations.We always need adopte rs and fosters to place more pets into homes where they belong.We need goo d Samaritans in our community to help lost pets make their way back home i nstead of to the shelter. Find out what to do if you should find a lost pe t.And\, if you can’t foster or adopt\, please consider making a donation .As always\, thank you for your critical support. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2022 Posts \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Novem ber\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n September\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n June\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n May\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n March\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n AN URGENT PLEA FROM OUR CEO TO THE CITY OF ATLANTA\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The current situation in our Atlanta animal shelters is dire. The animals in our care do not have the space they need\, or dese rve\, and we need your help. Our hard working teams are understaffed and w orking extreme overtime to ensure that kennels are clean\, bowls are full\ , and the pets in our shelters are well cared for. Our volunteers walk hun dreds of dogs a day. And it’s still not enough. We have teams covering r escue\, adoptions\, marketing\, volunteers\, and foster parents\, all work ing tirelessly to find homes and other ways Atlanta’s pets can get out o f the shelter. This is not the life our city’s animals deserve. This sta te our shelters are in is not sustainable for the pets nor the people who care for them. Animal shelters have never been\, and will never be\, the i deal solution for the animals. Atlanta\, we urgently need your help. Our a nimals are in desperate need of homes. Each of our shelters have exceeded capacity by the hundreds. DeKalb County Animal Services has nearly 600 dog s and over 50 cats in the building\, Fulton County Animal Services has alm ost 400 dogs in a building meant to hold 80. The more pets in our care\, t he harder it is to make sure they are living as comfortably as they deserv e during their time with us. We are meant to be a temporary refuge for pet s in need\, not a home. Pets cannot thrive here\, especially when there is an overwhelming amount of them. We know you’ve heard this plea before. And we hope you’ll hear it now. The situation is not improving. There ar e more animals in our care than ever and they really need your help. We ne ed your help. Adopt: Whether you’re looking for a calm couch potato\, wa lking partner\, or anything in between\, there are over 1\,000 deserving p ets waiting for you. Foster: If you have just two weeks to help a pet\, th at can make all of the difference. Sign up here.Donate: We need monetary d onations and supplies to continue caring for this many animals each day. Y ou can help by donating here or sending us much-needed items from our Amaz on wishlists. Help lost pets: Most pets are found within a mile of their h ome. If they come to a shelter\, their chances of being reunited greatly d eclines. If you find a pet\, follow these steps or become a friendly finde r. Spay/Neuter: Unlike humans\, dogs and cats give birth to 4-to-6 animals in one litter. Also\, dogs can give birth up to twice a year and cats up to 5 times a year! Because they can produce so many offspring each year\, it is important to spay/neuter your pet as soon as possible to reduce pet overpopulation. Learn more here about the benefits and how to book an appo intment with one of our Spay/Neuter clinics. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n September 202 2 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We wish we had bette r news to share\, but right now\, the shelters are still struggling. There is a lot of pressure right now on the county shelters to be the lifeline for more pets than the shelters have space to house. The reason for this o vercrowding is simple: more animals are coming in than are leaving. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In August\, we saw a total of 601 dogs adopted\, but 863 came in du ring that same time. That’s 262 more dogs entering our already full buil dings.  \nNumber of dogs that need homes: \n\n337 dogs in need at our Ful ton County shelter\n526 dogs in need at our DeKalb County shelter\n81 dogs in need at our Community Animal Center\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The situation is dir e. We are urging our communities in Fulton and DeKalb Counties to please n ot bring healthy pets they find straight to the shelter as first response. Please take a few steps in the first 48 hours to get lost pets back home where they belong. This does not mean pets will be without support in the community. Those injured or sick are always a top priority. We’re tryin g to make more space for those most in need. And\, we are also trying to f ind solutions for humans in emergency situations who have run out of optio ns. Here are a few things anyone can do to help during this crisis: Adopt a petFoster a pet. 200 emergency fosters are needed at our shelters right nowDonate to support pets in the shelterCollect newspaper\, towels and bla nkets to drop off at any locationCheck the shelter wishlist for items most in needHelp a neighbor who can’t keep their pet find a new home – her e’s howFollow our social channels and help us get the word out by sharin g posts from your preferred platform\, Facebook\, Instagram and Twitter.Wr ite an article in your local neighborhood paper about adopting/fostering s helter petsIf you find a lost pet\, fill out a found pet report\, follow t hese steps or become a friendly finder \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n June 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n You are the next chapter in animal w elfare. \n \n \n \n Animal shelters have never been\, and will never be\, the ideal solution for the animals. They have always b een a flawed answer to a bigger community challenge of how to best help lo st\, stray and unwanted pets.  Across the nation\, all communities are fa cing the aftershocks of the pandemic. For animal shelters\, those challeng es include overpopulated and understaffed facilities\, higher intake and f ewer adopters\, and a substantial decrease in rescue transfer support. In Atlanta\, we’ve had to restrict intake at varying levels due to the seve re overcapacity status at both county shelters.  But over the last few ye ars\, and through the recent challenges\, we’ve begun to see how a criti cal shift\, and a different path forward\, can actually save the lives of the animals in our community without having animals languish in shelters. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Over 60% of the animals in a shelter are stray/lost pets. Imagine if the shelters d idn’t exist to collect all the lost and stray pets of a community. What if the community itself was able to help those pets find and reunite with their families?  63% of animals are found just a mile from their home (26 % are just a block away). If neighbors could reunite pets with their famil ies\, instead of bringing them to the shelter\, our shelters would always have space to help those with nowhere to go. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n What if the community could help struggling neighbors rehome their pets instead of turning them over to a shelter? Wha t if more resources were spent on keeping pets and people together instead of housing pets in a crowded shelter? If we\, as a community\, could shif t the focus to support each other in creative and practical ways\, the she lters wouldn’t be overcrowded with lost pets missing their families\, or abandoned pets looking for new homes. There will always be a need for she lters to help animals in emergency situations and victims of animal cruelt y\, but the real safety net for pets is a caring community – neighbors h elping neighbors.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Especially now\, when the need continues to exceed available sh eltering resources\, we believe we must find more community-centric soluti ons by working together with pet-lovers and good samaritans to get more pe ts home where they belong.  LifeLine does not believe killing healthy and treatable pets to make more space in a shelter is ever the right answer. Population management through euthanasia has never worked. Reliance on eut hanasia constrains the development of lifesaving solutions\, and the resul ts are always tragic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n When faced with external pressure to euthanize healthy and treatabl e animals to create more shelter space last month\, we turned to our anima l-loving community and in one week found foster and adoptive homes for 300 + pets. Atlanta\, you are the ideal solution. With your help\, we can weav e together a new safety net for the animals in need. Whether you are a vet eran rescuer or new to animal welfare\, help us shift the response when we find lost and stray pets\, so that more pets can be returned to their hom es. If you hear of situations where people need help with a found pet\, he lp them find options\, contact friends to find a foster home and help canv as the neighborhood to reunite families. Share this page.If you read about someone needing to rehome a pet\, share these resources and ask your neig hbors and friends if anyone can help. The pet owner\, rather than the shel ter\, will be able to find the best match for a loved pet. If someone is missing a pet\, check the lost pet pages of our website to see if the pet ended up at the shelter.If you can’t adopt\, foster. If you can’t fost er\, donate. If you can’t donate\, volunteer. If you can’t volunteer\, become an ambassador and share information and resources. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Please continue to suppor t our county shelters. Know that the staff is making the best decisions fo r every individual animal and human who comes to our doors with the resour ces that are available.  \nPlease extend the benefit of the doubt to lear n more about decisions that are being made. The people who dedicate our li ves to help animals in the shelter are not perfect\, but we are doing thei r very best in every situation\, for every individual pet\, and we are wor king with very limited resources and the most challenging of circumstances .  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Right now\, we are at a pivotal moment to change the course of animal welfare and lif esaving in our city. Animals deserve to be in homes and people deserve the love of a pet. Will you join us in committing to turn to each other to fi nd ways to help the animals in your community? Are you in?  We are. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n May 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availabili ty ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n Metro Atlanta County Animal Shelters are Out of Space! \n \n \n \n The county shelters have reached peak capacity and no longer have kennel space to house dogs. Because of the sheer volume\, we have had to set up temporary crates to house new arrivals but this is n ot a sustainable or acceptable solution.  This year we have seen a declin e in adoptions by 14% and a 37% decline in the number of animals leaving w ith rescue partners (compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels). We also saw a decline in the number of lost pets finding their families again. Not only are there more animals currently in the shelters\, but they are staying lo nger which impacts their physical and mental wellbeing.  We URGENTLY need help to place our medium to large dogs into homes so that the shelters do not have to face difficult life or death decisions. We currently need to find 250 homes for dogs living at the DeKalb shelter. The Fulton County an imal shelter is facing a similar situation and needs to find 150 homes thi s week.  Here’s what we are experiencing currently across metro Atlanta . \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb Coun ty Animal Services \n \n \n \n Today\, there are 560 d ogs in our DeKalb facility*. In May 2019\, prior to the pandemic the shelt er held 440 dogs. Fewer animals are leaving the shelter\, and animals are staying longer looking for homes. They’re waiting an average of 80 days at DeKalb County Animal Services. Due to this critical status\, Dekalb Cou nty and LifeLine Animal Project\, in conjunction with the Georgia Departme nt of Agriculture\, are enacting emergency only intake protocols. This mea ns the DeKalb shelter is only able to accept animals from emergency situat ions or in critical need (injured animals\, animals involved in bite cases or cruelty situations). DeKalb County Animal Enforcement will also enforc e these emergency protocols and will only respond to high priority calls. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n *As of May 25\, 2022\, with the help of our community\, the number of dogs housed at DeKalb County Animal Service s has decreased to 433. We are making slow\, but steady\, progress towards reducing the number of pets housed at the shelter to a more comfortable t hreshold of 320. However\, the situation remains critical and your continu ed help is needed to find homes for the pets in our care. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n There are currently 360  dogs in our Fulton facility**\, which was bui lt to house only 80 dogs. Dogs are waiting an average 40 days to be placed in a home\, which is longer than previous years and is very stressful for the animals. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n **As of May 25\, 2022\, thanks to our community’s help in response to an urgent plea for fosters and ad opters\, the number of dogs housed at Fulton County Animal Services has di pped below 300. Additionally\, a generous volunteer has pledged to sponsor 100 dog adoptions this May at Fulton County. We always want to provide hu mane housing for the animals in our care and at the levels we are experien cing\, that is extremely challenging. Our community’s continued help at this critical time is needed to find homes for the pets in our care. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Community Animal C enter \n \n \n \n Our Community Animal Center takes in pets from our county shelters to help alleviate space constraints. Right now\, the center is full and can only take in more dogs when dogs currentl y in our care are adopted or head to foster homes.  Last week\, 128 cats arrived from our DeKalb and Fulton shelters. If you are looking for a cat\ , there are many available at the LifeLine Community Animal Center. There are also over 100 dogs available for adoption at this location. \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n Let's save lives together. \n \n \n \n Please share this blog with your community and network to help more pets find the homes they deserve today. \n \n \n \n Ways to Help \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n March 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel spa ce\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangero usly full\n \n \n \n \n \n Crit ical Needs This Week: Adopters and Fosters \n \n \n \n This February\, we saw the highest intake levels on record for the mont h since LifeLine took over shelter management in 2013. Both of our county shelters are in the red zone for space availability!  As we continue to f ace a growing space crisis\, we turn our attention to the impact of crowdi ng and the shelter environment on the health of our pets. It is a common m isconception that pets may fare better in a shelter than in a home where t he pet parent has to leave daily for work or doesn’t have a yard. There is no place like a home when it comes to animals. Even with the incredible support of our staff and volunteers\, it is impossible to replicate the c alm and one-on-one attention a pet will receive in a home. Shelters\, part icularly at the capacity level we currently face\, can be loud and overwhe lming for many pets. Though they are safe and fed\, the close proximity to so many other pets can lead to a spread in medical conditions. Ultimately \, we see a deterioration of our pets the longer they spend in the shelter \, along with added strain for our veterinary teams.  Our goal is to see all of our pets find their way to a warm and loving home. We need help giv ing our shelter pets a break\, including taking them out for a day or a we ekend\, while they await the arrival of their new family. We immediately s ee an improvement in our pet’s health and happiness when they are in a h ome. Plus\, you can provide key insights on the dog or cat’s personality (which tends to shine beyond the shelter walls) to share with potential a dopters! We are facing a particular need for fosters for our pets that hav e medical needs\, are part of an ongoing court case\, and dogs that are la rger in size. To find out more and help give our pets a break\, check out our Foster page. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \n There ar e currently 471 dogs at DeKalb County Animal Services\, 253 MORE than the ideal number of dogs that should be housed in our shelter here and putting us in the RED ZONE!  The need for special care fosters is imperative. Ce rtain pets\, such as those that have just given birth\, are undergoing med ical treatment or are part of a court case\, deserve a quiet space and may need a little extra care. This can include receiving regular doses of med icine\, restricted or regulated exercise regimes or extra space to care fo r their puppies. It is important that they have a home where they can rela x\, heal and rest stress-free.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n The Fulton County Animal Services shelter is in the RED ZONE! There are 265 dogs in the shelter\, an alarming 115 dogs over the ideal number of 150. This means some runs have up to five dogs s haring a space. As a result\, the shelter is seeing an uptick in medical i ssues\, particularly contagious ailments like upper respiratory infections . \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n In Feb ruary 2022\, the LifeLine Community Animal Center brought in 222 pets to h elp create space at our two county shelters. 94 dogs and 84 cats are waiti ng for a place to call home\, with many more patiently waiting in foster h omes. Our animals are showing tremendous resilience\, but we need urgent h elp from our community to provide these precious pets with homes! Our miss ion remains\, as always\, to save the lives of all healthy and treatable a nimals. We appreciate the support of our community! \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n Help us save lives together! \n \n \n \n Share this blog with your community\, and help get mor e pets into homes today! \n \n \n \n Ways to Help \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n January 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n We are kicking off the new year with an unfamiliar sight for this time of the year: shelters that are stil l full from this summer. Shelter space is unfortunately\, yet typically\, limited during the summer months\, but this is the first time we have expe rienced such a continued strain on our shelter capacity and team. The numb er of animals coming in our doors has increased by 12% over last year whil e the number of dogs adopted has decreased. People are also struggling to care for their pets and have been facing evictions and other challenges. T his means more pets have been surrendered. Over the last two years\, we ha ve seen a 39% decline in the number of animals our rescue partners have be en able to help pull to safety\, largely due to factors resulting from the COVID pandemic. All of these challenges would be difficult alone but\, li ke so many others\, we are also facing severe labor shortages. We currentl y have 34 open positions across three locations\, which means we are missi ng 13% of our workforce. Between the staffing challenge and the number of staff who have been out sick due to the latest wave of the COVID-19 virus\ , we are struggling. Animal care is always our top priority. Our understaf fed teams and volunteers are working doubly hard to care for all the anima ls in need\, covering extra shifts and taking on additional responsibiliti es. In these times\, we must depend even more so on our community’s supp ort. By adopting\, donating\, volunteering\, helping lost animals back hom e and finding new homes for those alone in the shelter\, our community off ers real and sustained hope for the animals in our care. We are continuing to take in animals for emergency situations and for those who do not have any other options. Our Animal Service Officers and community support team s continue to provide resources\, including access to veterinary care and pet supplies\, pet lost and found assistance and self-rehoming options for animals in non-emergency situations. We always work with individuals faci ng financial hardship who need help for their pets. We often reduce or wai ve reclaim and surrender fees in the hopes of helping people and finding t he best outcomes for the animals. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \ n The ideal number of dogs that should be housed at DeKalb County Animal Services is 218. This allows us to house one dog per kennel with ac cess to both sides of the kennel. We are currently in the red zone with 48 0 dogs in the building. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n With Fulton County Animal Services being a smaller\, older building\, there is space to optimally house only 150 dogs. As of la st week\, there were 221 dogs in the shelter. This forces us to house mult iple dogs in most of the kennels. Not only does this make cleaning the she lter a logistical challenge\, but it means the environment is less than id eal for our animals. Our goal is to safely house a large population while mitigating risk of disease and shelter stress on the animals. If we had fe wer dogs in the building\, we could provide larger\, single kennels for 26 of our larger breed dogs\, who need individual housing\, and who are curr ently residing in smaller cages. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n In December 2021\, the LifeLine Community Animal C enter transferred in 170 pets from Fulton and DeKalb to help make space at the our two county shelters. We currently have 95 dogs and 102 cats looki ng for homes\, and even more are waiting to find families while they live in foster homes. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We believe space limitations alone are an unacceptable reason to euthani ze healthy and treatable animals. LifeLine has been able to achieve “no- kill\,”  saving 90% or more of all the animals who enter our shelters\, but we are only able to maintain this lifesaving achievement with the com munity’s support and advocacy. We know our community has the ability to provide the support needed to save precious lives.  Their lives depend on it. \n \n \n \n Make a difference today! \n \n \n \n Share this blog post with your community\, and help g et more pets into homes today. LAST-MODIFIED:20260901T061439Z LOCATION:LifeLine College Park Spay & Neuter Clinic\, 2533 Sullivan Road\, College Park\, GA\, 30037\, United States URL:https://lifelineanimal.org/lifeline-events/college-park-vaccine-clinic /2026-09-19/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-g a X-SOURCE-NAME:LifeLine Animal Project X-SOURCE-URL:https://lifelineanimal.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Mobile Vaccine Clinic DTSTART:20260919T140000Z DTEND:20260919T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260901T061439Z UID:37639-1789812000-1789826400@lifelineanimal.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Our goal with this page is to share the current shelter needs with our community in an ongoing way. We hope to update this page seasonal ly or more frequently as needed. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n May 2024 \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n Last year\, we reached a pivotal break ing point in terms of the number of animals housed in our care. We recogni zed the physical capacity limitations of our buildings and made a commitme nt to work towards humane housing solutions\, which means both the county shelters need to reduce the number of animals living in the buildings. Whi le we continue to face severe overcrowding into 2024\, we have worked hard to increase resources to help more pet owners and improve the quality of life for the animals in our care. We are continuing to adapt to the challe nges we’re facing\, including many systemic problems that contribute to the number of animals arriving in our care. We have collaborated with many supportive community members and leaders in pursuit of creating a safer a nd more humane shelter environment for all. There are no overnight solutio ns to drastically reduce our shelter populations\, but we continue to have hope that with your support and the strategies currently in place\, our c ommunity will help us get more animals into homes where they belong. Here is a brief update for all three LifeLine shelters\, including the unique c hallenges and the most important ways you can get involved. \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal ServicesDog Population: 506 | Opti mum Capacity: 475 \n \n \n \n Last year\, DeKalb Count y Animal Services reached peak numbers of dogs housed in the shelter durin g an outbreak of Canine Flu.. Because of an incredible response from our c ommunity\, we successfully saw the population drop down to 312 dogs. Becau se the need in our community is so great\, this number steadily rose back up to 500+ dogs and has remained in that range for months on end despite o ur best efforts. It is a near constant struggle to balance the amount of “noses in”\, pets arriving at the shelter\, with the amount of “nose s out” each week\, pets leaving. As an open intake municipal facility\, we do not turn away animals in need in Dekalb County\, no matter how much or little space we have in our kennels when we begin a new day. It is impo rtant that the community understands this distinction from other rescue or ganizations and is aware of ways they can help prevent lost or stray pets from ever having to enter the shelter. We need to create room for pets tha t have the most urgent need for our help. We must find a way to help more animals find homes and keep the shelter at a capacity that is humane for t he pets in our care. Heartbreaking space euthanasia decisions must be made weekly and overcrowding is putting more dogs at risk. Instead of focusing our at-risk dogs\, we are asking our community to focus efforts and resou rces on getting more of our highly-adoptable dogs out so that those animal s identified as most at risk (struggling in the shelter and exhibiting a v ariety of challenging behaviors) can get the time that they need to find a home. Any animal that leaves the building will help us reach our target o f decreasing the dog population to below a threshold of 475. This new proc ess includes daily population updates on the website and improved communic ations with our volunteers and community about how to best support dogs in need in our shelters. Even still\, 475 dogs housed in the building is les s than ideal. This is an incredible number of pets to care for daily. Whil e their basic needs are met\, quality of life deteriorates the longer they are housed in a shelter intended to be a temporary safety net. The lower we can keep that number\, the less dogs there will be at risk for illness\ , increased stress and euthanasia. In addition to these adjustments in com municating the ongoing need\, we have partnered with DeKalb County leaders on both short and long-term solutions that were announced last fall to he lp more pets in need: Increased funding for support to pets of DeKalb Coun ty residents including:A free monthly pet food bankFree spay/neuter surger ies through SNIP DeKalbFree vaccinations through LifeLine’s Mobile Clini cAdditional kennel space to provide more humane housing for the dogs curre ntly in our care:Plans have been approved to build new\, additional kennel s which will provide better housing for court case dogs who are in our car e long termProjected installation is September 2024We believe programs lik e these that make pet resources more accessible\, including affordable spa y/neuter surgery\, are the key to helping more pets stay out of the shelte rs and in homes where they belong. \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal ServicesDog Population: 419 | Optimum Capacity: 325 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At the end of 2023\, we celebrated the grand opening of a brand new 40\,0 00 square foot shelter facility in Fulton County! With the opening of the new building\, we’ve fortunately seen improvement in all of these ways t o create a better environment for the teams and the animals as well as a b etter experience for visitors and supporters: Staff is less stressed. We h ave improved our ability to train\, onboard and implement new and efficien t processes.The building is easier to clean and has decreased the spread o f infectious disease.With separate kennel runs\, animals are less stressed or overwhelmed in the building and do not experience as high of stimulati on. It’s now easier to identify issues with dogs so we can work on getti ng them placed in a home more quickly.Visitors feel more welcome and have the ability to more easily spend time with individual animals. We have als o been able to increase the number of spay/neuter surgeries for our adopta ble animals and provide adopters\, fosters and rescue partners with better diagnostics for their pets with the new clinic.We have seen an increase i n the number of volunteers and hours spent with our team.We are able to ho st other shelters and bring more learning and collaborative opportunities to staff in-houseAt the same time\, we experienced a challenging transitio n as we worked to close the former facility\, adjust to the new set up\, a nd final projects and installations were wrapped up by the county. With th e new opening\, there was an uptick of stray or abandoned pets being broug ht to the new shelter. The shelter is a safe haven\, but can only be so te mporarily for pets in need of homes\, and we’ve seen the dog population quickly fill the building past its limits. Similarly to DeKalb County\, it has been difficult to balance the new intakes with finding outcomes for t he animals\, even in the wake of creative and successful adoption events. According to Animal Shelters Count’s recent annual report\, “In 2023\, 3% more dogs entered shelters than left\, resulting in an additional 107\ ,000 dogs in shelters at the end the year.” Fulton County Animal Service s is also an open intake municipal shelter facility and can’t simply “ stop” taking new animals in even when we’re overcapacity. Fortunately\ , we’ve also started 2024 with recent pawsitive media and exciting opera tional updates. The full-service clinic at Fulton County Animal Services i s now open for the public to make low-cost wellness appointments for their pets to receive the care they need! Additionally\, a Fulton County foster dog\, a pit mix now known as Miss Peaches\, has gone viral after being ad opted by celebrity and President of Barstool Sports\, Dave Portnoy. Miss P eaches’s story\, Dave’s choice to adopt and his initiative to raise fu nds for animal rescue has captured hearts nationwide. Lifesaving deserves to be trending so that we can keep up with the influx of dogs in need. We hope others will follow in his footsteps!  \n \n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal CenterDog Population: 119 | Optimum Capacity: 80 \n \n \n \n The incredible dedication of the team at our LifeLine Community Animal Center cannot be overlooked. Our county s helter facilities tend to take the spotlight in the news and on social med ia because of the massive number of pets that come through their doors\, b ut the Community Animal Center is always working quietly in the background to help the county operations. When the county shelters are over capacity \, so is this facility to keep up with the need. Not only do they consiste ntly take in pets from our county shelters and other rural facilities\, bu t\, when there is a neglect or hoarding case being investigated\, this loc ation takes in dozens of pets when they have nowhere else to go. As we ent er the warmer months of summer\, the Community Animal Center is also const antly preparing to help with the large numbers of kittens and puppies that are in need. Maintaining a full staff at this location is critical to its function. If you’re interested in joining our team full-time\, or even as a volunteer\, our Community Animal Center would love to have you! \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A National Crisis \n \n \n \n In conversations wit h other rescue organizations and in a review of data over the past few yea rs\, we’ve learned that these challenges are not unique to LifeLine or t he city of Atlanta. For the fourth year in a row\, we are faced with a “ new normal” in animal sheltering. According to the report\, “A total o f 900\,000 animals have entered and lingered in our nation’s shelters an d rescues since January 2021. This surplus is on top of the population alr eady residing within organizations\, resulting in an ongoing capacity cris is.” “The number of animals entering shelters through community intake s in 2023 remained roughly the same as 2022 at 6.5 million\, with intakes nearly evenly split between dogs and cats.” Compared to a national decre ase of 3.2% in intakes between 2019 and 2023\, our community intakes throu gh the Fulton and DeKalb County shelters decreased 6.89% from 2019 to 2023 . But\, intakes increased by 14.5% from 2022 to 2023. Even in the wake of these higher intake numbers\, we have been able to rally our community and find an incredible number of homes in 2023 compared to previous years. “While 2.2 million dogs were adopted in 2023\, dog adoptions are still 5 % lower than in 2019 (-108\,000 dogs adopted).” At LifeLine\, our overal l pet adoptions were only down by 1.92% in 2023 compared to 2019\, and ado ptions were higher in 2023 compared to 2018\, 2020\, 2021 and 2022. We are frequently partnering with more organizations who want to help and who ar e spreading the word that adopting is the way to go when searching for a n ew pet. For full shelter statistics across our organization\, please visit www.shelteranimalscount.org/stats. \n \n \n \n In Su mmary \n \n \n \n The animals in our city need help. W hile donations are the foundation for our work in the community and allow us to help more pets get the care they need\, donations don’t create mor e available kennel space. We need your help in getting more pets adopted o r fostered. We need the community’s help in getting more lost pets back home. We need our community to know about available resources for food\, v eterinary care\, and affordable spay/neuter options. Together\, we can sav e these lives and help the animals who need us most. \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Octob er 2023 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message To Our C ommunity \n \n \n \n We are in the midst of an ongoing crisis affecting city and county animal shelters across the country. Time s are extremely difficult for the animals housed in our shelters and the s taff and volunteers who care for them. We have frequently reported on the conditions of our shelters and how desperate we are to get hundreds of ani mals into homes. We hear the distress and complaints about the overcrowdin g from our volunteers\, fosters\, and community\; we experience the condit ions daily\; we see the news articles written and segments being broadcast on television and radio\; we feel and share your frustration and heartbre ak. We are heartbroken\, too. Let us express to you in no uncertain terms: the current conditions in our shelters are not humane or sustainable. We can and we must do better. We will exhaust all efforts to prioritize the h ealth and safety of both pets and people in our care. The balance of human ely sheltering a growing number of animals while giving each one the care and the time they deserve to be placed in a loving home is getting substan tially harder to achieve. The issues contributing to overcrowding primaril y are rooted in the community\, not the shelter\, and cannot be changed ov ernight. In the shelters\, we’ve reached a pivotal breaking point. We ha ve stretched the shelter capacity and resources to unsustainable limits wh ile hoping\, for too long now\, that there would be a turning point where more animals would leave these buildings than enter. But that has not happ ened this year and without homes to go to\, we must euthanize more dogs at both county shelters in order to reach and maintain safe and humane housi ng. There are many facets to the challenges we are currently facing and we will cover some of them in this blog. We also encourage you to check out two other blog posts that go into deeper detail on two important issues: T he No-Kill controversyThe Impact of Spay and Neuter (and other pressing qu estions) \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Are The Shelters So Overcrowded? \n \n \n \n We know there are a lot of questions around why this is happening. We are seeing a new reality\, a post-pandemic world\; E conomic challenges to families\, a lack of affordable and pet-friendly hou sing\, a national shortage of veterinarians\, a decrease in spay/neuter du ring the pandemic and a need for more accessible and affordable spay/neute r options\, a desire for specific breeds\, and a diminishing public capaci ty to help and home shelter animals are all taking a heartbreaking toll on the growing number of animals coming into LifeLine’s care. We have acce pted pets from families arriving at the shelter with all of their possessi ons in a U-haul and nowhere to turn for help. People newly arriving to the area are surrendering their dogs to the shelter because they are unable t o find affordable housing that will allow them to keep their companions.We are coming to terms with an untenable reality of the community relying on a singular shelter as the sole means of support for the growing number of animals at risk – animals who mostly were people’s pets and family me mbers at one time. Systemically\, the shelter alone cannot support the she er volume of need. Here Is A Look At Our Shelters In Crisis: \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 569Target Dog Capacity: 450 On Tuesday \, October 17th\, DeKalb County CEO\, Michael Thurmond\, visited DeKalb Co unty Animal Services. The following day\, he met with our CEO\, Rebecca Gu inn\, and other LifeLine leadership. Together\, LifeLine and DeKalb County leadership agreed that Dekalb County Animal Services must reduce the dog population at the shelter to 450 in 60 days and maintain the population at or below that number. They collaborated and decided on both short- and lo nger-term actions to help aid in this crisis including: Working with staff ing agencies for additional staff and support for cleaning.Deploying perso nnel from other divisions within LifeLine to assist with animal care\, man agement and training and restructuring staff schedules to ensure greater c overage\, particularly on weekends.Sadly\, increasing euthanasia rates if necessary and continuing to do so until we reduce the dog population to 45 0 or less. If we cannot increase lifesaving outcomes beyond the current ra te\, we will have to euthanize 9 animals each day\, or 63 animals each wee k.Constructing an overflow campus adjacent to the shelter\, designed to ho ld up to 120 additional dogs above the current target capacity and provide effective isolation areas\, to help alleviate the need for euthanasia for population control. This solution will take time to build\, staff and ope rate and until then we must get below 450 animals in the current building. Improving communications between DeKalb County’s Animal Services Enforce ment division and the shelter to more proactively address factors in the f ield that are causing animals to come into the shelter.Increasing support to fund access to veterinary care for DeKalb pet owners in need\, includin g subsidized and free spay/neuter\, and targeting areas of DeKalb County y ielding the highest number of animals impounded in the shelter.What it wil l take to change the situation most\, in the short-term\, is simply fewer dogs in the building. We are asking our community to help us achieve those target dog population numbers because\, without homes to go to\, dogs wil l be euthanized for space\, regardless of health and temperment. Please a dopt or foster a pet today. \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dog s: 357Sustainable Capacity for Dogs: 325 We’ve mentioned that there is h ope on the horizon in Fulton County in the form of a brand new shelter fac ility preparing to open before the end of the year. However\, this does no t change the fact that the current facility is in dire straits. On average \, 15 dogs are being euthanized for space each week. Each day\, 16 dogs en ter the facility. That’s\, on average\, 2 more dogs that come in than le ave. While some conditions will improve with the upcoming move to the new facility\, rising intake and overcrowding will not be solved entirely by t ransitioning from one building to another. Fulton County is in desperate n eed of adopters and fosters\, including Friendly Finders who are willing t o foster a lost or stray dog through its mandated stray hold (3 to 5 busin ess days total) instead of immediately dropping them at the shelter when f ound. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n LifeLin e Midtown \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 105O ptimum Capacity for Dogs: 75 As an overflow facility\, for every dog adopt ed at LifeLine Midtown\, space opens up for another dog from the Fulton Co unty Animal Services. And\, because the shelter is smaller\, it is a less overwhelming experience for individuals to visit and bring home a pet. Ado pting a pet from LifeLine Midtown greatly supports the main Fulton County shelter. When the new Fulton shelter opens\, the Midtown facility will clo se and any dogs still there will have to move to the new shelter. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 111 O ptimum Capacity for Dogs: 60  LifeLine’s Community Animal Center adopti on center was designed as an overflow facility for our county shelters. St aff and volunteers also provide pets with special medical or behavioral ch allenges more time and attention to meet those needs. For dogs\, the Commu nity Animal Center is the primary overflow facility for the DeKalb County shelter. Because it is also full\, our Community Animal Center is limited in serving these critical functions. Beyond just dogs\, our staff is also caring for the majority of our organization’s cats. This adoption center \, like our Midtown location\, offers a calmer environment that may be eas ier to visit. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We Cannot Do This Alone \n \n \n \n Two things can be true: we can be proud of what we’ve accomplished together as a community in 10 ye ars’ time AND acknowledge the ways LifeLine needs to improve and perseve re as an organization. We have committed ourselves to helping these animal s\, but we are limited now by a lack of space and resources\, as well as e xternal challenges in the communities we serve. We are also human and make mistakes. And\, most importantly\, we cannot do this alone. While we are pursuing all avenues toward long-term solutions\, in the short term\, we n eed a miracle. We need you. We are asking our community to please foster o r adopt a pet today. You will be truly saving a life. If you have question s about any topic in this blog and would like to reach out\, please email feedback@lifelineanimal.org or write to LifeLine Animal Project\, ATTN: Op erations 3180 Presidential Drive\, Atlanta\, GA 30340. Thank you\, Atlanta . For believing in our work and helping us save lives today and always. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n February 2023 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Hello\, friends and supporters.  We wanted to share some critical u pdates and news as we turn the page on 2022\, and enter 2023 in a much bet ter position to give our deserving animals the love and space they need to thrive. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In January\, on the heels of a Canine Flu outbreak\, we were faced with a grim reality and life or death decisions. After more than a year of being at critical capacity at our DeKalb County Animal Services sh elter\, we were left with the heartbreaking possibility of having to eutha nize animals for space. We had nearly 600 dogs in need of home (at just th is one shelter). We put out a plea for help in the Greater Atlanta area\, and in a mere 7 days\, 373 dogs from DeKalb and 556 dogs from all LifeLine shelters found new homes! We are forever grateful to the Atlanta communit y for their support in our darkest hour. This is what lifesaving looks lik e. By the end of January\, our Fulton County Animal Services had fewer tha n 300 animals for the first time in almost a year. But within days of hitt ing that milestone\, we were called in with law enforcement on a rescue ca se and brought more than 60 new impounded animals safely into our care. Ea ch of these animals requires space\, food and immediate medical care. Our Fulton shelter team was also tasked with running LifeLine Midtown\, our te mporary shelter that opened in early January during the Canine Flu outbrea k to divert intake and keep dogs healthy. While it helped contain that out break\, a new location strains precious resources and manpower\, which has been challenging due to staffing shortages. \n \n \n \n Number of Dogs in Need of Homes as of February 15th \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services: 343 in the shelter and 928 in foster hom es\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services: 339 in the shelter and 22 0 in foster homes\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal Center: 65 in t he shelter and 85 in foster homes\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n LifeLine Midtown: 82 in t he shelter\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The LifeLine Community Animal Center con tinues to aid in the efforts of freeing up space at our county shelters an d helping dogs clear their quarantine period from the Canine Flu outbreak. Recent staffing hires have provided much needed relief to our existing te ams. After the incredible number of adoptions at our DeKalb shelter\, ther e are many animals in need of spay/neuter procedures. The Community Animal Center has stepped in to help temporarily house animals awaiting surgery and ensure that pets don’t have to wait any longer than necessary to go home with new\, loving families. Fortunately\, while the dogs in our care have been a major media focus in 2023\, we have also happily seen a steady flow of cat adoptions at the Community Animal Center and have enough open cat housing space to prepare for a busy kitten season to start in the spr ing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n It’s bee n a busy start to the new year. And\, while we are celebrating the wins\, the hard work isn’t over. Even though we successfully saved many lives\ , 20-40 dogs come into our county shelters every single day and they need your help to find their way home.  \n \n \n \n What We Need Most Now: \n \n \n \n Volunteers and new staff are urgently needed to keep this much-needed LifeLine Midtown shelter up and running\, as well as help at our other locations.We always need adopte rs and fosters to place more pets into homes where they belong.We need goo d Samaritans in our community to help lost pets make their way back home i nstead of to the shelter. Find out what to do if you should find a lost pe t.And\, if you can’t foster or adopt\, please consider making a donation .As always\, thank you for your critical support. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2022 Posts \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Novem ber\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n September\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n June\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n May\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n March\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n AN URGENT PLEA FROM OUR CEO TO THE CITY OF ATLANTA\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The current situation in our Atlanta animal shelters is dire. The animals in our care do not have the space they need\, or dese rve\, and we need your help. Our hard working teams are understaffed and w orking extreme overtime to ensure that kennels are clean\, bowls are full\ , and the pets in our shelters are well cared for. Our volunteers walk hun dreds of dogs a day. And it’s still not enough. We have teams covering r escue\, adoptions\, marketing\, volunteers\, and foster parents\, all work ing tirelessly to find homes and other ways Atlanta’s pets can get out o f the shelter. This is not the life our city’s animals deserve. This sta te our shelters are in is not sustainable for the pets nor the people who care for them. Animal shelters have never been\, and will never be\, the i deal solution for the animals. Atlanta\, we urgently need your help. Our a nimals are in desperate need of homes. Each of our shelters have exceeded capacity by the hundreds. DeKalb County Animal Services has nearly 600 dog s and over 50 cats in the building\, Fulton County Animal Services has alm ost 400 dogs in a building meant to hold 80. The more pets in our care\, t he harder it is to make sure they are living as comfortably as they deserv e during their time with us. We are meant to be a temporary refuge for pet s in need\, not a home. Pets cannot thrive here\, especially when there is an overwhelming amount of them. We know you’ve heard this plea before. And we hope you’ll hear it now. The situation is not improving. There ar e more animals in our care than ever and they really need your help. We ne ed your help. Adopt: Whether you’re looking for a calm couch potato\, wa lking partner\, or anything in between\, there are over 1\,000 deserving p ets waiting for you. Foster: If you have just two weeks to help a pet\, th at can make all of the difference. Sign up here.Donate: We need monetary d onations and supplies to continue caring for this many animals each day. Y ou can help by donating here or sending us much-needed items from our Amaz on wishlists. Help lost pets: Most pets are found within a mile of their h ome. If they come to a shelter\, their chances of being reunited greatly d eclines. If you find a pet\, follow these steps or become a friendly finde r. Spay/Neuter: Unlike humans\, dogs and cats give birth to 4-to-6 animals in one litter. Also\, dogs can give birth up to twice a year and cats up to 5 times a year! Because they can produce so many offspring each year\, it is important to spay/neuter your pet as soon as possible to reduce pet overpopulation. Learn more here about the benefits and how to book an appo intment with one of our Spay/Neuter clinics. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n September 202 2 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We wish we had bette r news to share\, but right now\, the shelters are still struggling. There is a lot of pressure right now on the county shelters to be the lifeline for more pets than the shelters have space to house. The reason for this o vercrowding is simple: more animals are coming in than are leaving. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In August\, we saw a total of 601 dogs adopted\, but 863 came in du ring that same time. That’s 262 more dogs entering our already full buil dings.  \nNumber of dogs that need homes: \n\n337 dogs in need at our Ful ton County shelter\n526 dogs in need at our DeKalb County shelter\n81 dogs in need at our Community Animal Center\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The situation is dir e. We are urging our communities in Fulton and DeKalb Counties to please n ot bring healthy pets they find straight to the shelter as first response. Please take a few steps in the first 48 hours to get lost pets back home where they belong. This does not mean pets will be without support in the community. Those injured or sick are always a top priority. We’re tryin g to make more space for those most in need. And\, we are also trying to f ind solutions for humans in emergency situations who have run out of optio ns. Here are a few things anyone can do to help during this crisis: Adopt a petFoster a pet. 200 emergency fosters are needed at our shelters right nowDonate to support pets in the shelterCollect newspaper\, towels and bla nkets to drop off at any locationCheck the shelter wishlist for items most in needHelp a neighbor who can’t keep their pet find a new home – her e’s howFollow our social channels and help us get the word out by sharin g posts from your preferred platform\, Facebook\, Instagram and Twitter.Wr ite an article in your local neighborhood paper about adopting/fostering s helter petsIf you find a lost pet\, fill out a found pet report\, follow t hese steps or become a friendly finder \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n June 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n You are the next chapter in animal w elfare. \n \n \n \n Animal shelters have never been\, and will never be\, the ideal solution for the animals. They have always b een a flawed answer to a bigger community challenge of how to best help lo st\, stray and unwanted pets.  Across the nation\, all communities are fa cing the aftershocks of the pandemic. For animal shelters\, those challeng es include overpopulated and understaffed facilities\, higher intake and f ewer adopters\, and a substantial decrease in rescue transfer support. In Atlanta\, we’ve had to restrict intake at varying levels due to the seve re overcapacity status at both county shelters.  But over the last few ye ars\, and through the recent challenges\, we’ve begun to see how a criti cal shift\, and a different path forward\, can actually save the lives of the animals in our community without having animals languish in shelters. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Over 60% of the animals in a shelter are stray/lost pets. Imagine if the shelters d idn’t exist to collect all the lost and stray pets of a community. What if the community itself was able to help those pets find and reunite with their families?  63% of animals are found just a mile from their home (26 % are just a block away). If neighbors could reunite pets with their famil ies\, instead of bringing them to the shelter\, our shelters would always have space to help those with nowhere to go. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n What if the community could help struggling neighbors rehome their pets instead of turning them over to a shelter? Wha t if more resources were spent on keeping pets and people together instead of housing pets in a crowded shelter? If we\, as a community\, could shif t the focus to support each other in creative and practical ways\, the she lters wouldn’t be overcrowded with lost pets missing their families\, or abandoned pets looking for new homes. There will always be a need for she lters to help animals in emergency situations and victims of animal cruelt y\, but the real safety net for pets is a caring community – neighbors h elping neighbors.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Especially now\, when the need continues to exceed available sh eltering resources\, we believe we must find more community-centric soluti ons by working together with pet-lovers and good samaritans to get more pe ts home where they belong.  LifeLine does not believe killing healthy and treatable pets to make more space in a shelter is ever the right answer. Population management through euthanasia has never worked. Reliance on eut hanasia constrains the development of lifesaving solutions\, and the resul ts are always tragic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n When faced with external pressure to euthanize healthy and treatabl e animals to create more shelter space last month\, we turned to our anima l-loving community and in one week found foster and adoptive homes for 300 + pets. Atlanta\, you are the ideal solution. With your help\, we can weav e together a new safety net for the animals in need. Whether you are a vet eran rescuer or new to animal welfare\, help us shift the response when we find lost and stray pets\, so that more pets can be returned to their hom es. If you hear of situations where people need help with a found pet\, he lp them find options\, contact friends to find a foster home and help canv as the neighborhood to reunite families. Share this page.If you read about someone needing to rehome a pet\, share these resources and ask your neig hbors and friends if anyone can help. The pet owner\, rather than the shel ter\, will be able to find the best match for a loved pet. If someone is missing a pet\, check the lost pet pages of our website to see if the pet ended up at the shelter.If you can’t adopt\, foster. If you can’t fost er\, donate. If you can’t donate\, volunteer. If you can’t volunteer\, become an ambassador and share information and resources. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Please continue to suppor t our county shelters. Know that the staff is making the best decisions fo r every individual animal and human who comes to our doors with the resour ces that are available.  \nPlease extend the benefit of the doubt to lear n more about decisions that are being made. The people who dedicate our li ves to help animals in the shelter are not perfect\, but we are doing thei r very best in every situation\, for every individual pet\, and we are wor king with very limited resources and the most challenging of circumstances .  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Right now\, we are at a pivotal moment to change the course of animal welfare and lif esaving in our city. Animals deserve to be in homes and people deserve the love of a pet. Will you join us in committing to turn to each other to fi nd ways to help the animals in your community? Are you in?  We are. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n May 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availabili ty ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n Metro Atlanta County Animal Shelters are Out of Space! \n \n \n \n The county shelters have reached peak capacity and no longer have kennel space to house dogs. Because of the sheer volume\, we have had to set up temporary crates to house new arrivals but this is n ot a sustainable or acceptable solution.  This year we have seen a declin e in adoptions by 14% and a 37% decline in the number of animals leaving w ith rescue partners (compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels). We also saw a decline in the number of lost pets finding their families again. Not only are there more animals currently in the shelters\, but they are staying lo nger which impacts their physical and mental wellbeing.  We URGENTLY need help to place our medium to large dogs into homes so that the shelters do not have to face difficult life or death decisions. We currently need to find 250 homes for dogs living at the DeKalb shelter. The Fulton County an imal shelter is facing a similar situation and needs to find 150 homes thi s week.  Here’s what we are experiencing currently across metro Atlanta . \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb Coun ty Animal Services \n \n \n \n Today\, there are 560 d ogs in our DeKalb facility*. In May 2019\, prior to the pandemic the shelt er held 440 dogs. Fewer animals are leaving the shelter\, and animals are staying longer looking for homes. They’re waiting an average of 80 days at DeKalb County Animal Services. Due to this critical status\, Dekalb Cou nty and LifeLine Animal Project\, in conjunction with the Georgia Departme nt of Agriculture\, are enacting emergency only intake protocols. This mea ns the DeKalb shelter is only able to accept animals from emergency situat ions or in critical need (injured animals\, animals involved in bite cases or cruelty situations). DeKalb County Animal Enforcement will also enforc e these emergency protocols and will only respond to high priority calls. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n *As of May 25\, 2022\, with the help of our community\, the number of dogs housed at DeKalb County Animal Service s has decreased to 433. We are making slow\, but steady\, progress towards reducing the number of pets housed at the shelter to a more comfortable t hreshold of 320. However\, the situation remains critical and your continu ed help is needed to find homes for the pets in our care. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n There are currently 360  dogs in our Fulton facility**\, which was bui lt to house only 80 dogs. Dogs are waiting an average 40 days to be placed in a home\, which is longer than previous years and is very stressful for the animals. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n **As of May 25\, 2022\, thanks to our community’s help in response to an urgent plea for fosters and ad opters\, the number of dogs housed at Fulton County Animal Services has di pped below 300. Additionally\, a generous volunteer has pledged to sponsor 100 dog adoptions this May at Fulton County. We always want to provide hu mane housing for the animals in our care and at the levels we are experien cing\, that is extremely challenging. Our community’s continued help at this critical time is needed to find homes for the pets in our care. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Community Animal C enter \n \n \n \n Our Community Animal Center takes in pets from our county shelters to help alleviate space constraints. Right now\, the center is full and can only take in more dogs when dogs currentl y in our care are adopted or head to foster homes.  Last week\, 128 cats arrived from our DeKalb and Fulton shelters. If you are looking for a cat\ , there are many available at the LifeLine Community Animal Center. There are also over 100 dogs available for adoption at this location. \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n Let's save lives together. \n \n \n \n Please share this blog with your community and network to help more pets find the homes they deserve today. \n \n \n \n Ways to Help \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n March 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel spa ce\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangero usly full\n \n \n \n \n \n Crit ical Needs This Week: Adopters and Fosters \n \n \n \n This February\, we saw the highest intake levels on record for the mont h since LifeLine took over shelter management in 2013. Both of our county shelters are in the red zone for space availability!  As we continue to f ace a growing space crisis\, we turn our attention to the impact of crowdi ng and the shelter environment on the health of our pets. It is a common m isconception that pets may fare better in a shelter than in a home where t he pet parent has to leave daily for work or doesn’t have a yard. There is no place like a home when it comes to animals. Even with the incredible support of our staff and volunteers\, it is impossible to replicate the c alm and one-on-one attention a pet will receive in a home. Shelters\, part icularly at the capacity level we currently face\, can be loud and overwhe lming for many pets. Though they are safe and fed\, the close proximity to so many other pets can lead to a spread in medical conditions. Ultimately \, we see a deterioration of our pets the longer they spend in the shelter \, along with added strain for our veterinary teams.  Our goal is to see all of our pets find their way to a warm and loving home. We need help giv ing our shelter pets a break\, including taking them out for a day or a we ekend\, while they await the arrival of their new family. We immediately s ee an improvement in our pet’s health and happiness when they are in a h ome. Plus\, you can provide key insights on the dog or cat’s personality (which tends to shine beyond the shelter walls) to share with potential a dopters! We are facing a particular need for fosters for our pets that hav e medical needs\, are part of an ongoing court case\, and dogs that are la rger in size. To find out more and help give our pets a break\, check out our Foster page. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \n There ar e currently 471 dogs at DeKalb County Animal Services\, 253 MORE than the ideal number of dogs that should be housed in our shelter here and putting us in the RED ZONE!  The need for special care fosters is imperative. Ce rtain pets\, such as those that have just given birth\, are undergoing med ical treatment or are part of a court case\, deserve a quiet space and may need a little extra care. This can include receiving regular doses of med icine\, restricted or regulated exercise regimes or extra space to care fo r their puppies. It is important that they have a home where they can rela x\, heal and rest stress-free.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n The Fulton County Animal Services shelter is in the RED ZONE! There are 265 dogs in the shelter\, an alarming 115 dogs over the ideal number of 150. This means some runs have up to five dogs s haring a space. As a result\, the shelter is seeing an uptick in medical i ssues\, particularly contagious ailments like upper respiratory infections . \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n In Feb ruary 2022\, the LifeLine Community Animal Center brought in 222 pets to h elp create space at our two county shelters. 94 dogs and 84 cats are waiti ng for a place to call home\, with many more patiently waiting in foster h omes. Our animals are showing tremendous resilience\, but we need urgent h elp from our community to provide these precious pets with homes! Our miss ion remains\, as always\, to save the lives of all healthy and treatable a nimals. We appreciate the support of our community! \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n Help us save lives together! \n \n \n \n Share this blog with your community\, and help get mor e pets into homes today! \n \n \n \n Ways to Help \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n January 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n We are kicking off the new year with an unfamiliar sight for this time of the year: shelters that are stil l full from this summer. Shelter space is unfortunately\, yet typically\, limited during the summer months\, but this is the first time we have expe rienced such a continued strain on our shelter capacity and team. The numb er of animals coming in our doors has increased by 12% over last year whil e the number of dogs adopted has decreased. People are also struggling to care for their pets and have been facing evictions and other challenges. T his means more pets have been surrendered. Over the last two years\, we ha ve seen a 39% decline in the number of animals our rescue partners have be en able to help pull to safety\, largely due to factors resulting from the COVID pandemic. All of these challenges would be difficult alone but\, li ke so many others\, we are also facing severe labor shortages. We currentl y have 34 open positions across three locations\, which means we are missi ng 13% of our workforce. Between the staffing challenge and the number of staff who have been out sick due to the latest wave of the COVID-19 virus\ , we are struggling. Animal care is always our top priority. Our understaf fed teams and volunteers are working doubly hard to care for all the anima ls in need\, covering extra shifts and taking on additional responsibiliti es. In these times\, we must depend even more so on our community’s supp ort. By adopting\, donating\, volunteering\, helping lost animals back hom e and finding new homes for those alone in the shelter\, our community off ers real and sustained hope for the animals in our care. We are continuing to take in animals for emergency situations and for those who do not have any other options. Our Animal Service Officers and community support team s continue to provide resources\, including access to veterinary care and pet supplies\, pet lost and found assistance and self-rehoming options for animals in non-emergency situations. We always work with individuals faci ng financial hardship who need help for their pets. We often reduce or wai ve reclaim and surrender fees in the hopes of helping people and finding t he best outcomes for the animals. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \ n The ideal number of dogs that should be housed at DeKalb County Animal Services is 218. This allows us to house one dog per kennel with ac cess to both sides of the kennel. We are currently in the red zone with 48 0 dogs in the building. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n With Fulton County Animal Services being a smaller\, older building\, there is space to optimally house only 150 dogs. As of la st week\, there were 221 dogs in the shelter. This forces us to house mult iple dogs in most of the kennels. Not only does this make cleaning the she lter a logistical challenge\, but it means the environment is less than id eal for our animals. Our goal is to safely house a large population while mitigating risk of disease and shelter stress on the animals. If we had fe wer dogs in the building\, we could provide larger\, single kennels for 26 of our larger breed dogs\, who need individual housing\, and who are curr ently residing in smaller cages. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n In December 2021\, the LifeLine Community Animal C enter transferred in 170 pets from Fulton and DeKalb to help make space at the our two county shelters. We currently have 95 dogs and 102 cats looki ng for homes\, and even more are waiting to find families while they live in foster homes. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We believe space limitations alone are an unacceptable reason to euthani ze healthy and treatable animals. LifeLine has been able to achieve “no- kill\,”  saving 90% or more of all the animals who enter our shelters\, but we are only able to maintain this lifesaving achievement with the com munity’s support and advocacy. We know our community has the ability to provide the support needed to save precious lives.  Their lives depend on it. \n \n \n \n Make a difference today! \n \n \n \n Share this blog post with your community\, and help g et more pets into homes today. LAST-MODIFIED:20260901T061439Z URL:https://lifelineanimal.org/lifeline-events/mobile-vaccine-clinic-2026- 06-24/2026-09-19/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atla nta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:LifeLine Animal Project X-SOURCE-URL:https://lifelineanimal.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Famer's Market Saturdays in Lovejoy City Garden DTSTART:20260919T140000Z DTEND:20260919T170000Z DTSTAMP:20260907T050521Z UID:10000588-1789812000-1789822800@seeclaytoncountyga.com CATEGORIES:community,market DESCRIPTION:Farmers Market Saturdays at Lovejoy City Garden \nEnjoy a fres h and vibrant community experience at Farmers Market Saturdays at the Love joy City Garden. Visitors and locals alike are invited to explore the mark et every 1st and 3rd Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. \nBrowse a variety of local vendors offering fresh produce\, handmade goods\, and unique finds. While you’re there\, be sure to stop by the Lovejoy Garden store to sho p for locally inspired products. \nThis event is free and open to visitors and the community\, making it a perfect addition to your Saturday plans w hile exploring Clayton County\, GA. \nFor more information\, please contac t the Lovejoy City Garden. \n2635 N Steele Rd\, Hampton\, GA 30228 LAST-MODIFIED:20260907T050521Z LOCATION:Lovejoy City Garden\, 2635 Steele Rd\, Hampton\, GA\, 30228\, Uni ted States URL:https://seeclaytoncountyga.com/event/famers-market-saturdays-in-lovejo y-city-garden/2026-09-19/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campa ign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:See Clayton County X-SOURCE-URL:https://seeclaytoncountyga.com/things-to-do/attraction/atlant a-state-farmers-market END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Torah Discussion DTSTART:20260919T144500Z DTEND:20260919T154500Z DTSTAMP:20260917T131511Z UID:ap9pedvahmg0n8tq99n9b61seg@google.com CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:A Torah discussion centering on the weekly Torah portion. (On the first Shabbat of the month\, this is generally replaced with Good Sha bbos\, Atlanta!) LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T131511Z LOCATION:Anshi S'Fard\, 1324 North Highland Avenue Northeast\, Atlanta\, G A 30306\, United States X-SOURCE-NAME:Anshi S'fard X-SOURCE-URL:http://www.anshisfard.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Members Only DTSTART:20260919T150000Z DTEND:20260920T014500Z DTSTAMP:20260915T201239Z UID:0fulpouh11il58tgjnmuef26ck@google.com CATEGORIES:community LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T201239Z X-SOURCE-NAME:GardenHillsPool X-SOURCE-URL:https://gardenhillspool.com/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Kiddush DTSTART:20260919T154500Z DTEND:20260919T164500Z DTSTAMP:20260917T131511Z UID:86ije0cv7hdubaebikm68ofa8o@google.com CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Join us for a scrumptious kiddush! LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T131511Z LOCATION:Anshi S'Fard\, 1324 North Highland Avenue Northeast\, Atlanta\, G A 30306\, United States X-SOURCE-NAME:Anshi S'fard X-SOURCE-URL:http://www.anshisfard.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:PetSmart (Camp Creek) Dog Adoption Event DTSTART:20260919T160000Z DTEND:20260919T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260912T181622Z UID:38123-1789819200-1789826400@lifelineanimal.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Our goal with this page is to share the current shelter needs with our community in an ongoing way. We hope to update this page seasonal ly or more frequently as needed. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n May 2024 \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n Last year\, we reached a pivotal break ing point in terms of the number of animals housed in our care. We recogni zed the physical capacity limitations of our buildings and made a commitme nt to work towards humane housing solutions\, which means both the county shelters need to reduce the number of animals living in the buildings. Whi le we continue to face severe overcrowding into 2024\, we have worked hard to increase resources to help more pet owners and improve the quality of life for the animals in our care. We are continuing to adapt to the challe nges we’re facing\, including many systemic problems that contribute to the number of animals arriving in our care. We have collaborated with many supportive community members and leaders in pursuit of creating a safer a nd more humane shelter environment for all. There are no overnight solutio ns to drastically reduce our shelter populations\, but we continue to have hope that with your support and the strategies currently in place\, our c ommunity will help us get more animals into homes where they belong. Here is a brief update for all three LifeLine shelters\, including the unique c hallenges and the most important ways you can get involved. \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal ServicesDog Population: 506 | Opti mum Capacity: 475 \n \n \n \n Last year\, DeKalb Count y Animal Services reached peak numbers of dogs housed in the shelter durin g an outbreak of Canine Flu.. Because of an incredible response from our c ommunity\, we successfully saw the population drop down to 312 dogs. Becau se the need in our community is so great\, this number steadily rose back up to 500+ dogs and has remained in that range for months on end despite o ur best efforts. It is a near constant struggle to balance the amount of “noses in”\, pets arriving at the shelter\, with the amount of “nose s out” each week\, pets leaving. As an open intake municipal facility\, we do not turn away animals in need in Dekalb County\, no matter how much or little space we have in our kennels when we begin a new day. It is impo rtant that the community understands this distinction from other rescue or ganizations and is aware of ways they can help prevent lost or stray pets from ever having to enter the shelter. We need to create room for pets tha t have the most urgent need for our help. We must find a way to help more animals find homes and keep the shelter at a capacity that is humane for t he pets in our care. Heartbreaking space euthanasia decisions must be made weekly and overcrowding is putting more dogs at risk. Instead of focusing our at-risk dogs\, we are asking our community to focus efforts and resou rces on getting more of our highly-adoptable dogs out so that those animal s identified as most at risk (struggling in the shelter and exhibiting a v ariety of challenging behaviors) can get the time that they need to find a home. Any animal that leaves the building will help us reach our target o f decreasing the dog population to below a threshold of 475. This new proc ess includes daily population updates on the website and improved communic ations with our volunteers and community about how to best support dogs in need in our shelters. Even still\, 475 dogs housed in the building is les s than ideal. This is an incredible number of pets to care for daily. Whil e their basic needs are met\, quality of life deteriorates the longer they are housed in a shelter intended to be a temporary safety net. The lower we can keep that number\, the less dogs there will be at risk for illness\ , increased stress and euthanasia. In addition to these adjustments in com municating the ongoing need\, we have partnered with DeKalb County leaders on both short and long-term solutions that were announced last fall to he lp more pets in need: Increased funding for support to pets of DeKalb Coun ty residents including:A free monthly pet food bankFree spay/neuter surger ies through SNIP DeKalbFree vaccinations through LifeLine’s Mobile Clini cAdditional kennel space to provide more humane housing for the dogs curre ntly in our care:Plans have been approved to build new\, additional kennel s which will provide better housing for court case dogs who are in our car e long termProjected installation is September 2024We believe programs lik e these that make pet resources more accessible\, including affordable spa y/neuter surgery\, are the key to helping more pets stay out of the shelte rs and in homes where they belong. \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal ServicesDog Population: 419 | Optimum Capacity: 325 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At the end of 2023\, we celebrated the grand opening of a brand new 40\,0 00 square foot shelter facility in Fulton County! With the opening of the new building\, we’ve fortunately seen improvement in all of these ways t o create a better environment for the teams and the animals as well as a b etter experience for visitors and supporters: Staff is less stressed. We h ave improved our ability to train\, onboard and implement new and efficien t processes.The building is easier to clean and has decreased the spread o f infectious disease.With separate kennel runs\, animals are less stressed or overwhelmed in the building and do not experience as high of stimulati on. It’s now easier to identify issues with dogs so we can work on getti ng them placed in a home more quickly.Visitors feel more welcome and have the ability to more easily spend time with individual animals. We have als o been able to increase the number of spay/neuter surgeries for our adopta ble animals and provide adopters\, fosters and rescue partners with better diagnostics for their pets with the new clinic.We have seen an increase i n the number of volunteers and hours spent with our team.We are able to ho st other shelters and bring more learning and collaborative opportunities to staff in-houseAt the same time\, we experienced a challenging transitio n as we worked to close the former facility\, adjust to the new set up\, a nd final projects and installations were wrapped up by the county. With th e new opening\, there was an uptick of stray or abandoned pets being broug ht to the new shelter. The shelter is a safe haven\, but can only be so te mporarily for pets in need of homes\, and we’ve seen the dog population quickly fill the building past its limits. Similarly to DeKalb County\, it has been difficult to balance the new intakes with finding outcomes for t he animals\, even in the wake of creative and successful adoption events. According to Animal Shelters Count’s recent annual report\, “In 2023\, 3% more dogs entered shelters than left\, resulting in an additional 107\ ,000 dogs in shelters at the end the year.” Fulton County Animal Service s is also an open intake municipal shelter facility and can’t simply “ stop” taking new animals in even when we’re overcapacity. Fortunately\ , we’ve also started 2024 with recent pawsitive media and exciting opera tional updates. The full-service clinic at Fulton County Animal Services i s now open for the public to make low-cost wellness appointments for their pets to receive the care they need! Additionally\, a Fulton County foster dog\, a pit mix now known as Miss Peaches\, has gone viral after being ad opted by celebrity and President of Barstool Sports\, Dave Portnoy. Miss P eaches’s story\, Dave’s choice to adopt and his initiative to raise fu nds for animal rescue has captured hearts nationwide. Lifesaving deserves to be trending so that we can keep up with the influx of dogs in need. We hope others will follow in his footsteps!  \n \n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal CenterDog Population: 119 | Optimum Capacity: 80 \n \n \n \n The incredible dedication of the team at our LifeLine Community Animal Center cannot be overlooked. Our county s helter facilities tend to take the spotlight in the news and on social med ia because of the massive number of pets that come through their doors\, b ut the Community Animal Center is always working quietly in the background to help the county operations. When the county shelters are over capacity \, so is this facility to keep up with the need. Not only do they consiste ntly take in pets from our county shelters and other rural facilities\, bu t\, when there is a neglect or hoarding case being investigated\, this loc ation takes in dozens of pets when they have nowhere else to go. As we ent er the warmer months of summer\, the Community Animal Center is also const antly preparing to help with the large numbers of kittens and puppies that are in need. Maintaining a full staff at this location is critical to its function. If you’re interested in joining our team full-time\, or even as a volunteer\, our Community Animal Center would love to have you! \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A National Crisis \n \n \n \n In conversations wit h other rescue organizations and in a review of data over the past few yea rs\, we’ve learned that these challenges are not unique to LifeLine or t he city of Atlanta. For the fourth year in a row\, we are faced with a “ new normal” in animal sheltering. According to the report\, “A total o f 900\,000 animals have entered and lingered in our nation’s shelters an d rescues since January 2021. This surplus is on top of the population alr eady residing within organizations\, resulting in an ongoing capacity cris is.” “The number of animals entering shelters through community intake s in 2023 remained roughly the same as 2022 at 6.5 million\, with intakes nearly evenly split between dogs and cats.” Compared to a national decre ase of 3.2% in intakes between 2019 and 2023\, our community intakes throu gh the Fulton and DeKalb County shelters decreased 6.89% from 2019 to 2023 . But\, intakes increased by 14.5% from 2022 to 2023. Even in the wake of these higher intake numbers\, we have been able to rally our community and find an incredible number of homes in 2023 compared to previous years. “While 2.2 million dogs were adopted in 2023\, dog adoptions are still 5 % lower than in 2019 (-108\,000 dogs adopted).” At LifeLine\, our overal l pet adoptions were only down by 1.92% in 2023 compared to 2019\, and ado ptions were higher in 2023 compared to 2018\, 2020\, 2021 and 2022. We are frequently partnering with more organizations who want to help and who ar e spreading the word that adopting is the way to go when searching for a n ew pet. For full shelter statistics across our organization\, please visit www.shelteranimalscount.org/stats. \n \n \n \n In Su mmary \n \n \n \n The animals in our city need help. W hile donations are the foundation for our work in the community and allow us to help more pets get the care they need\, donations don’t create mor e available kennel space. We need your help in getting more pets adopted o r fostered. We need the community’s help in getting more lost pets back home. We need our community to know about available resources for food\, v eterinary care\, and affordable spay/neuter options. Together\, we can sav e these lives and help the animals who need us most. \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Octob er 2023 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message To Our C ommunity \n \n \n \n We are in the midst of an ongoing crisis affecting city and county animal shelters across the country. Time s are extremely difficult for the animals housed in our shelters and the s taff and volunteers who care for them. We have frequently reported on the conditions of our shelters and how desperate we are to get hundreds of ani mals into homes. We hear the distress and complaints about the overcrowdin g from our volunteers\, fosters\, and community\; we experience the condit ions daily\; we see the news articles written and segments being broadcast on television and radio\; we feel and share your frustration and heartbre ak. We are heartbroken\, too. Let us express to you in no uncertain terms: the current conditions in our shelters are not humane or sustainable. We can and we must do better. We will exhaust all efforts to prioritize the h ealth and safety of both pets and people in our care. The balance of human ely sheltering a growing number of animals while giving each one the care and the time they deserve to be placed in a loving home is getting substan tially harder to achieve. The issues contributing to overcrowding primaril y are rooted in the community\, not the shelter\, and cannot be changed ov ernight. In the shelters\, we’ve reached a pivotal breaking point. We ha ve stretched the shelter capacity and resources to unsustainable limits wh ile hoping\, for too long now\, that there would be a turning point where more animals would leave these buildings than enter. But that has not happ ened this year and without homes to go to\, we must euthanize more dogs at both county shelters in order to reach and maintain safe and humane housi ng. There are many facets to the challenges we are currently facing and we will cover some of them in this blog. We also encourage you to check out two other blog posts that go into deeper detail on two important issues: T he No-Kill controversyThe Impact of Spay and Neuter (and other pressing qu estions) \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Are The Shelters So Overcrowded? \n \n \n \n We know there are a lot of questions around why this is happening. We are seeing a new reality\, a post-pandemic world\; E conomic challenges to families\, a lack of affordable and pet-friendly hou sing\, a national shortage of veterinarians\, a decrease in spay/neuter du ring the pandemic and a need for more accessible and affordable spay/neute r options\, a desire for specific breeds\, and a diminishing public capaci ty to help and home shelter animals are all taking a heartbreaking toll on the growing number of animals coming into LifeLine’s care. We have acce pted pets from families arriving at the shelter with all of their possessi ons in a U-haul and nowhere to turn for help. People newly arriving to the area are surrendering their dogs to the shelter because they are unable t o find affordable housing that will allow them to keep their companions.We are coming to terms with an untenable reality of the community relying on a singular shelter as the sole means of support for the growing number of animals at risk – animals who mostly were people’s pets and family me mbers at one time. Systemically\, the shelter alone cannot support the she er volume of need. Here Is A Look At Our Shelters In Crisis: \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 569Target Dog Capacity: 450 On Tuesday \, October 17th\, DeKalb County CEO\, Michael Thurmond\, visited DeKalb Co unty Animal Services. The following day\, he met with our CEO\, Rebecca Gu inn\, and other LifeLine leadership. Together\, LifeLine and DeKalb County leadership agreed that Dekalb County Animal Services must reduce the dog population at the shelter to 450 in 60 days and maintain the population at or below that number. They collaborated and decided on both short- and lo nger-term actions to help aid in this crisis including: Working with staff ing agencies for additional staff and support for cleaning.Deploying perso nnel from other divisions within LifeLine to assist with animal care\, man agement and training and restructuring staff schedules to ensure greater c overage\, particularly on weekends.Sadly\, increasing euthanasia rates if necessary and continuing to do so until we reduce the dog population to 45 0 or less. If we cannot increase lifesaving outcomes beyond the current ra te\, we will have to euthanize 9 animals each day\, or 63 animals each wee k.Constructing an overflow campus adjacent to the shelter\, designed to ho ld up to 120 additional dogs above the current target capacity and provide effective isolation areas\, to help alleviate the need for euthanasia for population control. This solution will take time to build\, staff and ope rate and until then we must get below 450 animals in the current building. Improving communications between DeKalb County’s Animal Services Enforce ment division and the shelter to more proactively address factors in the f ield that are causing animals to come into the shelter.Increasing support to fund access to veterinary care for DeKalb pet owners in need\, includin g subsidized and free spay/neuter\, and targeting areas of DeKalb County y ielding the highest number of animals impounded in the shelter.What it wil l take to change the situation most\, in the short-term\, is simply fewer dogs in the building. We are asking our community to help us achieve those target dog population numbers because\, without homes to go to\, dogs wil l be euthanized for space\, regardless of health and temperment. Please a dopt or foster a pet today. \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dog s: 357Sustainable Capacity for Dogs: 325 We’ve mentioned that there is h ope on the horizon in Fulton County in the form of a brand new shelter fac ility preparing to open before the end of the year. However\, this does no t change the fact that the current facility is in dire straits. On average \, 15 dogs are being euthanized for space each week. Each day\, 16 dogs en ter the facility. That’s\, on average\, 2 more dogs that come in than le ave. While some conditions will improve with the upcoming move to the new facility\, rising intake and overcrowding will not be solved entirely by t ransitioning from one building to another. Fulton County is in desperate n eed of adopters and fosters\, including Friendly Finders who are willing t o foster a lost or stray dog through its mandated stray hold (3 to 5 busin ess days total) instead of immediately dropping them at the shelter when f ound. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n LifeLin e Midtown \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 105O ptimum Capacity for Dogs: 75 As an overflow facility\, for every dog adopt ed at LifeLine Midtown\, space opens up for another dog from the Fulton Co unty Animal Services. And\, because the shelter is smaller\, it is a less overwhelming experience for individuals to visit and bring home a pet. Ado pting a pet from LifeLine Midtown greatly supports the main Fulton County shelter. When the new Fulton shelter opens\, the Midtown facility will clo se and any dogs still there will have to move to the new shelter. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 111 O ptimum Capacity for Dogs: 60  LifeLine’s Community Animal Center adopti on center was designed as an overflow facility for our county shelters. St aff and volunteers also provide pets with special medical or behavioral ch allenges more time and attention to meet those needs. For dogs\, the Commu nity Animal Center is the primary overflow facility for the DeKalb County shelter. Because it is also full\, our Community Animal Center is limited in serving these critical functions. Beyond just dogs\, our staff is also caring for the majority of our organization’s cats. This adoption center \, like our Midtown location\, offers a calmer environment that may be eas ier to visit. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We Cannot Do This Alone \n \n \n \n Two things can be true: we can be proud of what we’ve accomplished together as a community in 10 ye ars’ time AND acknowledge the ways LifeLine needs to improve and perseve re as an organization. We have committed ourselves to helping these animal s\, but we are limited now by a lack of space and resources\, as well as e xternal challenges in the communities we serve. We are also human and make mistakes. And\, most importantly\, we cannot do this alone. While we are pursuing all avenues toward long-term solutions\, in the short term\, we n eed a miracle. We need you. We are asking our community to please foster o r adopt a pet today. You will be truly saving a life. If you have question s about any topic in this blog and would like to reach out\, please email feedback@lifelineanimal.org or write to LifeLine Animal Project\, ATTN: Op erations 3180 Presidential Drive\, Atlanta\, GA 30340. Thank you\, Atlanta . For believing in our work and helping us save lives today and always. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n February 2023 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Hello\, friends and supporters.  We wanted to share some critical u pdates and news as we turn the page on 2022\, and enter 2023 in a much bet ter position to give our deserving animals the love and space they need to thrive. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In January\, on the heels of a Canine Flu outbreak\, we were faced with a grim reality and life or death decisions. After more than a year of being at critical capacity at our DeKalb County Animal Services sh elter\, we were left with the heartbreaking possibility of having to eutha nize animals for space. We had nearly 600 dogs in need of home (at just th is one shelter). We put out a plea for help in the Greater Atlanta area\, and in a mere 7 days\, 373 dogs from DeKalb and 556 dogs from all LifeLine shelters found new homes! We are forever grateful to the Atlanta communit y for their support in our darkest hour. This is what lifesaving looks lik e. By the end of January\, our Fulton County Animal Services had fewer tha n 300 animals for the first time in almost a year. But within days of hitt ing that milestone\, we were called in with law enforcement on a rescue ca se and brought more than 60 new impounded animals safely into our care. Ea ch of these animals requires space\, food and immediate medical care. Our Fulton shelter team was also tasked with running LifeLine Midtown\, our te mporary shelter that opened in early January during the Canine Flu outbrea k to divert intake and keep dogs healthy. While it helped contain that out break\, a new location strains precious resources and manpower\, which has been challenging due to staffing shortages. \n \n \n \n Number of Dogs in Need of Homes as of February 15th \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services: 343 in the shelter and 928 in foster hom es\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services: 339 in the shelter and 22 0 in foster homes\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal Center: 65 in t he shelter and 85 in foster homes\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n LifeLine Midtown: 82 in t he shelter\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The LifeLine Community Animal Center con tinues to aid in the efforts of freeing up space at our county shelters an d helping dogs clear their quarantine period from the Canine Flu outbreak. Recent staffing hires have provided much needed relief to our existing te ams. After the incredible number of adoptions at our DeKalb shelter\, ther e are many animals in need of spay/neuter procedures. The Community Animal Center has stepped in to help temporarily house animals awaiting surgery and ensure that pets don’t have to wait any longer than necessary to go home with new\, loving families. Fortunately\, while the dogs in our care have been a major media focus in 2023\, we have also happily seen a steady flow of cat adoptions at the Community Animal Center and have enough open cat housing space to prepare for a busy kitten season to start in the spr ing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n It’s bee n a busy start to the new year. And\, while we are celebrating the wins\, the hard work isn’t over. Even though we successfully saved many lives\ , 20-40 dogs come into our county shelters every single day and they need your help to find their way home.  \n \n \n \n What We Need Most Now: \n \n \n \n Volunteers and new staff are urgently needed to keep this much-needed LifeLine Midtown shelter up and running\, as well as help at our other locations.We always need adopte rs and fosters to place more pets into homes where they belong.We need goo d Samaritans in our community to help lost pets make their way back home i nstead of to the shelter. Find out what to do if you should find a lost pe t.And\, if you can’t foster or adopt\, please consider making a donation .As always\, thank you for your critical support. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2022 Posts \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Novem ber\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n September\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n June\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n May\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n March\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n AN URGENT PLEA FROM OUR CEO TO THE CITY OF ATLANTA\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The current situation in our Atlanta animal shelters is dire. The animals in our care do not have the space they need\, or dese rve\, and we need your help. Our hard working teams are understaffed and w orking extreme overtime to ensure that kennels are clean\, bowls are full\ , and the pets in our shelters are well cared for. Our volunteers walk hun dreds of dogs a day. And it’s still not enough. We have teams covering r escue\, adoptions\, marketing\, volunteers\, and foster parents\, all work ing tirelessly to find homes and other ways Atlanta’s pets can get out o f the shelter. This is not the life our city’s animals deserve. This sta te our shelters are in is not sustainable for the pets nor the people who care for them. Animal shelters have never been\, and will never be\, the i deal solution for the animals. Atlanta\, we urgently need your help. Our a nimals are in desperate need of homes. Each of our shelters have exceeded capacity by the hundreds. DeKalb County Animal Services has nearly 600 dog s and over 50 cats in the building\, Fulton County Animal Services has alm ost 400 dogs in a building meant to hold 80. The more pets in our care\, t he harder it is to make sure they are living as comfortably as they deserv e during their time with us. We are meant to be a temporary refuge for pet s in need\, not a home. Pets cannot thrive here\, especially when there is an overwhelming amount of them. We know you’ve heard this plea before. And we hope you’ll hear it now. The situation is not improving. There ar e more animals in our care than ever and they really need your help. We ne ed your help. Adopt: Whether you’re looking for a calm couch potato\, wa lking partner\, or anything in between\, there are over 1\,000 deserving p ets waiting for you. Foster: If you have just two weeks to help a pet\, th at can make all of the difference. Sign up here.Donate: We need monetary d onations and supplies to continue caring for this many animals each day. Y ou can help by donating here or sending us much-needed items from our Amaz on wishlists. Help lost pets: Most pets are found within a mile of their h ome. If they come to a shelter\, their chances of being reunited greatly d eclines. If you find a pet\, follow these steps or become a friendly finde r. Spay/Neuter: Unlike humans\, dogs and cats give birth to 4-to-6 animals in one litter. Also\, dogs can give birth up to twice a year and cats up to 5 times a year! Because they can produce so many offspring each year\, it is important to spay/neuter your pet as soon as possible to reduce pet overpopulation. Learn more here about the benefits and how to book an appo intment with one of our Spay/Neuter clinics. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n September 202 2 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We wish we had bette r news to share\, but right now\, the shelters are still struggling. There is a lot of pressure right now on the county shelters to be the lifeline for more pets than the shelters have space to house. The reason for this o vercrowding is simple: more animals are coming in than are leaving. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In August\, we saw a total of 601 dogs adopted\, but 863 came in du ring that same time. That’s 262 more dogs entering our already full buil dings.  \nNumber of dogs that need homes: \n\n337 dogs in need at our Ful ton County shelter\n526 dogs in need at our DeKalb County shelter\n81 dogs in need at our Community Animal Center\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The situation is dir e. We are urging our communities in Fulton and DeKalb Counties to please n ot bring healthy pets they find straight to the shelter as first response. Please take a few steps in the first 48 hours to get lost pets back home where they belong. This does not mean pets will be without support in the community. Those injured or sick are always a top priority. We’re tryin g to make more space for those most in need. And\, we are also trying to f ind solutions for humans in emergency situations who have run out of optio ns. Here are a few things anyone can do to help during this crisis: Adopt a petFoster a pet. 200 emergency fosters are needed at our shelters right nowDonate to support pets in the shelterCollect newspaper\, towels and bla nkets to drop off at any locationCheck the shelter wishlist for items most in needHelp a neighbor who can’t keep their pet find a new home – her e’s howFollow our social channels and help us get the word out by sharin g posts from your preferred platform\, Facebook\, Instagram and Twitter.Wr ite an article in your local neighborhood paper about adopting/fostering s helter petsIf you find a lost pet\, fill out a found pet report\, follow t hese steps or become a friendly finder \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n June 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n You are the next chapter in animal w elfare. \n \n \n \n Animal shelters have never been\, and will never be\, the ideal solution for the animals. They have always b een a flawed answer to a bigger community challenge of how to best help lo st\, stray and unwanted pets.  Across the nation\, all communities are fa cing the aftershocks of the pandemic. For animal shelters\, those challeng es include overpopulated and understaffed facilities\, higher intake and f ewer adopters\, and a substantial decrease in rescue transfer support. In Atlanta\, we’ve had to restrict intake at varying levels due to the seve re overcapacity status at both county shelters.  But over the last few ye ars\, and through the recent challenges\, we’ve begun to see how a criti cal shift\, and a different path forward\, can actually save the lives of the animals in our community without having animals languish in shelters. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Over 60% of the animals in a shelter are stray/lost pets. Imagine if the shelters d idn’t exist to collect all the lost and stray pets of a community. What if the community itself was able to help those pets find and reunite with their families?  63% of animals are found just a mile from their home (26 % are just a block away). If neighbors could reunite pets with their famil ies\, instead of bringing them to the shelter\, our shelters would always have space to help those with nowhere to go. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n What if the community could help struggling neighbors rehome their pets instead of turning them over to a shelter? Wha t if more resources were spent on keeping pets and people together instead of housing pets in a crowded shelter? If we\, as a community\, could shif t the focus to support each other in creative and practical ways\, the she lters wouldn’t be overcrowded with lost pets missing their families\, or abandoned pets looking for new homes. There will always be a need for she lters to help animals in emergency situations and victims of animal cruelt y\, but the real safety net for pets is a caring community – neighbors h elping neighbors.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Especially now\, when the need continues to exceed available sh eltering resources\, we believe we must find more community-centric soluti ons by working together with pet-lovers and good samaritans to get more pe ts home where they belong.  LifeLine does not believe killing healthy and treatable pets to make more space in a shelter is ever the right answer. Population management through euthanasia has never worked. Reliance on eut hanasia constrains the development of lifesaving solutions\, and the resul ts are always tragic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n When faced with external pressure to euthanize healthy and treatabl e animals to create more shelter space last month\, we turned to our anima l-loving community and in one week found foster and adoptive homes for 300 + pets. Atlanta\, you are the ideal solution. With your help\, we can weav e together a new safety net for the animals in need. Whether you are a vet eran rescuer or new to animal welfare\, help us shift the response when we find lost and stray pets\, so that more pets can be returned to their hom es. If you hear of situations where people need help with a found pet\, he lp them find options\, contact friends to find a foster home and help canv as the neighborhood to reunite families. Share this page.If you read about someone needing to rehome a pet\, share these resources and ask your neig hbors and friends if anyone can help. The pet owner\, rather than the shel ter\, will be able to find the best match for a loved pet. If someone is missing a pet\, check the lost pet pages of our website to see if the pet ended up at the shelter.If you can’t adopt\, foster. If you can’t fost er\, donate. If you can’t donate\, volunteer. If you can’t volunteer\, become an ambassador and share information and resources. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Please continue to suppor t our county shelters. Know that the staff is making the best decisions fo r every individual animal and human who comes to our doors with the resour ces that are available.  \nPlease extend the benefit of the doubt to lear n more about decisions that are being made. The people who dedicate our li ves to help animals in the shelter are not perfect\, but we are doing thei r very best in every situation\, for every individual pet\, and we are wor king with very limited resources and the most challenging of circumstances .  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Right now\, we are at a pivotal moment to change the course of animal welfare and lif esaving in our city. Animals deserve to be in homes and people deserve the love of a pet. Will you join us in committing to turn to each other to fi nd ways to help the animals in your community? Are you in?  We are. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n May 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availabili ty ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n Metro Atlanta County Animal Shelters are Out of Space! \n \n \n \n The county shelters have reached peak capacity and no longer have kennel space to house dogs. Because of the sheer volume\, we have had to set up temporary crates to house new arrivals but this is n ot a sustainable or acceptable solution.  This year we have seen a declin e in adoptions by 14% and a 37% decline in the number of animals leaving w ith rescue partners (compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels). We also saw a decline in the number of lost pets finding their families again. Not only are there more animals currently in the shelters\, but they are staying lo nger which impacts their physical and mental wellbeing.  We URGENTLY need help to place our medium to large dogs into homes so that the shelters do not have to face difficult life or death decisions. We currently need to find 250 homes for dogs living at the DeKalb shelter. The Fulton County an imal shelter is facing a similar situation and needs to find 150 homes thi s week.  Here’s what we are experiencing currently across metro Atlanta . \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb Coun ty Animal Services \n \n \n \n Today\, there are 560 d ogs in our DeKalb facility*. In May 2019\, prior to the pandemic the shelt er held 440 dogs. Fewer animals are leaving the shelter\, and animals are staying longer looking for homes. They’re waiting an average of 80 days at DeKalb County Animal Services. Due to this critical status\, Dekalb Cou nty and LifeLine Animal Project\, in conjunction with the Georgia Departme nt of Agriculture\, are enacting emergency only intake protocols. This mea ns the DeKalb shelter is only able to accept animals from emergency situat ions or in critical need (injured animals\, animals involved in bite cases or cruelty situations). DeKalb County Animal Enforcement will also enforc e these emergency protocols and will only respond to high priority calls. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n *As of May 25\, 2022\, with the help of our community\, the number of dogs housed at DeKalb County Animal Service s has decreased to 433. We are making slow\, but steady\, progress towards reducing the number of pets housed at the shelter to a more comfortable t hreshold of 320. However\, the situation remains critical and your continu ed help is needed to find homes for the pets in our care. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n There are currently 360  dogs in our Fulton facility**\, which was bui lt to house only 80 dogs. Dogs are waiting an average 40 days to be placed in a home\, which is longer than previous years and is very stressful for the animals. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n **As of May 25\, 2022\, thanks to our community’s help in response to an urgent plea for fosters and ad opters\, the number of dogs housed at Fulton County Animal Services has di pped below 300. Additionally\, a generous volunteer has pledged to sponsor 100 dog adoptions this May at Fulton County. We always want to provide hu mane housing for the animals in our care and at the levels we are experien cing\, that is extremely challenging. Our community’s continued help at this critical time is needed to find homes for the pets in our care. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Community Animal C enter \n \n \n \n Our Community Animal Center takes in pets from our county shelters to help alleviate space constraints. Right now\, the center is full and can only take in more dogs when dogs currentl y in our care are adopted or head to foster homes.  Last week\, 128 cats arrived from our DeKalb and Fulton shelters. If you are looking for a cat\ , there are many available at the LifeLine Community Animal Center. There are also over 100 dogs available for adoption at this location. \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n Let's save lives together. \n \n \n \n Please share this blog with your community and network to help more pets find the homes they deserve today. \n \n \n \n Ways to Help \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n March 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel spa ce\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangero usly full\n \n \n \n \n \n Crit ical Needs This Week: Adopters and Fosters \n \n \n \n This February\, we saw the highest intake levels on record for the mont h since LifeLine took over shelter management in 2013. Both of our county shelters are in the red zone for space availability!  As we continue to f ace a growing space crisis\, we turn our attention to the impact of crowdi ng and the shelter environment on the health of our pets. It is a common m isconception that pets may fare better in a shelter than in a home where t he pet parent has to leave daily for work or doesn’t have a yard. There is no place like a home when it comes to animals. Even with the incredible support of our staff and volunteers\, it is impossible to replicate the c alm and one-on-one attention a pet will receive in a home. Shelters\, part icularly at the capacity level we currently face\, can be loud and overwhe lming for many pets. Though they are safe and fed\, the close proximity to so many other pets can lead to a spread in medical conditions. Ultimately \, we see a deterioration of our pets the longer they spend in the shelter \, along with added strain for our veterinary teams.  Our goal is to see all of our pets find their way to a warm and loving home. We need help giv ing our shelter pets a break\, including taking them out for a day or a we ekend\, while they await the arrival of their new family. We immediately s ee an improvement in our pet’s health and happiness when they are in a h ome. Plus\, you can provide key insights on the dog or cat’s personality (which tends to shine beyond the shelter walls) to share with potential a dopters! We are facing a particular need for fosters for our pets that hav e medical needs\, are part of an ongoing court case\, and dogs that are la rger in size. To find out more and help give our pets a break\, check out our Foster page. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \n There ar e currently 471 dogs at DeKalb County Animal Services\, 253 MORE than the ideal number of dogs that should be housed in our shelter here and putting us in the RED ZONE!  The need for special care fosters is imperative. Ce rtain pets\, such as those that have just given birth\, are undergoing med ical treatment or are part of a court case\, deserve a quiet space and may need a little extra care. This can include receiving regular doses of med icine\, restricted or regulated exercise regimes or extra space to care fo r their puppies. It is important that they have a home where they can rela x\, heal and rest stress-free.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n The Fulton County Animal Services shelter is in the RED ZONE! There are 265 dogs in the shelter\, an alarming 115 dogs over the ideal number of 150. This means some runs have up to five dogs s haring a space. As a result\, the shelter is seeing an uptick in medical i ssues\, particularly contagious ailments like upper respiratory infections . \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n In Feb ruary 2022\, the LifeLine Community Animal Center brought in 222 pets to h elp create space at our two county shelters. 94 dogs and 84 cats are waiti ng for a place to call home\, with many more patiently waiting in foster h omes. Our animals are showing tremendous resilience\, but we need urgent h elp from our community to provide these precious pets with homes! Our miss ion remains\, as always\, to save the lives of all healthy and treatable a nimals. We appreciate the support of our community! \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n Help us save lives together! \n \n \n \n Share this blog with your community\, and help get mor e pets into homes today! \n \n \n \n Ways to Help \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n January 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n We are kicking off the new year with an unfamiliar sight for this time of the year: shelters that are stil l full from this summer. Shelter space is unfortunately\, yet typically\, limited during the summer months\, but this is the first time we have expe rienced such a continued strain on our shelter capacity and team. The numb er of animals coming in our doors has increased by 12% over last year whil e the number of dogs adopted has decreased. People are also struggling to care for their pets and have been facing evictions and other challenges. T his means more pets have been surrendered. Over the last two years\, we ha ve seen a 39% decline in the number of animals our rescue partners have be en able to help pull to safety\, largely due to factors resulting from the COVID pandemic. All of these challenges would be difficult alone but\, li ke so many others\, we are also facing severe labor shortages. We currentl y have 34 open positions across three locations\, which means we are missi ng 13% of our workforce. Between the staffing challenge and the number of staff who have been out sick due to the latest wave of the COVID-19 virus\ , we are struggling. Animal care is always our top priority. Our understaf fed teams and volunteers are working doubly hard to care for all the anima ls in need\, covering extra shifts and taking on additional responsibiliti es. In these times\, we must depend even more so on our community’s supp ort. By adopting\, donating\, volunteering\, helping lost animals back hom e and finding new homes for those alone in the shelter\, our community off ers real and sustained hope for the animals in our care. We are continuing to take in animals for emergency situations and for those who do not have any other options. Our Animal Service Officers and community support team s continue to provide resources\, including access to veterinary care and pet supplies\, pet lost and found assistance and self-rehoming options for animals in non-emergency situations. We always work with individuals faci ng financial hardship who need help for their pets. We often reduce or wai ve reclaim and surrender fees in the hopes of helping people and finding t he best outcomes for the animals. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \ n The ideal number of dogs that should be housed at DeKalb County Animal Services is 218. This allows us to house one dog per kennel with ac cess to both sides of the kennel. We are currently in the red zone with 48 0 dogs in the building. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n With Fulton County Animal Services being a smaller\, older building\, there is space to optimally house only 150 dogs. As of la st week\, there were 221 dogs in the shelter. This forces us to house mult iple dogs in most of the kennels. Not only does this make cleaning the she lter a logistical challenge\, but it means the environment is less than id eal for our animals. Our goal is to safely house a large population while mitigating risk of disease and shelter stress on the animals. If we had fe wer dogs in the building\, we could provide larger\, single kennels for 26 of our larger breed dogs\, who need individual housing\, and who are curr ently residing in smaller cages. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n In December 2021\, the LifeLine Community Animal C enter transferred in 170 pets from Fulton and DeKalb to help make space at the our two county shelters. We currently have 95 dogs and 102 cats looki ng for homes\, and even more are waiting to find families while they live in foster homes. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We believe space limitations alone are an unacceptable reason to euthani ze healthy and treatable animals. LifeLine has been able to achieve “no- kill\,”  saving 90% or more of all the animals who enter our shelters\, but we are only able to maintain this lifesaving achievement with the com munity’s support and advocacy. We know our community has the ability to provide the support needed to save precious lives.  Their lives depend on it. \n \n \n \n Make a difference today! \n \n \n \n Share this blog post with your community\, and help g et more pets into homes today. LAST-MODIFIED:20260912T181622Z URL:https://lifelineanimal.org/lifeline-events/petsmart-camp-creek-dog-ado ption-event-3/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta -ga X-SOURCE-NAME:LifeLine Animal Project X-SOURCE-URL:https://lifelineanimal.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Dog Adoption Event in Roswell DTSTART:20260919T160000Z DTEND:20260919T190000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T202036Z UID:51098-1789819200-1789830000@atlantahumane.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Join us select Saturdays for special dog adoption events featu ring adoptable puppies and adult dogs of all sizes. While our Roswell loca tion is typically home to cats\, these events offer even more opportunitie s to meet your new best friend and support lifesaving rescue efforts acros s our community. \nDogs for this event will be from Braveheart Bulliez Res cue. LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T202036Z LOCATION:Atlanta Humane Society – Roswell\, 1010 Mansell Rd\, Roswell\, GA\, 30076\, United States URL:https://atlantahumane.org/event/dog-adoption-event-in-roswell-9/?utm_s ource=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Atlanta Humane Society X-SOURCE-URL:https://atlantahumane.org/get-involved/volunteer END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Pup-A-Palooza Dog Adoption Event DTSTART:20260919T160000Z DTEND:20260919T190000Z DTSTAMP:20260916T001659Z UID:38117-1789819200-1789830000@lifelineanimal.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Our goal with this page is to share the current shelter needs with our community in an ongoing way. We hope to update this page seasonal ly or more frequently as needed. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n May 2024 \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n Last year\, we reached a pivotal break ing point in terms of the number of animals housed in our care. We recogni zed the physical capacity limitations of our buildings and made a commitme nt to work towards humane housing solutions\, which means both the county shelters need to reduce the number of animals living in the buildings. Whi le we continue to face severe overcrowding into 2024\, we have worked hard to increase resources to help more pet owners and improve the quality of life for the animals in our care. We are continuing to adapt to the challe nges we’re facing\, including many systemic problems that contribute to the number of animals arriving in our care. We have collaborated with many supportive community members and leaders in pursuit of creating a safer a nd more humane shelter environment for all. There are no overnight solutio ns to drastically reduce our shelter populations\, but we continue to have hope that with your support and the strategies currently in place\, our c ommunity will help us get more animals into homes where they belong. Here is a brief update for all three LifeLine shelters\, including the unique c hallenges and the most important ways you can get involved. \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal ServicesDog Population: 506 | Opti mum Capacity: 475 \n \n \n \n Last year\, DeKalb Count y Animal Services reached peak numbers of dogs housed in the shelter durin g an outbreak of Canine Flu.. Because of an incredible response from our c ommunity\, we successfully saw the population drop down to 312 dogs. Becau se the need in our community is so great\, this number steadily rose back up to 500+ dogs and has remained in that range for months on end despite o ur best efforts. It is a near constant struggle to balance the amount of “noses in”\, pets arriving at the shelter\, with the amount of “nose s out” each week\, pets leaving. As an open intake municipal facility\, we do not turn away animals in need in Dekalb County\, no matter how much or little space we have in our kennels when we begin a new day. It is impo rtant that the community understands this distinction from other rescue or ganizations and is aware of ways they can help prevent lost or stray pets from ever having to enter the shelter. We need to create room for pets tha t have the most urgent need for our help. We must find a way to help more animals find homes and keep the shelter at a capacity that is humane for t he pets in our care. Heartbreaking space euthanasia decisions must be made weekly and overcrowding is putting more dogs at risk. Instead of focusing our at-risk dogs\, we are asking our community to focus efforts and resou rces on getting more of our highly-adoptable dogs out so that those animal s identified as most at risk (struggling in the shelter and exhibiting a v ariety of challenging behaviors) can get the time that they need to find a home. Any animal that leaves the building will help us reach our target o f decreasing the dog population to below a threshold of 475. This new proc ess includes daily population updates on the website and improved communic ations with our volunteers and community about how to best support dogs in need in our shelters. Even still\, 475 dogs housed in the building is les s than ideal. This is an incredible number of pets to care for daily. Whil e their basic needs are met\, quality of life deteriorates the longer they are housed in a shelter intended to be a temporary safety net. The lower we can keep that number\, the less dogs there will be at risk for illness\ , increased stress and euthanasia. In addition to these adjustments in com municating the ongoing need\, we have partnered with DeKalb County leaders on both short and long-term solutions that were announced last fall to he lp more pets in need: Increased funding for support to pets of DeKalb Coun ty residents including:A free monthly pet food bankFree spay/neuter surger ies through SNIP DeKalbFree vaccinations through LifeLine’s Mobile Clini cAdditional kennel space to provide more humane housing for the dogs curre ntly in our care:Plans have been approved to build new\, additional kennel s which will provide better housing for court case dogs who are in our car e long termProjected installation is September 2024We believe programs lik e these that make pet resources more accessible\, including affordable spa y/neuter surgery\, are the key to helping more pets stay out of the shelte rs and in homes where they belong. \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal ServicesDog Population: 419 | Optimum Capacity: 325 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At the end of 2023\, we celebrated the grand opening of a brand new 40\,0 00 square foot shelter facility in Fulton County! With the opening of the new building\, we’ve fortunately seen improvement in all of these ways t o create a better environment for the teams and the animals as well as a b etter experience for visitors and supporters: Staff is less stressed. We h ave improved our ability to train\, onboard and implement new and efficien t processes.The building is easier to clean and has decreased the spread o f infectious disease.With separate kennel runs\, animals are less stressed or overwhelmed in the building and do not experience as high of stimulati on. It’s now easier to identify issues with dogs so we can work on getti ng them placed in a home more quickly.Visitors feel more welcome and have the ability to more easily spend time with individual animals. We have als o been able to increase the number of spay/neuter surgeries for our adopta ble animals and provide adopters\, fosters and rescue partners with better diagnostics for their pets with the new clinic.We have seen an increase i n the number of volunteers and hours spent with our team.We are able to ho st other shelters and bring more learning and collaborative opportunities to staff in-houseAt the same time\, we experienced a challenging transitio n as we worked to close the former facility\, adjust to the new set up\, a nd final projects and installations were wrapped up by the county. With th e new opening\, there was an uptick of stray or abandoned pets being broug ht to the new shelter. The shelter is a safe haven\, but can only be so te mporarily for pets in need of homes\, and we’ve seen the dog population quickly fill the building past its limits. Similarly to DeKalb County\, it has been difficult to balance the new intakes with finding outcomes for t he animals\, even in the wake of creative and successful adoption events. According to Animal Shelters Count’s recent annual report\, “In 2023\, 3% more dogs entered shelters than left\, resulting in an additional 107\ ,000 dogs in shelters at the end the year.” Fulton County Animal Service s is also an open intake municipal shelter facility and can’t simply “ stop” taking new animals in even when we’re overcapacity. Fortunately\ , we’ve also started 2024 with recent pawsitive media and exciting opera tional updates. The full-service clinic at Fulton County Animal Services i s now open for the public to make low-cost wellness appointments for their pets to receive the care they need! Additionally\, a Fulton County foster dog\, a pit mix now known as Miss Peaches\, has gone viral after being ad opted by celebrity and President of Barstool Sports\, Dave Portnoy. Miss P eaches’s story\, Dave’s choice to adopt and his initiative to raise fu nds for animal rescue has captured hearts nationwide. Lifesaving deserves to be trending so that we can keep up with the influx of dogs in need. We hope others will follow in his footsteps!  \n \n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal CenterDog Population: 119 | Optimum Capacity: 80 \n \n \n \n The incredible dedication of the team at our LifeLine Community Animal Center cannot be overlooked. Our county s helter facilities tend to take the spotlight in the news and on social med ia because of the massive number of pets that come through their doors\, b ut the Community Animal Center is always working quietly in the background to help the county operations. When the county shelters are over capacity \, so is this facility to keep up with the need. Not only do they consiste ntly take in pets from our county shelters and other rural facilities\, bu t\, when there is a neglect or hoarding case being investigated\, this loc ation takes in dozens of pets when they have nowhere else to go. As we ent er the warmer months of summer\, the Community Animal Center is also const antly preparing to help with the large numbers of kittens and puppies that are in need. Maintaining a full staff at this location is critical to its function. If you’re interested in joining our team full-time\, or even as a volunteer\, our Community Animal Center would love to have you! \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A National Crisis \n \n \n \n In conversations wit h other rescue organizations and in a review of data over the past few yea rs\, we’ve learned that these challenges are not unique to LifeLine or t he city of Atlanta. For the fourth year in a row\, we are faced with a “ new normal” in animal sheltering. According to the report\, “A total o f 900\,000 animals have entered and lingered in our nation’s shelters an d rescues since January 2021. This surplus is on top of the population alr eady residing within organizations\, resulting in an ongoing capacity cris is.” “The number of animals entering shelters through community intake s in 2023 remained roughly the same as 2022 at 6.5 million\, with intakes nearly evenly split between dogs and cats.” Compared to a national decre ase of 3.2% in intakes between 2019 and 2023\, our community intakes throu gh the Fulton and DeKalb County shelters decreased 6.89% from 2019 to 2023 . But\, intakes increased by 14.5% from 2022 to 2023. Even in the wake of these higher intake numbers\, we have been able to rally our community and find an incredible number of homes in 2023 compared to previous years. “While 2.2 million dogs were adopted in 2023\, dog adoptions are still 5 % lower than in 2019 (-108\,000 dogs adopted).” At LifeLine\, our overal l pet adoptions were only down by 1.92% in 2023 compared to 2019\, and ado ptions were higher in 2023 compared to 2018\, 2020\, 2021 and 2022. We are frequently partnering with more organizations who want to help and who ar e spreading the word that adopting is the way to go when searching for a n ew pet. For full shelter statistics across our organization\, please visit www.shelteranimalscount.org/stats. \n \n \n \n In Su mmary \n \n \n \n The animals in our city need help. W hile donations are the foundation for our work in the community and allow us to help more pets get the care they need\, donations don’t create mor e available kennel space. We need your help in getting more pets adopted o r fostered. We need the community’s help in getting more lost pets back home. We need our community to know about available resources for food\, v eterinary care\, and affordable spay/neuter options. Together\, we can sav e these lives and help the animals who need us most. \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Octob er 2023 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message To Our C ommunity \n \n \n \n We are in the midst of an ongoing crisis affecting city and county animal shelters across the country. Time s are extremely difficult for the animals housed in our shelters and the s taff and volunteers who care for them. We have frequently reported on the conditions of our shelters and how desperate we are to get hundreds of ani mals into homes. We hear the distress and complaints about the overcrowdin g from our volunteers\, fosters\, and community\; we experience the condit ions daily\; we see the news articles written and segments being broadcast on television and radio\; we feel and share your frustration and heartbre ak. We are heartbroken\, too. Let us express to you in no uncertain terms: the current conditions in our shelters are not humane or sustainable. We can and we must do better. We will exhaust all efforts to prioritize the h ealth and safety of both pets and people in our care. The balance of human ely sheltering a growing number of animals while giving each one the care and the time they deserve to be placed in a loving home is getting substan tially harder to achieve. The issues contributing to overcrowding primaril y are rooted in the community\, not the shelter\, and cannot be changed ov ernight. In the shelters\, we’ve reached a pivotal breaking point. We ha ve stretched the shelter capacity and resources to unsustainable limits wh ile hoping\, for too long now\, that there would be a turning point where more animals would leave these buildings than enter. But that has not happ ened this year and without homes to go to\, we must euthanize more dogs at both county shelters in order to reach and maintain safe and humane housi ng. There are many facets to the challenges we are currently facing and we will cover some of them in this blog. We also encourage you to check out two other blog posts that go into deeper detail on two important issues: T he No-Kill controversyThe Impact of Spay and Neuter (and other pressing qu estions) \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Are The Shelters So Overcrowded? \n \n \n \n We know there are a lot of questions around why this is happening. We are seeing a new reality\, a post-pandemic world\; E conomic challenges to families\, a lack of affordable and pet-friendly hou sing\, a national shortage of veterinarians\, a decrease in spay/neuter du ring the pandemic and a need for more accessible and affordable spay/neute r options\, a desire for specific breeds\, and a diminishing public capaci ty to help and home shelter animals are all taking a heartbreaking toll on the growing number of animals coming into LifeLine’s care. We have acce pted pets from families arriving at the shelter with all of their possessi ons in a U-haul and nowhere to turn for help. People newly arriving to the area are surrendering their dogs to the shelter because they are unable t o find affordable housing that will allow them to keep their companions.We are coming to terms with an untenable reality of the community relying on a singular shelter as the sole means of support for the growing number of animals at risk – animals who mostly were people’s pets and family me mbers at one time. Systemically\, the shelter alone cannot support the she er volume of need. Here Is A Look At Our Shelters In Crisis: \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 569Target Dog Capacity: 450 On Tuesday \, October 17th\, DeKalb County CEO\, Michael Thurmond\, visited DeKalb Co unty Animal Services. The following day\, he met with our CEO\, Rebecca Gu inn\, and other LifeLine leadership. Together\, LifeLine and DeKalb County leadership agreed that Dekalb County Animal Services must reduce the dog population at the shelter to 450 in 60 days and maintain the population at or below that number. They collaborated and decided on both short- and lo nger-term actions to help aid in this crisis including: Working with staff ing agencies for additional staff and support for cleaning.Deploying perso nnel from other divisions within LifeLine to assist with animal care\, man agement and training and restructuring staff schedules to ensure greater c overage\, particularly on weekends.Sadly\, increasing euthanasia rates if necessary and continuing to do so until we reduce the dog population to 45 0 or less. If we cannot increase lifesaving outcomes beyond the current ra te\, we will have to euthanize 9 animals each day\, or 63 animals each wee k.Constructing an overflow campus adjacent to the shelter\, designed to ho ld up to 120 additional dogs above the current target capacity and provide effective isolation areas\, to help alleviate the need for euthanasia for population control. This solution will take time to build\, staff and ope rate and until then we must get below 450 animals in the current building. Improving communications between DeKalb County’s Animal Services Enforce ment division and the shelter to more proactively address factors in the f ield that are causing animals to come into the shelter.Increasing support to fund access to veterinary care for DeKalb pet owners in need\, includin g subsidized and free spay/neuter\, and targeting areas of DeKalb County y ielding the highest number of animals impounded in the shelter.What it wil l take to change the situation most\, in the short-term\, is simply fewer dogs in the building. We are asking our community to help us achieve those target dog population numbers because\, without homes to go to\, dogs wil l be euthanized for space\, regardless of health and temperment. Please a dopt or foster a pet today. \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dog s: 357Sustainable Capacity for Dogs: 325 We’ve mentioned that there is h ope on the horizon in Fulton County in the form of a brand new shelter fac ility preparing to open before the end of the year. However\, this does no t change the fact that the current facility is in dire straits. On average \, 15 dogs are being euthanized for space each week. Each day\, 16 dogs en ter the facility. That’s\, on average\, 2 more dogs that come in than le ave. While some conditions will improve with the upcoming move to the new facility\, rising intake and overcrowding will not be solved entirely by t ransitioning from one building to another. Fulton County is in desperate n eed of adopters and fosters\, including Friendly Finders who are willing t o foster a lost or stray dog through its mandated stray hold (3 to 5 busin ess days total) instead of immediately dropping them at the shelter when f ound. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n LifeLin e Midtown \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 105O ptimum Capacity for Dogs: 75 As an overflow facility\, for every dog adopt ed at LifeLine Midtown\, space opens up for another dog from the Fulton Co unty Animal Services. And\, because the shelter is smaller\, it is a less overwhelming experience for individuals to visit and bring home a pet. Ado pting a pet from LifeLine Midtown greatly supports the main Fulton County shelter. When the new Fulton shelter opens\, the Midtown facility will clo se and any dogs still there will have to move to the new shelter. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 111 O ptimum Capacity for Dogs: 60  LifeLine’s Community Animal Center adopti on center was designed as an overflow facility for our county shelters. St aff and volunteers also provide pets with special medical or behavioral ch allenges more time and attention to meet those needs. For dogs\, the Commu nity Animal Center is the primary overflow facility for the DeKalb County shelter. Because it is also full\, our Community Animal Center is limited in serving these critical functions. Beyond just dogs\, our staff is also caring for the majority of our organization’s cats. This adoption center \, like our Midtown location\, offers a calmer environment that may be eas ier to visit. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We Cannot Do This Alone \n \n \n \n Two things can be true: we can be proud of what we’ve accomplished together as a community in 10 ye ars’ time AND acknowledge the ways LifeLine needs to improve and perseve re as an organization. We have committed ourselves to helping these animal s\, but we are limited now by a lack of space and resources\, as well as e xternal challenges in the communities we serve. We are also human and make mistakes. And\, most importantly\, we cannot do this alone. While we are pursuing all avenues toward long-term solutions\, in the short term\, we n eed a miracle. We need you. We are asking our community to please foster o r adopt a pet today. You will be truly saving a life. If you have question s about any topic in this blog and would like to reach out\, please email feedback@lifelineanimal.org or write to LifeLine Animal Project\, ATTN: Op erations 3180 Presidential Drive\, Atlanta\, GA 30340. Thank you\, Atlanta . For believing in our work and helping us save lives today and always. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n February 2023 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Hello\, friends and supporters.  We wanted to share some critical u pdates and news as we turn the page on 2022\, and enter 2023 in a much bet ter position to give our deserving animals the love and space they need to thrive. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In January\, on the heels of a Canine Flu outbreak\, we were faced with a grim reality and life or death decisions. After more than a year of being at critical capacity at our DeKalb County Animal Services sh elter\, we were left with the heartbreaking possibility of having to eutha nize animals for space. We had nearly 600 dogs in need of home (at just th is one shelter). We put out a plea for help in the Greater Atlanta area\, and in a mere 7 days\, 373 dogs from DeKalb and 556 dogs from all LifeLine shelters found new homes! We are forever grateful to the Atlanta communit y for their support in our darkest hour. This is what lifesaving looks lik e. By the end of January\, our Fulton County Animal Services had fewer tha n 300 animals for the first time in almost a year. But within days of hitt ing that milestone\, we were called in with law enforcement on a rescue ca se and brought more than 60 new impounded animals safely into our care. Ea ch of these animals requires space\, food and immediate medical care. Our Fulton shelter team was also tasked with running LifeLine Midtown\, our te mporary shelter that opened in early January during the Canine Flu outbrea k to divert intake and keep dogs healthy. While it helped contain that out break\, a new location strains precious resources and manpower\, which has been challenging due to staffing shortages. \n \n \n \n Number of Dogs in Need of Homes as of February 15th \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services: 343 in the shelter and 928 in foster hom es\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services: 339 in the shelter and 22 0 in foster homes\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal Center: 65 in t he shelter and 85 in foster homes\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n LifeLine Midtown: 82 in t he shelter\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The LifeLine Community Animal Center con tinues to aid in the efforts of freeing up space at our county shelters an d helping dogs clear their quarantine period from the Canine Flu outbreak. Recent staffing hires have provided much needed relief to our existing te ams. After the incredible number of adoptions at our DeKalb shelter\, ther e are many animals in need of spay/neuter procedures. The Community Animal Center has stepped in to help temporarily house animals awaiting surgery and ensure that pets don’t have to wait any longer than necessary to go home with new\, loving families. Fortunately\, while the dogs in our care have been a major media focus in 2023\, we have also happily seen a steady flow of cat adoptions at the Community Animal Center and have enough open cat housing space to prepare for a busy kitten season to start in the spr ing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n It’s bee n a busy start to the new year. And\, while we are celebrating the wins\, the hard work isn’t over. Even though we successfully saved many lives\ , 20-40 dogs come into our county shelters every single day and they need your help to find their way home.  \n \n \n \n What We Need Most Now: \n \n \n \n Volunteers and new staff are urgently needed to keep this much-needed LifeLine Midtown shelter up and running\, as well as help at our other locations.We always need adopte rs and fosters to place more pets into homes where they belong.We need goo d Samaritans in our community to help lost pets make their way back home i nstead of to the shelter. Find out what to do if you should find a lost pe t.And\, if you can’t foster or adopt\, please consider making a donation .As always\, thank you for your critical support. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2022 Posts \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Novem ber\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n September\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n June\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n May\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n March\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n AN URGENT PLEA FROM OUR CEO TO THE CITY OF ATLANTA\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The current situation in our Atlanta animal shelters is dire. The animals in our care do not have the space they need\, or dese rve\, and we need your help. Our hard working teams are understaffed and w orking extreme overtime to ensure that kennels are clean\, bowls are full\ , and the pets in our shelters are well cared for. Our volunteers walk hun dreds of dogs a day. And it’s still not enough. We have teams covering r escue\, adoptions\, marketing\, volunteers\, and foster parents\, all work ing tirelessly to find homes and other ways Atlanta’s pets can get out o f the shelter. This is not the life our city’s animals deserve. This sta te our shelters are in is not sustainable for the pets nor the people who care for them. Animal shelters have never been\, and will never be\, the i deal solution for the animals. Atlanta\, we urgently need your help. Our a nimals are in desperate need of homes. Each of our shelters have exceeded capacity by the hundreds. DeKalb County Animal Services has nearly 600 dog s and over 50 cats in the building\, Fulton County Animal Services has alm ost 400 dogs in a building meant to hold 80. The more pets in our care\, t he harder it is to make sure they are living as comfortably as they deserv e during their time with us. We are meant to be a temporary refuge for pet s in need\, not a home. Pets cannot thrive here\, especially when there is an overwhelming amount of them. We know you’ve heard this plea before. And we hope you’ll hear it now. The situation is not improving. There ar e more animals in our care than ever and they really need your help. We ne ed your help. Adopt: Whether you’re looking for a calm couch potato\, wa lking partner\, or anything in between\, there are over 1\,000 deserving p ets waiting for you. Foster: If you have just two weeks to help a pet\, th at can make all of the difference. Sign up here.Donate: We need monetary d onations and supplies to continue caring for this many animals each day. Y ou can help by donating here or sending us much-needed items from our Amaz on wishlists. Help lost pets: Most pets are found within a mile of their h ome. If they come to a shelter\, their chances of being reunited greatly d eclines. If you find a pet\, follow these steps or become a friendly finde r. Spay/Neuter: Unlike humans\, dogs and cats give birth to 4-to-6 animals in one litter. Also\, dogs can give birth up to twice a year and cats up to 5 times a year! Because they can produce so many offspring each year\, it is important to spay/neuter your pet as soon as possible to reduce pet overpopulation. Learn more here about the benefits and how to book an appo intment with one of our Spay/Neuter clinics. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n September 202 2 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We wish we had bette r news to share\, but right now\, the shelters are still struggling. There is a lot of pressure right now on the county shelters to be the lifeline for more pets than the shelters have space to house. The reason for this o vercrowding is simple: more animals are coming in than are leaving. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In August\, we saw a total of 601 dogs adopted\, but 863 came in du ring that same time. That’s 262 more dogs entering our already full buil dings.  \nNumber of dogs that need homes: \n\n337 dogs in need at our Ful ton County shelter\n526 dogs in need at our DeKalb County shelter\n81 dogs in need at our Community Animal Center\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The situation is dir e. We are urging our communities in Fulton and DeKalb Counties to please n ot bring healthy pets they find straight to the shelter as first response. Please take a few steps in the first 48 hours to get lost pets back home where they belong. This does not mean pets will be without support in the community. Those injured or sick are always a top priority. We’re tryin g to make more space for those most in need. And\, we are also trying to f ind solutions for humans in emergency situations who have run out of optio ns. Here are a few things anyone can do to help during this crisis: Adopt a petFoster a pet. 200 emergency fosters are needed at our shelters right nowDonate to support pets in the shelterCollect newspaper\, towels and bla nkets to drop off at any locationCheck the shelter wishlist for items most in needHelp a neighbor who can’t keep their pet find a new home – her e’s howFollow our social channels and help us get the word out by sharin g posts from your preferred platform\, Facebook\, Instagram and Twitter.Wr ite an article in your local neighborhood paper about adopting/fostering s helter petsIf you find a lost pet\, fill out a found pet report\, follow t hese steps or become a friendly finder \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n June 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n You are the next chapter in animal w elfare. \n \n \n \n Animal shelters have never been\, and will never be\, the ideal solution for the animals. They have always b een a flawed answer to a bigger community challenge of how to best help lo st\, stray and unwanted pets.  Across the nation\, all communities are fa cing the aftershocks of the pandemic. For animal shelters\, those challeng es include overpopulated and understaffed facilities\, higher intake and f ewer adopters\, and a substantial decrease in rescue transfer support. In Atlanta\, we’ve had to restrict intake at varying levels due to the seve re overcapacity status at both county shelters.  But over the last few ye ars\, and through the recent challenges\, we’ve begun to see how a criti cal shift\, and a different path forward\, can actually save the lives of the animals in our community without having animals languish in shelters. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Over 60% of the animals in a shelter are stray/lost pets. Imagine if the shelters d idn’t exist to collect all the lost and stray pets of a community. What if the community itself was able to help those pets find and reunite with their families?  63% of animals are found just a mile from their home (26 % are just a block away). If neighbors could reunite pets with their famil ies\, instead of bringing them to the shelter\, our shelters would always have space to help those with nowhere to go. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n What if the community could help struggling neighbors rehome their pets instead of turning them over to a shelter? Wha t if more resources were spent on keeping pets and people together instead of housing pets in a crowded shelter? If we\, as a community\, could shif t the focus to support each other in creative and practical ways\, the she lters wouldn’t be overcrowded with lost pets missing their families\, or abandoned pets looking for new homes. There will always be a need for she lters to help animals in emergency situations and victims of animal cruelt y\, but the real safety net for pets is a caring community – neighbors h elping neighbors.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Especially now\, when the need continues to exceed available sh eltering resources\, we believe we must find more community-centric soluti ons by working together with pet-lovers and good samaritans to get more pe ts home where they belong.  LifeLine does not believe killing healthy and treatable pets to make more space in a shelter is ever the right answer. Population management through euthanasia has never worked. Reliance on eut hanasia constrains the development of lifesaving solutions\, and the resul ts are always tragic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n When faced with external pressure to euthanize healthy and treatabl e animals to create more shelter space last month\, we turned to our anima l-loving community and in one week found foster and adoptive homes for 300 + pets. Atlanta\, you are the ideal solution. With your help\, we can weav e together a new safety net for the animals in need. Whether you are a vet eran rescuer or new to animal welfare\, help us shift the response when we find lost and stray pets\, so that more pets can be returned to their hom es. If you hear of situations where people need help with a found pet\, he lp them find options\, contact friends to find a foster home and help canv as the neighborhood to reunite families. Share this page.If you read about someone needing to rehome a pet\, share these resources and ask your neig hbors and friends if anyone can help. The pet owner\, rather than the shel ter\, will be able to find the best match for a loved pet. If someone is missing a pet\, check the lost pet pages of our website to see if the pet ended up at the shelter.If you can’t adopt\, foster. If you can’t fost er\, donate. If you can’t donate\, volunteer. If you can’t volunteer\, become an ambassador and share information and resources. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Please continue to suppor t our county shelters. Know that the staff is making the best decisions fo r every individual animal and human who comes to our doors with the resour ces that are available.  \nPlease extend the benefit of the doubt to lear n more about decisions that are being made. The people who dedicate our li ves to help animals in the shelter are not perfect\, but we are doing thei r very best in every situation\, for every individual pet\, and we are wor king with very limited resources and the most challenging of circumstances .  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Right now\, we are at a pivotal moment to change the course of animal welfare and lif esaving in our city. Animals deserve to be in homes and people deserve the love of a pet. Will you join us in committing to turn to each other to fi nd ways to help the animals in your community? Are you in?  We are. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n May 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availabili ty ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n Metro Atlanta County Animal Shelters are Out of Space! \n \n \n \n The county shelters have reached peak capacity and no longer have kennel space to house dogs. Because of the sheer volume\, we have had to set up temporary crates to house new arrivals but this is n ot a sustainable or acceptable solution.  This year we have seen a declin e in adoptions by 14% and a 37% decline in the number of animals leaving w ith rescue partners (compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels). We also saw a decline in the number of lost pets finding their families again. Not only are there more animals currently in the shelters\, but they are staying lo nger which impacts their physical and mental wellbeing.  We URGENTLY need help to place our medium to large dogs into homes so that the shelters do not have to face difficult life or death decisions. We currently need to find 250 homes for dogs living at the DeKalb shelter. The Fulton County an imal shelter is facing a similar situation and needs to find 150 homes thi s week.  Here’s what we are experiencing currently across metro Atlanta . \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb Coun ty Animal Services \n \n \n \n Today\, there are 560 d ogs in our DeKalb facility*. In May 2019\, prior to the pandemic the shelt er held 440 dogs. Fewer animals are leaving the shelter\, and animals are staying longer looking for homes. They’re waiting an average of 80 days at DeKalb County Animal Services. Due to this critical status\, Dekalb Cou nty and LifeLine Animal Project\, in conjunction with the Georgia Departme nt of Agriculture\, are enacting emergency only intake protocols. This mea ns the DeKalb shelter is only able to accept animals from emergency situat ions or in critical need (injured animals\, animals involved in bite cases or cruelty situations). DeKalb County Animal Enforcement will also enforc e these emergency protocols and will only respond to high priority calls. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n *As of May 25\, 2022\, with the help of our community\, the number of dogs housed at DeKalb County Animal Service s has decreased to 433. We are making slow\, but steady\, progress towards reducing the number of pets housed at the shelter to a more comfortable t hreshold of 320. However\, the situation remains critical and your continu ed help is needed to find homes for the pets in our care. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n There are currently 360  dogs in our Fulton facility**\, which was bui lt to house only 80 dogs. Dogs are waiting an average 40 days to be placed in a home\, which is longer than previous years and is very stressful for the animals. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n **As of May 25\, 2022\, thanks to our community’s help in response to an urgent plea for fosters and ad opters\, the number of dogs housed at Fulton County Animal Services has di pped below 300. Additionally\, a generous volunteer has pledged to sponsor 100 dog adoptions this May at Fulton County. We always want to provide hu mane housing for the animals in our care and at the levels we are experien cing\, that is extremely challenging. Our community’s continued help at this critical time is needed to find homes for the pets in our care. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Community Animal C enter \n \n \n \n Our Community Animal Center takes in pets from our county shelters to help alleviate space constraints. Right now\, the center is full and can only take in more dogs when dogs currentl y in our care are adopted or head to foster homes.  Last week\, 128 cats arrived from our DeKalb and Fulton shelters. If you are looking for a cat\ , there are many available at the LifeLine Community Animal Center. There are also over 100 dogs available for adoption at this location. \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n Let's save lives together. \n \n \n \n Please share this blog with your community and network to help more pets find the homes they deserve today. \n \n \n \n Ways to Help \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n March 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel spa ce\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangero usly full\n \n \n \n \n \n Crit ical Needs This Week: Adopters and Fosters \n \n \n \n This February\, we saw the highest intake levels on record for the mont h since LifeLine took over shelter management in 2013. Both of our county shelters are in the red zone for space availability!  As we continue to f ace a growing space crisis\, we turn our attention to the impact of crowdi ng and the shelter environment on the health of our pets. It is a common m isconception that pets may fare better in a shelter than in a home where t he pet parent has to leave daily for work or doesn’t have a yard. There is no place like a home when it comes to animals. Even with the incredible support of our staff and volunteers\, it is impossible to replicate the c alm and one-on-one attention a pet will receive in a home. Shelters\, part icularly at the capacity level we currently face\, can be loud and overwhe lming for many pets. Though they are safe and fed\, the close proximity to so many other pets can lead to a spread in medical conditions. Ultimately \, we see a deterioration of our pets the longer they spend in the shelter \, along with added strain for our veterinary teams.  Our goal is to see all of our pets find their way to a warm and loving home. We need help giv ing our shelter pets a break\, including taking them out for a day or a we ekend\, while they await the arrival of their new family. We immediately s ee an improvement in our pet’s health and happiness when they are in a h ome. Plus\, you can provide key insights on the dog or cat’s personality (which tends to shine beyond the shelter walls) to share with potential a dopters! We are facing a particular need for fosters for our pets that hav e medical needs\, are part of an ongoing court case\, and dogs that are la rger in size. To find out more and help give our pets a break\, check out our Foster page. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \n There ar e currently 471 dogs at DeKalb County Animal Services\, 253 MORE than the ideal number of dogs that should be housed in our shelter here and putting us in the RED ZONE!  The need for special care fosters is imperative. Ce rtain pets\, such as those that have just given birth\, are undergoing med ical treatment or are part of a court case\, deserve a quiet space and may need a little extra care. This can include receiving regular doses of med icine\, restricted or regulated exercise regimes or extra space to care fo r their puppies. It is important that they have a home where they can rela x\, heal and rest stress-free.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n The Fulton County Animal Services shelter is in the RED ZONE! There are 265 dogs in the shelter\, an alarming 115 dogs over the ideal number of 150. This means some runs have up to five dogs s haring a space. As a result\, the shelter is seeing an uptick in medical i ssues\, particularly contagious ailments like upper respiratory infections . \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n In Feb ruary 2022\, the LifeLine Community Animal Center brought in 222 pets to h elp create space at our two county shelters. 94 dogs and 84 cats are waiti ng for a place to call home\, with many more patiently waiting in foster h omes. Our animals are showing tremendous resilience\, but we need urgent h elp from our community to provide these precious pets with homes! Our miss ion remains\, as always\, to save the lives of all healthy and treatable a nimals. We appreciate the support of our community! \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n Help us save lives together! \n \n \n \n Share this blog with your community\, and help get mor e pets into homes today! \n \n \n \n Ways to Help \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n January 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n We are kicking off the new year with an unfamiliar sight for this time of the year: shelters that are stil l full from this summer. Shelter space is unfortunately\, yet typically\, limited during the summer months\, but this is the first time we have expe rienced such a continued strain on our shelter capacity and team. The numb er of animals coming in our doors has increased by 12% over last year whil e the number of dogs adopted has decreased. People are also struggling to care for their pets and have been facing evictions and other challenges. T his means more pets have been surrendered. Over the last two years\, we ha ve seen a 39% decline in the number of animals our rescue partners have be en able to help pull to safety\, largely due to factors resulting from the COVID pandemic. All of these challenges would be difficult alone but\, li ke so many others\, we are also facing severe labor shortages. We currentl y have 34 open positions across three locations\, which means we are missi ng 13% of our workforce. Between the staffing challenge and the number of staff who have been out sick due to the latest wave of the COVID-19 virus\ , we are struggling. Animal care is always our top priority. Our understaf fed teams and volunteers are working doubly hard to care for all the anima ls in need\, covering extra shifts and taking on additional responsibiliti es. In these times\, we must depend even more so on our community’s supp ort. By adopting\, donating\, volunteering\, helping lost animals back hom e and finding new homes for those alone in the shelter\, our community off ers real and sustained hope for the animals in our care. We are continuing to take in animals for emergency situations and for those who do not have any other options. Our Animal Service Officers and community support team s continue to provide resources\, including access to veterinary care and pet supplies\, pet lost and found assistance and self-rehoming options for animals in non-emergency situations. We always work with individuals faci ng financial hardship who need help for their pets. We often reduce or wai ve reclaim and surrender fees in the hopes of helping people and finding t he best outcomes for the animals. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \ n The ideal number of dogs that should be housed at DeKalb County Animal Services is 218. This allows us to house one dog per kennel with ac cess to both sides of the kennel. We are currently in the red zone with 48 0 dogs in the building. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n With Fulton County Animal Services being a smaller\, older building\, there is space to optimally house only 150 dogs. As of la st week\, there were 221 dogs in the shelter. This forces us to house mult iple dogs in most of the kennels. Not only does this make cleaning the she lter a logistical challenge\, but it means the environment is less than id eal for our animals. Our goal is to safely house a large population while mitigating risk of disease and shelter stress on the animals. If we had fe wer dogs in the building\, we could provide larger\, single kennels for 26 of our larger breed dogs\, who need individual housing\, and who are curr ently residing in smaller cages. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n In December 2021\, the LifeLine Community Animal C enter transferred in 170 pets from Fulton and DeKalb to help make space at the our two county shelters. We currently have 95 dogs and 102 cats looki ng for homes\, and even more are waiting to find families while they live in foster homes. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We believe space limitations alone are an unacceptable reason to euthani ze healthy and treatable animals. LifeLine has been able to achieve “no- kill\,”  saving 90% or more of all the animals who enter our shelters\, but we are only able to maintain this lifesaving achievement with the com munity’s support and advocacy. We know our community has the ability to provide the support needed to save precious lives.  Their lives depend on it. \n \n \n \n Make a difference today! \n \n \n \n Share this blog post with your community\, and help g et more pets into homes today. LAST-MODIFIED:20260916T001659Z URL:https://lifelineanimal.org/lifeline-events/pup-a-palooza-dog-adoption- event/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:LifeLine Animal Project X-SOURCE-URL:https://lifelineanimal.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Student Leadership Conference -- LUNCH DTSTART:20260919T160000Z DTEND:20260919T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260916T183543Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53927692992869 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Student Leadership Conference participants Lunch LAST-MODIFIED:20260916T183543Z LOCATION:Letitia Pate Evans Hall\, E-Conference Room ABC URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/student-leadership-conference-lu nch-713?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Moondog Pub & Grub Dog Adoption Event DTSTART:20260919T180000Z DTEND:20260919T200000Z DTSTAMP:20260912T001618Z UID:38115-1789826400-1789833600@lifelineanimal.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Our goal with this page is to share the current shelter needs with our community in an ongoing way. We hope to update this page seasonal ly or more frequently as needed. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n May 2024 \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n Last year\, we reached a pivotal break ing point in terms of the number of animals housed in our care. We recogni zed the physical capacity limitations of our buildings and made a commitme nt to work towards humane housing solutions\, which means both the county shelters need to reduce the number of animals living in the buildings. Whi le we continue to face severe overcrowding into 2024\, we have worked hard to increase resources to help more pet owners and improve the quality of life for the animals in our care. We are continuing to adapt to the challe nges we’re facing\, including many systemic problems that contribute to the number of animals arriving in our care. We have collaborated with many supportive community members and leaders in pursuit of creating a safer a nd more humane shelter environment for all. There are no overnight solutio ns to drastically reduce our shelter populations\, but we continue to have hope that with your support and the strategies currently in place\, our c ommunity will help us get more animals into homes where they belong. Here is a brief update for all three LifeLine shelters\, including the unique c hallenges and the most important ways you can get involved. \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal ServicesDog Population: 506 | Opti mum Capacity: 475 \n \n \n \n Last year\, DeKalb Count y Animal Services reached peak numbers of dogs housed in the shelter durin g an outbreak of Canine Flu.. Because of an incredible response from our c ommunity\, we successfully saw the population drop down to 312 dogs. Becau se the need in our community is so great\, this number steadily rose back up to 500+ dogs and has remained in that range for months on end despite o ur best efforts. It is a near constant struggle to balance the amount of “noses in”\, pets arriving at the shelter\, with the amount of “nose s out” each week\, pets leaving. As an open intake municipal facility\, we do not turn away animals in need in Dekalb County\, no matter how much or little space we have in our kennels when we begin a new day. It is impo rtant that the community understands this distinction from other rescue or ganizations and is aware of ways they can help prevent lost or stray pets from ever having to enter the shelter. We need to create room for pets tha t have the most urgent need for our help. We must find a way to help more animals find homes and keep the shelter at a capacity that is humane for t he pets in our care. Heartbreaking space euthanasia decisions must be made weekly and overcrowding is putting more dogs at risk. Instead of focusing our at-risk dogs\, we are asking our community to focus efforts and resou rces on getting more of our highly-adoptable dogs out so that those animal s identified as most at risk (struggling in the shelter and exhibiting a v ariety of challenging behaviors) can get the time that they need to find a home. Any animal that leaves the building will help us reach our target o f decreasing the dog population to below a threshold of 475. This new proc ess includes daily population updates on the website and improved communic ations with our volunteers and community about how to best support dogs in need in our shelters. Even still\, 475 dogs housed in the building is les s than ideal. This is an incredible number of pets to care for daily. Whil e their basic needs are met\, quality of life deteriorates the longer they are housed in a shelter intended to be a temporary safety net. The lower we can keep that number\, the less dogs there will be at risk for illness\ , increased stress and euthanasia. In addition to these adjustments in com municating the ongoing need\, we have partnered with DeKalb County leaders on both short and long-term solutions that were announced last fall to he lp more pets in need: Increased funding for support to pets of DeKalb Coun ty residents including:A free monthly pet food bankFree spay/neuter surger ies through SNIP DeKalbFree vaccinations through LifeLine’s Mobile Clini cAdditional kennel space to provide more humane housing for the dogs curre ntly in our care:Plans have been approved to build new\, additional kennel s which will provide better housing for court case dogs who are in our car e long termProjected installation is September 2024We believe programs lik e these that make pet resources more accessible\, including affordable spa y/neuter surgery\, are the key to helping more pets stay out of the shelte rs and in homes where they belong. \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal ServicesDog Population: 419 | Optimum Capacity: 325 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At the end of 2023\, we celebrated the grand opening of a brand new 40\,0 00 square foot shelter facility in Fulton County! With the opening of the new building\, we’ve fortunately seen improvement in all of these ways t o create a better environment for the teams and the animals as well as a b etter experience for visitors and supporters: Staff is less stressed. We h ave improved our ability to train\, onboard and implement new and efficien t processes.The building is easier to clean and has decreased the spread o f infectious disease.With separate kennel runs\, animals are less stressed or overwhelmed in the building and do not experience as high of stimulati on. It’s now easier to identify issues with dogs so we can work on getti ng them placed in a home more quickly.Visitors feel more welcome and have the ability to more easily spend time with individual animals. We have als o been able to increase the number of spay/neuter surgeries for our adopta ble animals and provide adopters\, fosters and rescue partners with better diagnostics for their pets with the new clinic.We have seen an increase i n the number of volunteers and hours spent with our team.We are able to ho st other shelters and bring more learning and collaborative opportunities to staff in-houseAt the same time\, we experienced a challenging transitio n as we worked to close the former facility\, adjust to the new set up\, a nd final projects and installations were wrapped up by the county. With th e new opening\, there was an uptick of stray or abandoned pets being broug ht to the new shelter. The shelter is a safe haven\, but can only be so te mporarily for pets in need of homes\, and we’ve seen the dog population quickly fill the building past its limits. Similarly to DeKalb County\, it has been difficult to balance the new intakes with finding outcomes for t he animals\, even in the wake of creative and successful adoption events. According to Animal Shelters Count’s recent annual report\, “In 2023\, 3% more dogs entered shelters than left\, resulting in an additional 107\ ,000 dogs in shelters at the end the year.” Fulton County Animal Service s is also an open intake municipal shelter facility and can’t simply “ stop” taking new animals in even when we’re overcapacity. Fortunately\ , we’ve also started 2024 with recent pawsitive media and exciting opera tional updates. The full-service clinic at Fulton County Animal Services i s now open for the public to make low-cost wellness appointments for their pets to receive the care they need! Additionally\, a Fulton County foster dog\, a pit mix now known as Miss Peaches\, has gone viral after being ad opted by celebrity and President of Barstool Sports\, Dave Portnoy. Miss P eaches’s story\, Dave’s choice to adopt and his initiative to raise fu nds for animal rescue has captured hearts nationwide. Lifesaving deserves to be trending so that we can keep up with the influx of dogs in need. We hope others will follow in his footsteps!  \n \n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal CenterDog Population: 119 | Optimum Capacity: 80 \n \n \n \n The incredible dedication of the team at our LifeLine Community Animal Center cannot be overlooked. Our county s helter facilities tend to take the spotlight in the news and on social med ia because of the massive number of pets that come through their doors\, b ut the Community Animal Center is always working quietly in the background to help the county operations. When the county shelters are over capacity \, so is this facility to keep up with the need. Not only do they consiste ntly take in pets from our county shelters and other rural facilities\, bu t\, when there is a neglect or hoarding case being investigated\, this loc ation takes in dozens of pets when they have nowhere else to go. As we ent er the warmer months of summer\, the Community Animal Center is also const antly preparing to help with the large numbers of kittens and puppies that are in need. Maintaining a full staff at this location is critical to its function. If you’re interested in joining our team full-time\, or even as a volunteer\, our Community Animal Center would love to have you! \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A National Crisis \n \n \n \n In conversations wit h other rescue organizations and in a review of data over the past few yea rs\, we’ve learned that these challenges are not unique to LifeLine or t he city of Atlanta. For the fourth year in a row\, we are faced with a “ new normal” in animal sheltering. According to the report\, “A total o f 900\,000 animals have entered and lingered in our nation’s shelters an d rescues since January 2021. This surplus is on top of the population alr eady residing within organizations\, resulting in an ongoing capacity cris is.” “The number of animals entering shelters through community intake s in 2023 remained roughly the same as 2022 at 6.5 million\, with intakes nearly evenly split between dogs and cats.” Compared to a national decre ase of 3.2% in intakes between 2019 and 2023\, our community intakes throu gh the Fulton and DeKalb County shelters decreased 6.89% from 2019 to 2023 . But\, intakes increased by 14.5% from 2022 to 2023. Even in the wake of these higher intake numbers\, we have been able to rally our community and find an incredible number of homes in 2023 compared to previous years. “While 2.2 million dogs were adopted in 2023\, dog adoptions are still 5 % lower than in 2019 (-108\,000 dogs adopted).” At LifeLine\, our overal l pet adoptions were only down by 1.92% in 2023 compared to 2019\, and ado ptions were higher in 2023 compared to 2018\, 2020\, 2021 and 2022. We are frequently partnering with more organizations who want to help and who ar e spreading the word that adopting is the way to go when searching for a n ew pet. For full shelter statistics across our organization\, please visit www.shelteranimalscount.org/stats. \n \n \n \n In Su mmary \n \n \n \n The animals in our city need help. W hile donations are the foundation for our work in the community and allow us to help more pets get the care they need\, donations don’t create mor e available kennel space. We need your help in getting more pets adopted o r fostered. We need the community’s help in getting more lost pets back home. We need our community to know about available resources for food\, v eterinary care\, and affordable spay/neuter options. Together\, we can sav e these lives and help the animals who need us most. \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Octob er 2023 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message To Our C ommunity \n \n \n \n We are in the midst of an ongoing crisis affecting city and county animal shelters across the country. Time s are extremely difficult for the animals housed in our shelters and the s taff and volunteers who care for them. We have frequently reported on the conditions of our shelters and how desperate we are to get hundreds of ani mals into homes. We hear the distress and complaints about the overcrowdin g from our volunteers\, fosters\, and community\; we experience the condit ions daily\; we see the news articles written and segments being broadcast on television and radio\; we feel and share your frustration and heartbre ak. We are heartbroken\, too. Let us express to you in no uncertain terms: the current conditions in our shelters are not humane or sustainable. We can and we must do better. We will exhaust all efforts to prioritize the h ealth and safety of both pets and people in our care. The balance of human ely sheltering a growing number of animals while giving each one the care and the time they deserve to be placed in a loving home is getting substan tially harder to achieve. The issues contributing to overcrowding primaril y are rooted in the community\, not the shelter\, and cannot be changed ov ernight. In the shelters\, we’ve reached a pivotal breaking point. We ha ve stretched the shelter capacity and resources to unsustainable limits wh ile hoping\, for too long now\, that there would be a turning point where more animals would leave these buildings than enter. But that has not happ ened this year and without homes to go to\, we must euthanize more dogs at both county shelters in order to reach and maintain safe and humane housi ng. There are many facets to the challenges we are currently facing and we will cover some of them in this blog. We also encourage you to check out two other blog posts that go into deeper detail on two important issues: T he No-Kill controversyThe Impact of Spay and Neuter (and other pressing qu estions) \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Are The Shelters So Overcrowded? \n \n \n \n We know there are a lot of questions around why this is happening. We are seeing a new reality\, a post-pandemic world\; E conomic challenges to families\, a lack of affordable and pet-friendly hou sing\, a national shortage of veterinarians\, a decrease in spay/neuter du ring the pandemic and a need for more accessible and affordable spay/neute r options\, a desire for specific breeds\, and a diminishing public capaci ty to help and home shelter animals are all taking a heartbreaking toll on the growing number of animals coming into LifeLine’s care. We have acce pted pets from families arriving at the shelter with all of their possessi ons in a U-haul and nowhere to turn for help. People newly arriving to the area are surrendering their dogs to the shelter because they are unable t o find affordable housing that will allow them to keep their companions.We are coming to terms with an untenable reality of the community relying on a singular shelter as the sole means of support for the growing number of animals at risk – animals who mostly were people’s pets and family me mbers at one time. Systemically\, the shelter alone cannot support the she er volume of need. Here Is A Look At Our Shelters In Crisis: \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 569Target Dog Capacity: 450 On Tuesday \, October 17th\, DeKalb County CEO\, Michael Thurmond\, visited DeKalb Co unty Animal Services. The following day\, he met with our CEO\, Rebecca Gu inn\, and other LifeLine leadership. Together\, LifeLine and DeKalb County leadership agreed that Dekalb County Animal Services must reduce the dog population at the shelter to 450 in 60 days and maintain the population at or below that number. They collaborated and decided on both short- and lo nger-term actions to help aid in this crisis including: Working with staff ing agencies for additional staff and support for cleaning.Deploying perso nnel from other divisions within LifeLine to assist with animal care\, man agement and training and restructuring staff schedules to ensure greater c overage\, particularly on weekends.Sadly\, increasing euthanasia rates if necessary and continuing to do so until we reduce the dog population to 45 0 or less. If we cannot increase lifesaving outcomes beyond the current ra te\, we will have to euthanize 9 animals each day\, or 63 animals each wee k.Constructing an overflow campus adjacent to the shelter\, designed to ho ld up to 120 additional dogs above the current target capacity and provide effective isolation areas\, to help alleviate the need for euthanasia for population control. This solution will take time to build\, staff and ope rate and until then we must get below 450 animals in the current building. Improving communications between DeKalb County’s Animal Services Enforce ment division and the shelter to more proactively address factors in the f ield that are causing animals to come into the shelter.Increasing support to fund access to veterinary care for DeKalb pet owners in need\, includin g subsidized and free spay/neuter\, and targeting areas of DeKalb County y ielding the highest number of animals impounded in the shelter.What it wil l take to change the situation most\, in the short-term\, is simply fewer dogs in the building. We are asking our community to help us achieve those target dog population numbers because\, without homes to go to\, dogs wil l be euthanized for space\, regardless of health and temperment. Please a dopt or foster a pet today. \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dog s: 357Sustainable Capacity for Dogs: 325 We’ve mentioned that there is h ope on the horizon in Fulton County in the form of a brand new shelter fac ility preparing to open before the end of the year. However\, this does no t change the fact that the current facility is in dire straits. On average \, 15 dogs are being euthanized for space each week. Each day\, 16 dogs en ter the facility. That’s\, on average\, 2 more dogs that come in than le ave. While some conditions will improve with the upcoming move to the new facility\, rising intake and overcrowding will not be solved entirely by t ransitioning from one building to another. Fulton County is in desperate n eed of adopters and fosters\, including Friendly Finders who are willing t o foster a lost or stray dog through its mandated stray hold (3 to 5 busin ess days total) instead of immediately dropping them at the shelter when f ound. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n LifeLin e Midtown \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 105O ptimum Capacity for Dogs: 75 As an overflow facility\, for every dog adopt ed at LifeLine Midtown\, space opens up for another dog from the Fulton Co unty Animal Services. And\, because the shelter is smaller\, it is a less overwhelming experience for individuals to visit and bring home a pet. Ado pting a pet from LifeLine Midtown greatly supports the main Fulton County shelter. When the new Fulton shelter opens\, the Midtown facility will clo se and any dogs still there will have to move to the new shelter. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 111 O ptimum Capacity for Dogs: 60  LifeLine’s Community Animal Center adopti on center was designed as an overflow facility for our county shelters. St aff and volunteers also provide pets with special medical or behavioral ch allenges more time and attention to meet those needs. For dogs\, the Commu nity Animal Center is the primary overflow facility for the DeKalb County shelter. Because it is also full\, our Community Animal Center is limited in serving these critical functions. Beyond just dogs\, our staff is also caring for the majority of our organization’s cats. This adoption center \, like our Midtown location\, offers a calmer environment that may be eas ier to visit. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We Cannot Do This Alone \n \n \n \n Two things can be true: we can be proud of what we’ve accomplished together as a community in 10 ye ars’ time AND acknowledge the ways LifeLine needs to improve and perseve re as an organization. We have committed ourselves to helping these animal s\, but we are limited now by a lack of space and resources\, as well as e xternal challenges in the communities we serve. We are also human and make mistakes. And\, most importantly\, we cannot do this alone. While we are pursuing all avenues toward long-term solutions\, in the short term\, we n eed a miracle. We need you. We are asking our community to please foster o r adopt a pet today. You will be truly saving a life. If you have question s about any topic in this blog and would like to reach out\, please email feedback@lifelineanimal.org or write to LifeLine Animal Project\, ATTN: Op erations 3180 Presidential Drive\, Atlanta\, GA 30340. Thank you\, Atlanta . For believing in our work and helping us save lives today and always. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n February 2023 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Hello\, friends and supporters.  We wanted to share some critical u pdates and news as we turn the page on 2022\, and enter 2023 in a much bet ter position to give our deserving animals the love and space they need to thrive. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In January\, on the heels of a Canine Flu outbreak\, we were faced with a grim reality and life or death decisions. After more than a year of being at critical capacity at our DeKalb County Animal Services sh elter\, we were left with the heartbreaking possibility of having to eutha nize animals for space. We had nearly 600 dogs in need of home (at just th is one shelter). We put out a plea for help in the Greater Atlanta area\, and in a mere 7 days\, 373 dogs from DeKalb and 556 dogs from all LifeLine shelters found new homes! We are forever grateful to the Atlanta communit y for their support in our darkest hour. This is what lifesaving looks lik e. By the end of January\, our Fulton County Animal Services had fewer tha n 300 animals for the first time in almost a year. But within days of hitt ing that milestone\, we were called in with law enforcement on a rescue ca se and brought more than 60 new impounded animals safely into our care. Ea ch of these animals requires space\, food and immediate medical care. Our Fulton shelter team was also tasked with running LifeLine Midtown\, our te mporary shelter that opened in early January during the Canine Flu outbrea k to divert intake and keep dogs healthy. While it helped contain that out break\, a new location strains precious resources and manpower\, which has been challenging due to staffing shortages. \n \n \n \n Number of Dogs in Need of Homes as of February 15th \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services: 343 in the shelter and 928 in foster hom es\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services: 339 in the shelter and 22 0 in foster homes\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal Center: 65 in t he shelter and 85 in foster homes\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n LifeLine Midtown: 82 in t he shelter\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The LifeLine Community Animal Center con tinues to aid in the efforts of freeing up space at our county shelters an d helping dogs clear their quarantine period from the Canine Flu outbreak. Recent staffing hires have provided much needed relief to our existing te ams. After the incredible number of adoptions at our DeKalb shelter\, ther e are many animals in need of spay/neuter procedures. The Community Animal Center has stepped in to help temporarily house animals awaiting surgery and ensure that pets don’t have to wait any longer than necessary to go home with new\, loving families. Fortunately\, while the dogs in our care have been a major media focus in 2023\, we have also happily seen a steady flow of cat adoptions at the Community Animal Center and have enough open cat housing space to prepare for a busy kitten season to start in the spr ing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n It’s bee n a busy start to the new year. And\, while we are celebrating the wins\, the hard work isn’t over. Even though we successfully saved many lives\ , 20-40 dogs come into our county shelters every single day and they need your help to find their way home.  \n \n \n \n What We Need Most Now: \n \n \n \n Volunteers and new staff are urgently needed to keep this much-needed LifeLine Midtown shelter up and running\, as well as help at our other locations.We always need adopte rs and fosters to place more pets into homes where they belong.We need goo d Samaritans in our community to help lost pets make their way back home i nstead of to the shelter. Find out what to do if you should find a lost pe t.And\, if you can’t foster or adopt\, please consider making a donation .As always\, thank you for your critical support. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2022 Posts \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Novem ber\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n September\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n June\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n May\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n March\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n AN URGENT PLEA FROM OUR CEO TO THE CITY OF ATLANTA\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The current situation in our Atlanta animal shelters is dire. The animals in our care do not have the space they need\, or dese rve\, and we need your help. Our hard working teams are understaffed and w orking extreme overtime to ensure that kennels are clean\, bowls are full\ , and the pets in our shelters are well cared for. Our volunteers walk hun dreds of dogs a day. And it’s still not enough. We have teams covering r escue\, adoptions\, marketing\, volunteers\, and foster parents\, all work ing tirelessly to find homes and other ways Atlanta’s pets can get out o f the shelter. This is not the life our city’s animals deserve. This sta te our shelters are in is not sustainable for the pets nor the people who care for them. Animal shelters have never been\, and will never be\, the i deal solution for the animals. Atlanta\, we urgently need your help. Our a nimals are in desperate need of homes. Each of our shelters have exceeded capacity by the hundreds. DeKalb County Animal Services has nearly 600 dog s and over 50 cats in the building\, Fulton County Animal Services has alm ost 400 dogs in a building meant to hold 80. The more pets in our care\, t he harder it is to make sure they are living as comfortably as they deserv e during their time with us. We are meant to be a temporary refuge for pet s in need\, not a home. Pets cannot thrive here\, especially when there is an overwhelming amount of them. We know you’ve heard this plea before. And we hope you’ll hear it now. The situation is not improving. There ar e more animals in our care than ever and they really need your help. We ne ed your help. Adopt: Whether you’re looking for a calm couch potato\, wa lking partner\, or anything in between\, there are over 1\,000 deserving p ets waiting for you. Foster: If you have just two weeks to help a pet\, th at can make all of the difference. Sign up here.Donate: We need monetary d onations and supplies to continue caring for this many animals each day. Y ou can help by donating here or sending us much-needed items from our Amaz on wishlists. Help lost pets: Most pets are found within a mile of their h ome. If they come to a shelter\, their chances of being reunited greatly d eclines. If you find a pet\, follow these steps or become a friendly finde r. Spay/Neuter: Unlike humans\, dogs and cats give birth to 4-to-6 animals in one litter. Also\, dogs can give birth up to twice a year and cats up to 5 times a year! Because they can produce so many offspring each year\, it is important to spay/neuter your pet as soon as possible to reduce pet overpopulation. Learn more here about the benefits and how to book an appo intment with one of our Spay/Neuter clinics. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n September 202 2 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We wish we had bette r news to share\, but right now\, the shelters are still struggling. There is a lot of pressure right now on the county shelters to be the lifeline for more pets than the shelters have space to house. The reason for this o vercrowding is simple: more animals are coming in than are leaving. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In August\, we saw a total of 601 dogs adopted\, but 863 came in du ring that same time. That’s 262 more dogs entering our already full buil dings.  \nNumber of dogs that need homes: \n\n337 dogs in need at our Ful ton County shelter\n526 dogs in need at our DeKalb County shelter\n81 dogs in need at our Community Animal Center\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The situation is dir e. We are urging our communities in Fulton and DeKalb Counties to please n ot bring healthy pets they find straight to the shelter as first response. Please take a few steps in the first 48 hours to get lost pets back home where they belong. This does not mean pets will be without support in the community. Those injured or sick are always a top priority. We’re tryin g to make more space for those most in need. And\, we are also trying to f ind solutions for humans in emergency situations who have run out of optio ns. Here are a few things anyone can do to help during this crisis: Adopt a petFoster a pet. 200 emergency fosters are needed at our shelters right nowDonate to support pets in the shelterCollect newspaper\, towels and bla nkets to drop off at any locationCheck the shelter wishlist for items most in needHelp a neighbor who can’t keep their pet find a new home – her e’s howFollow our social channels and help us get the word out by sharin g posts from your preferred platform\, Facebook\, Instagram and Twitter.Wr ite an article in your local neighborhood paper about adopting/fostering s helter petsIf you find a lost pet\, fill out a found pet report\, follow t hese steps or become a friendly finder \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n June 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n You are the next chapter in animal w elfare. \n \n \n \n Animal shelters have never been\, and will never be\, the ideal solution for the animals. They have always b een a flawed answer to a bigger community challenge of how to best help lo st\, stray and unwanted pets.  Across the nation\, all communities are fa cing the aftershocks of the pandemic. For animal shelters\, those challeng es include overpopulated and understaffed facilities\, higher intake and f ewer adopters\, and a substantial decrease in rescue transfer support. In Atlanta\, we’ve had to restrict intake at varying levels due to the seve re overcapacity status at both county shelters.  But over the last few ye ars\, and through the recent challenges\, we’ve begun to see how a criti cal shift\, and a different path forward\, can actually save the lives of the animals in our community without having animals languish in shelters. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Over 60% of the animals in a shelter are stray/lost pets. Imagine if the shelters d idn’t exist to collect all the lost and stray pets of a community. What if the community itself was able to help those pets find and reunite with their families?  63% of animals are found just a mile from their home (26 % are just a block away). If neighbors could reunite pets with their famil ies\, instead of bringing them to the shelter\, our shelters would always have space to help those with nowhere to go. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n What if the community could help struggling neighbors rehome their pets instead of turning them over to a shelter? Wha t if more resources were spent on keeping pets and people together instead of housing pets in a crowded shelter? If we\, as a community\, could shif t the focus to support each other in creative and practical ways\, the she lters wouldn’t be overcrowded with lost pets missing their families\, or abandoned pets looking for new homes. There will always be a need for she lters to help animals in emergency situations and victims of animal cruelt y\, but the real safety net for pets is a caring community – neighbors h elping neighbors.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Especially now\, when the need continues to exceed available sh eltering resources\, we believe we must find more community-centric soluti ons by working together with pet-lovers and good samaritans to get more pe ts home where they belong.  LifeLine does not believe killing healthy and treatable pets to make more space in a shelter is ever the right answer. Population management through euthanasia has never worked. Reliance on eut hanasia constrains the development of lifesaving solutions\, and the resul ts are always tragic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n When faced with external pressure to euthanize healthy and treatabl e animals to create more shelter space last month\, we turned to our anima l-loving community and in one week found foster and adoptive homes for 300 + pets. Atlanta\, you are the ideal solution. With your help\, we can weav e together a new safety net for the animals in need. Whether you are a vet eran rescuer or new to animal welfare\, help us shift the response when we find lost and stray pets\, so that more pets can be returned to their hom es. If you hear of situations where people need help with a found pet\, he lp them find options\, contact friends to find a foster home and help canv as the neighborhood to reunite families. Share this page.If you read about someone needing to rehome a pet\, share these resources and ask your neig hbors and friends if anyone can help. The pet owner\, rather than the shel ter\, will be able to find the best match for a loved pet. If someone is missing a pet\, check the lost pet pages of our website to see if the pet ended up at the shelter.If you can’t adopt\, foster. If you can’t fost er\, donate. If you can’t donate\, volunteer. If you can’t volunteer\, become an ambassador and share information and resources. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Please continue to suppor t our county shelters. Know that the staff is making the best decisions fo r every individual animal and human who comes to our doors with the resour ces that are available.  \nPlease extend the benefit of the doubt to lear n more about decisions that are being made. The people who dedicate our li ves to help animals in the shelter are not perfect\, but we are doing thei r very best in every situation\, for every individual pet\, and we are wor king with very limited resources and the most challenging of circumstances .  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Right now\, we are at a pivotal moment to change the course of animal welfare and lif esaving in our city. Animals deserve to be in homes and people deserve the love of a pet. Will you join us in committing to turn to each other to fi nd ways to help the animals in your community? Are you in?  We are. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n May 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availabili ty ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n Metro Atlanta County Animal Shelters are Out of Space! \n \n \n \n The county shelters have reached peak capacity and no longer have kennel space to house dogs. Because of the sheer volume\, we have had to set up temporary crates to house new arrivals but this is n ot a sustainable or acceptable solution.  This year we have seen a declin e in adoptions by 14% and a 37% decline in the number of animals leaving w ith rescue partners (compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels). We also saw a decline in the number of lost pets finding their families again. Not only are there more animals currently in the shelters\, but they are staying lo nger which impacts their physical and mental wellbeing.  We URGENTLY need help to place our medium to large dogs into homes so that the shelters do not have to face difficult life or death decisions. We currently need to find 250 homes for dogs living at the DeKalb shelter. The Fulton County an imal shelter is facing a similar situation and needs to find 150 homes thi s week.  Here’s what we are experiencing currently across metro Atlanta . \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb Coun ty Animal Services \n \n \n \n Today\, there are 560 d ogs in our DeKalb facility*. In May 2019\, prior to the pandemic the shelt er held 440 dogs. Fewer animals are leaving the shelter\, and animals are staying longer looking for homes. They’re waiting an average of 80 days at DeKalb County Animal Services. Due to this critical status\, Dekalb Cou nty and LifeLine Animal Project\, in conjunction with the Georgia Departme nt of Agriculture\, are enacting emergency only intake protocols. This mea ns the DeKalb shelter is only able to accept animals from emergency situat ions or in critical need (injured animals\, animals involved in bite cases or cruelty situations). DeKalb County Animal Enforcement will also enforc e these emergency protocols and will only respond to high priority calls. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n *As of May 25\, 2022\, with the help of our community\, the number of dogs housed at DeKalb County Animal Service s has decreased to 433. We are making slow\, but steady\, progress towards reducing the number of pets housed at the shelter to a more comfortable t hreshold of 320. However\, the situation remains critical and your continu ed help is needed to find homes for the pets in our care. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n There are currently 360  dogs in our Fulton facility**\, which was bui lt to house only 80 dogs. Dogs are waiting an average 40 days to be placed in a home\, which is longer than previous years and is very stressful for the animals. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n **As of May 25\, 2022\, thanks to our community’s help in response to an urgent plea for fosters and ad opters\, the number of dogs housed at Fulton County Animal Services has di pped below 300. Additionally\, a generous volunteer has pledged to sponsor 100 dog adoptions this May at Fulton County. We always want to provide hu mane housing for the animals in our care and at the levels we are experien cing\, that is extremely challenging. Our community’s continued help at this critical time is needed to find homes for the pets in our care. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Community Animal C enter \n \n \n \n Our Community Animal Center takes in pets from our county shelters to help alleviate space constraints. Right now\, the center is full and can only take in more dogs when dogs currentl y in our care are adopted or head to foster homes.  Last week\, 128 cats arrived from our DeKalb and Fulton shelters. If you are looking for a cat\ , there are many available at the LifeLine Community Animal Center. There are also over 100 dogs available for adoption at this location. \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n Let's save lives together. \n \n \n \n Please share this blog with your community and network to help more pets find the homes they deserve today. \n \n \n \n Ways to Help \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n March 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel spa ce\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangero usly full\n \n \n \n \n \n Crit ical Needs This Week: Adopters and Fosters \n \n \n \n This February\, we saw the highest intake levels on record for the mont h since LifeLine took over shelter management in 2013. Both of our county shelters are in the red zone for space availability!  As we continue to f ace a growing space crisis\, we turn our attention to the impact of crowdi ng and the shelter environment on the health of our pets. It is a common m isconception that pets may fare better in a shelter than in a home where t he pet parent has to leave daily for work or doesn’t have a yard. There is no place like a home when it comes to animals. Even with the incredible support of our staff and volunteers\, it is impossible to replicate the c alm and one-on-one attention a pet will receive in a home. Shelters\, part icularly at the capacity level we currently face\, can be loud and overwhe lming for many pets. Though they are safe and fed\, the close proximity to so many other pets can lead to a spread in medical conditions. Ultimately \, we see a deterioration of our pets the longer they spend in the shelter \, along with added strain for our veterinary teams.  Our goal is to see all of our pets find their way to a warm and loving home. We need help giv ing our shelter pets a break\, including taking them out for a day or a we ekend\, while they await the arrival of their new family. We immediately s ee an improvement in our pet’s health and happiness when they are in a h ome. Plus\, you can provide key insights on the dog or cat’s personality (which tends to shine beyond the shelter walls) to share with potential a dopters! We are facing a particular need for fosters for our pets that hav e medical needs\, are part of an ongoing court case\, and dogs that are la rger in size. To find out more and help give our pets a break\, check out our Foster page. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \n There ar e currently 471 dogs at DeKalb County Animal Services\, 253 MORE than the ideal number of dogs that should be housed in our shelter here and putting us in the RED ZONE!  The need for special care fosters is imperative. Ce rtain pets\, such as those that have just given birth\, are undergoing med ical treatment or are part of a court case\, deserve a quiet space and may need a little extra care. This can include receiving regular doses of med icine\, restricted or regulated exercise regimes or extra space to care fo r their puppies. It is important that they have a home where they can rela x\, heal and rest stress-free.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n The Fulton County Animal Services shelter is in the RED ZONE! There are 265 dogs in the shelter\, an alarming 115 dogs over the ideal number of 150. This means some runs have up to five dogs s haring a space. As a result\, the shelter is seeing an uptick in medical i ssues\, particularly contagious ailments like upper respiratory infections . \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n In Feb ruary 2022\, the LifeLine Community Animal Center brought in 222 pets to h elp create space at our two county shelters. 94 dogs and 84 cats are waiti ng for a place to call home\, with many more patiently waiting in foster h omes. Our animals are showing tremendous resilience\, but we need urgent h elp from our community to provide these precious pets with homes! Our miss ion remains\, as always\, to save the lives of all healthy and treatable a nimals. We appreciate the support of our community! \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n Help us save lives together! \n \n \n \n Share this blog with your community\, and help get mor e pets into homes today! \n \n \n \n Ways to Help \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n January 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n We are kicking off the new year with an unfamiliar sight for this time of the year: shelters that are stil l full from this summer. Shelter space is unfortunately\, yet typically\, limited during the summer months\, but this is the first time we have expe rienced such a continued strain on our shelter capacity and team. The numb er of animals coming in our doors has increased by 12% over last year whil e the number of dogs adopted has decreased. People are also struggling to care for their pets and have been facing evictions and other challenges. T his means more pets have been surrendered. Over the last two years\, we ha ve seen a 39% decline in the number of animals our rescue partners have be en able to help pull to safety\, largely due to factors resulting from the COVID pandemic. All of these challenges would be difficult alone but\, li ke so many others\, we are also facing severe labor shortages. We currentl y have 34 open positions across three locations\, which means we are missi ng 13% of our workforce. Between the staffing challenge and the number of staff who have been out sick due to the latest wave of the COVID-19 virus\ , we are struggling. Animal care is always our top priority. Our understaf fed teams and volunteers are working doubly hard to care for all the anima ls in need\, covering extra shifts and taking on additional responsibiliti es. In these times\, we must depend even more so on our community’s supp ort. By adopting\, donating\, volunteering\, helping lost animals back hom e and finding new homes for those alone in the shelter\, our community off ers real and sustained hope for the animals in our care. We are continuing to take in animals for emergency situations and for those who do not have any other options. Our Animal Service Officers and community support team s continue to provide resources\, including access to veterinary care and pet supplies\, pet lost and found assistance and self-rehoming options for animals in non-emergency situations. We always work with individuals faci ng financial hardship who need help for their pets. We often reduce or wai ve reclaim and surrender fees in the hopes of helping people and finding t he best outcomes for the animals. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \ n The ideal number of dogs that should be housed at DeKalb County Animal Services is 218. This allows us to house one dog per kennel with ac cess to both sides of the kennel. We are currently in the red zone with 48 0 dogs in the building. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n With Fulton County Animal Services being a smaller\, older building\, there is space to optimally house only 150 dogs. As of la st week\, there were 221 dogs in the shelter. This forces us to house mult iple dogs in most of the kennels. Not only does this make cleaning the she lter a logistical challenge\, but it means the environment is less than id eal for our animals. Our goal is to safely house a large population while mitigating risk of disease and shelter stress on the animals. If we had fe wer dogs in the building\, we could provide larger\, single kennels for 26 of our larger breed dogs\, who need individual housing\, and who are curr ently residing in smaller cages. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n In December 2021\, the LifeLine Community Animal C enter transferred in 170 pets from Fulton and DeKalb to help make space at the our two county shelters. We currently have 95 dogs and 102 cats looki ng for homes\, and even more are waiting to find families while they live in foster homes. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We believe space limitations alone are an unacceptable reason to euthani ze healthy and treatable animals. LifeLine has been able to achieve “no- kill\,”  saving 90% or more of all the animals who enter our shelters\, but we are only able to maintain this lifesaving achievement with the com munity’s support and advocacy. We know our community has the ability to provide the support needed to save precious lives.  Their lives depend on it. \n \n \n \n Make a difference today! \n \n \n \n Share this blog post with your community\, and help g et more pets into homes today. LAST-MODIFIED:20260912T001618Z URL:https://lifelineanimal.org/lifeline-events/moondog-pub-grub-dog-adopti on-event-5/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:LifeLine Animal Project X-SOURCE-URL:https://lifelineanimal.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Six Flags Shuttle Check-Out 2026 DTSTART:20260919T200000Z DTEND:20260920T060000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T193411Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53502787665871 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Shuttle check out.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nHosted by: POUNCE Rew ards Program\, Spotlight Programs Board\n\nAdditional Information can be f ound at: https://pin.gsu.edu/event/12519709 LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T193411Z LOCATION:Student Center East URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu/event/six-flags-shuttle-check-out-2026?utm_so urce=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Georgia State University Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:A Night at the Juke DTSTART:20260920T000000Z DTEND:20260920T020000Z DTSTAMP:20260904T182536Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53865718272091 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:House of Onyx's early fall event. Come join us for a night of Southern Gothic fun with a timeless edge. Make sure you bring garlic just in case some unexpected things go bump in the night! LAST-MODIFIED:20260904T182536Z LOCATION:Alston Campus Center\, AL-Hub URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/a-night-at-the-juke?utm_source=c aldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Westside Beltline Lantern Parade DTSTART:20260920T000000Z DTEND:20260920T013000Z DTSTAMP:20260908T062803Z UID:65@atlantafreedombands.com CATEGORIES:community,food,music DESCRIPTION:Join Atlanta Freedom Bands for the Atlanta Beltline Lantern Pa rade\n\nThe Atlanta Beltline Lantern Parade is set to light up the Westsid e trail with a dazzling procession of illuminated creatures and people on September 19.  Atlanta Freedom Bands is one of the parade’s Cultural Pa rtners\, leading a block of the parade!  Come see our Marching Band and C olor Guard as they light up the night with great music!\n\nThe parade roll s through the Adair Park neighborhood before taking to the Westside Beltli ne.  The parade ends with a giant party the Lee+White Food Hall with musi c\, food trucks\, and a collection of all the illuminations.  The evening is always quite a spectacle and quite a bit of fun!\n\nThe parade steps o ff at 8 PM from Beulah Colbert Park (formerly Adair Park II) and usually e nds by around 9:30 at the Lee+White Food Hall. (See map below)\n\nGetting There:\n\n There is neighborhood parking streetside near the start and th e end of the parade.  As always in Atlanta\, pay attention to all parking signs.\n Paid parking is available in the Lee+White Food Hall lot at the end of the route.\n MARTA + ATL Spoke: The Beltline’s new free automat ed ATL Spoke shuttles run every 15 minutes between the West End MARTA Stat ion and the Lee+White Food Hall.  https://beltline.org/atl-spoke/\n\nMore Info :\n\n After Party: A big party with all the parade participants at the Lee+White Food Hall follows the parade.  There will be food trucks an d the restaurants will be open.\n What are we playing in the parade?  Wh itney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and Huntrix’s “Gol den”\n Feeling Creative? Check out the free drop-in Lantern Workshop on Sunday 9/13 from 1 to 5 PM at the Lee+White Food Hall.\n Make Your Own L antern: Start with a simple a paper lantern with LED lights and a battery then add your own flair!\n Check Out all the Parade Details: The Atlanta Beltline Lantern Parade Web Page\n\nMap of the Festivities: LAST-MODIFIED:20260908T062803Z LOCATION:Westside Trail\, 933 Lee St SW\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30304\, United St ates URL:https://atlantafreedombands.com/events/westside-beltline-lantern-parad e-2026/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Atlanta Freedom Bands X-SOURCE-URL:https://atlantafreedombands.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:After Dark at Punch Bowl Social DTSTART:20260920T013000Z DTEND:20260920T033000Z DTSTAMP:20260912T000337Z UID:10005560-1789853400-1789853400@batteryatl.com CATEGORIES:community,drink,music DESCRIPTION:Your late night is getting a refresh! Come hang every Saturday for After Dark! \nJoin us for Saturdays After Dark with DJs spinning all your favorite bangers\, incredible drink specials 🍹\, and throwback boa rd games! ✨ \nWhat you’ll get: \n🎧 Vibe out: Our DJ will be spinnin g the best tracks to bop & sing along to. \n🎟️ Hourly raffles: Win fu n prizes you won’t want to miss. \n♠️ Game on: Challenge your friend s to throwback board games. \nClick here for more information! LAST-MODIFIED:20260912T000337Z LOCATION:Punch Bowl Social\, 875 Battery Ave SE Ste 720\, Atlanta\, Georgi a\, 30339\, United States URL:https://batteryatl.com/event/punch-bowl-2026-after-dark/?utm_source=ca ldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:BatteryATL X-SOURCE-URL:https://batteryatl.com/events-calendar/tag/live-music END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20260920T130000Z DTEND:20260920T170000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T210112Z UID:10011616-1789894800-1789909200@napc.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:MAC March Madness Donation Drive: Bar Soap and Body Wash. JOIN us as we collect Bar Soap and Body Wash for our neighborhood ministry par tner\, Midtown Assistance Center (MAC). We will collect them to help stock MAC’s food and sundries pantry\, March 1 through March 29. Midtown Assi stance Center (MAC) is a non-profit whose mission is to provide emergency assistance to low-income working Atlantans to help prevent homelessness an d hunger during periods of crisis. Donation bins are located in The Hospit ality Hall by the Connections Kiosk. LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T210112Z LOCATION:North Avenue Presbyterian Church\, 607 Peachtree St\, Atlanta\, G A\, 30308\, United States URL:https://napc.org/event/6156/2026-09-20/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_me dium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:North Avenue Presbyterian X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.napc.org/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Senior/Parent Breakfast DTSTART:20260920T140000Z DTEND:20260920T150000Z DTSTAMP:20260914T001502Z UID:10001770-1789898400-1789902000@www.prumc.org CATEGORIES:community,education DESCRIPTION:Navigate senior-year stress and life after high school. \n\nAr e You a High School Senior or a Parent? Join us for breakfast and a conver sation about managing the stress that comes with senior year and planning for life after high school. We ask that only the senior student and parent s come to this event. \nhttps://media.blubrry.com/prumc_sermons/content.bl ubrry.com/prumc_sermons/2026-09-13.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Downlo ad LAST-MODIFIED:20260914T001502Z LOCATION:Harp Student Center\, 3180 Peachtree Rd NE\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30305 \, United States URL:https://www.prumc.org/event/senior-parent-breakfast/?utm_source=caldis covery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Peachtree Road United Methodist Church X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.prumc.org/event/an-evening-with-tom-johnson END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Wisdom Well Bookstore DTSTART:20260920T140000Z DTEND:20260920T170000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T203106Z UID:10003216-1789898400-1789909200@unityatl.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:The Wisdom Well Bookstore\n\n \nOur metaphysical bookstore ref lects the heart of Unity Atlanta Church. It offers a collection of new tho ught\, spiritual\, and self-help books. We know you’ll be inspired with the large selection of gift items. The bookstore also supports our  Adult Education classes with a supply of teaching materials and textbooks. Our volunteer Bookstore Angels are always eager to introduce a new book or re acquaint us with an old classic. \nWisdom Well Store Hours:  Sundays\, 10 :00 AM – 1:00 PM \nLooking for a book in particular? \nTo contact:  un itywisdomwell@gmail.com  or call the church office: 770-441-0585 \n\nWe h ave books for diverse interests:                                                                                  We also have many gifts including:            \nSpirituality                                                                                                                                 Bimonthly issues of Unity Mag azine\nBibles & Bible Reference Books                                                                                              Bimonthly issues of Daily Word\nPrayer & Me ditation                                                                                                                 Greeting Cards\nInspiration & Motivation                                                                                                           Affirmation and 12 power stones\nRelationships                                                                                                                          Candles\nHealth & Healing                                                                                                                     Me ditative scents\nTransitioning & Grieving                                                                                                          Notepads\nAngels                                                                                                                                     T-shirts\nBooks for childre n                                                                                                                   Bookmarks LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T203106Z LOCATION:Unity Atlanta Church\, 3597 Parkway Lane\, Peachtree Corners\, 30 092\, United States URL:https://unityatl.org/events/wisdom-well-bookstore-2/2026-09-20/?utm_so urce=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Unity Atlanta Church X-SOURCE-URL:https://unityatl.org/events/congregational-care-team-training END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Tashlich In The Forest DTSTART:20260920T153000Z DTEND:20260920T160000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T203038Z UID:0-94@bethshalom.net CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Join us at the Dunwoody Nature Center for Tashlich In the Fore st!\n\nAs we approach the eve of Yom Kippur\, we have the opportunity as a community to spiritually "send" our sins away in a natural body of water. \n\nJoin Rabbi K'vod and Megan LaGala\, our Director of Lifelong Learning\ , for singing and ritual.\n\nWe will be adopting the Sephardic custom of u sing stones to toss into the water and will supply them.\n\nYou can bring a picnic lunch or snack to hang out and enjoy this beautiful environment a fter we conclude. LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T203038Z URL:https://www.bethshalom.net/events/tashlich-in-the-forest/?utm_source=c aldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Congregation Beth Shalom X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.bethshalom.net END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Slide Into Sundays at City Center DTSTART:20260920T160000Z DTEND:20260921T000000Z DTSTAMP:20260901T120912Z UID:13867-1789905600-1789934400@www.cityofcumming.net CATEGORIES:community,family DESCRIPTION:Join us for Slide into Sundays each week! Hosted by the Cummin g City Center in partnership with Jump N Jacks Moonwalks\, this lively wee kly event will include bounce houses\, water slides\, and plenty of games. Admission is $10 per child. LAST-MODIFIED:20260901T120912Z LOCATION:Cumming City Center\, 423 Canton Road\, Cumming\, GA\, 30040\, Un ited States URL:https://www.cityofcumming.net/event/slide-into-sundays-at-city-center- 25?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:City of Cumming X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.cityofcumming.net END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Crochet and Fiber Arts Meet-Up DTSTART:20260920T160000Z DTEND:20260920T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T202036Z UID:51120-1789905600-1789912800@atlantahumane.org CATEGORIES:arts,community DESCRIPTION:Looking for a cozy place to craft and connect? Join us at our Roswell location for a free\, drop-in gathering where creativity and cats come together! This recurring meetup takes place every third Sunday of the month\, making it the perfect opportunity to unwind\, get creative\, and build community with fellow makers and animal lovers. \nBring your current crochet\, knitting\, fiber arts\, or other creative project and spend tim e crafting alongside fellow makers and our adoptable cats. Whether you’r e an experienced maker or just curious to learn\, all skill levels are wel come. \nRoswell regular Laura Clark will be onsite to help foster conversa tion\, answer questions about crochet and fiber arts\, and provide yarn an d beginner-friendly guidance for anyone who doesn’t have a project of th eir own. \nWhat to Expect: \n\nA welcoming space for crafters of all skill levels\nBring-your-own project or start something new with provided mater ials\nBeginner-friendly guidance and conversation\nTime spent crafting alo ngside adoptable cats\nFree\, drop-in format—come and go as you’d like !\n\nNo registration fee required\, just bring your creativity and settle in for an afternoon of crafts and cats. \nClick here to reserve your spot! LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T202036Z LOCATION:Atlanta Humane Society – Roswell\, 1010 Mansell Rd\, Roswell\, GA\, 30076\, United States URL:https://atlantahumane.org/event/crochet-and-fiber-arts-meet-up/?utm_so urce=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Atlanta Humane Society X-SOURCE-URL:https://atlantahumane.org/get-involved/volunteer END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Connecting with the Unhoused Lunch & Learn DTSTART:20260920T163000Z DTEND:20260920T173000Z DTSTAMP:20260914T001502Z UID:10001840-1789907400-1789911000@www.prumc.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Join Ron Greer and Susan Marshall to explore Christ’s callin g in our lives. Learn about compassion in action by being in relationship with and helping the unhoused who visit our church. \nhttps://media.blubrr y.com/prumc_sermons/content.blubrry.com/prumc_sermons/2026-09-13.mp3Podcas t: Play in new window | Download LAST-MODIFIED:20260914T001502Z LOCATION:Hospitality Suite\, 3180 Peachtree Rd NE\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30305\, United States URL:https://www.prumc.org/event/connecting-with-the-unhoused-lunch-learn/? utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Peachtree Road United Methodist Church X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.prumc.org/event/an-evening-with-tom-johnson END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:SACC Georgia Crayfish Party 2026 DTSTART:20260920T190000Z DTEND:20260920T233000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T193101Z UID:10041570-1789916400-1789932600@www.globalatlanta.com CATEGORIES:community,food DESCRIPTION:Join SACC-Georgia for a Swedish Crayfish Party on Private Lake Lanier Residence! \nEnjoy traditional crayfish\, Swedish traditions\, mus ic\, family fun\, and beautiful lake views while connecting with the Swedi sh-American business community. LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T193101Z LOCATION:Cumming\, Georgia URL:https://www.globalatlanta.com/event/sacc-georgia-crayfish-party-2026/? utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Global Atlanta X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.globalatlanta.com/events/category/culture END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Chapel Worship Service DTSTART:20260920T213000Z DTEND:20260920T223000Z DTSTAMP:20260916T120024Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53759519323427 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Worship service LAST-MODIFIED:20260916T120024Z LOCATION:Julia Thompson Smith Chapel\, Narthex (Main Lobby) URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/chapel-worship-service?utm_sourc e=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Feet on the Street Shower Ministry DTSTART:20260921T120000Z DTEND:20260921T160000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T210112Z UID:10007700-1789977600-1789992000@napc.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:We are privileged to partner with Pastor Maurice and Feet on t he Street Ministries to provide showers\, clothes\, food\, friendship\, ho pe\, resources\, and help on Monday mornings from 8 a.m. to noon for unhou sed women and children in our community. There are opportunities to volunt eer by bringing breakfast (for 25)\, helping with the shower schedule\, di stributing clothes and communing with our neighbors. Use the button below to access the sign-up form. \nVolunteer Here LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T210112Z LOCATION:North Avenue Presbyterian Church\, 607 Peachtree St\, Atlanta\, G A\, 30308\, United States URL:https://napc.org/event/feet-on-the-street-shower-ministry/2026-09-21/? utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:North Avenue Presbyterian X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.napc.org/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:SGA Fall Town Hall Tabling DTSTART:20260921T153000Z DTEND:20260921T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260904T182536Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53865716849665 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Come visit SGA's table in Evans to express your student concer ns before the upcoming town hall! LAST-MODIFIED:20260904T182536Z LOCATION:Letitia Pate Evans Hall\, Evans Dining Hall Upper Level Lobby Tab le 1 URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/sga-fall-town-hall-tabling?utm_s ource=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Come Togäther: International German-Speaking Career Fair DTSTART:20260921T200000Z DTEND:20260921T220000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T193057Z UID:10041464-1790006400-1790013600@www.globalatlanta.com CATEGORIES:community,free DESCRIPTION:Entering its fourth year\, Come Togäther German Week featur es an international career fair connecting job seekers\, students\, and pr ofessionals with companies headquartered in German-speaking countries that have operations in Georgia. \nJoin the Goethe-Zentrum on September 21 to explore career opportunities\, meet employers\, make valuable connections\ , and learn about organizations seeking globally minded talent. Whether yo u are beginning your career\, considering a change\, or expanding your pro fessional network\, this welcoming event is your opportunity to discover w hat comes next. \nFREE to attend – come ready to connect\, ask questions \, and take the next step in your professional journey! LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T193057Z LOCATION:Goethe-Zentrum Atlanta / German Cultural Center\, 233 Peachtree S treet NE\, Suite 100\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30303\, United States URL:https://www.globalatlanta.com/event/come-togather-international-german -speaking-career-fair/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign =atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Global Atlanta X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.globalatlanta.com/events/category/culture END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Publius Pre-Law General Body Meeting DTSTART:20260921T210000Z DTEND:20260921T220000Z DTSTAMP:20260904T182536Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53874564644792 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Join your fellow pre-law scotties for the first meeting of Pub lius Pre-Law Society! LAST-MODIFIED:20260904T182536Z LOCATION:Alston Campus Center\, AL 200 The Gue Hudson Center URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/publius-pre-law-general-body-mee ting?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Take 'Em Home Tuesday at LifeLine Animal Project DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260922 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260923 DTSTAMP:20260901T061439Z UID:34302-1790035200-1790121599@lifelineanimal.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Our goal with this page is to share the current shelter needs with our community in an ongoing way. We hope to update this page seasonal ly or more frequently as needed. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n May 2024 \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n Last year\, we reached a pivotal break ing point in terms of the number of animals housed in our care. We recogni zed the physical capacity limitations of our buildings and made a commitme nt to work towards humane housing solutions\, which means both the county shelters need to reduce the number of animals living in the buildings. Whi le we continue to face severe overcrowding into 2024\, we have worked hard to increase resources to help more pet owners and improve the quality of life for the animals in our care. We are continuing to adapt to the challe nges we’re facing\, including many systemic problems that contribute to the number of animals arriving in our care. We have collaborated with many supportive community members and leaders in pursuit of creating a safer a nd more humane shelter environment for all. There are no overnight solutio ns to drastically reduce our shelter populations\, but we continue to have hope that with your support and the strategies currently in place\, our c ommunity will help us get more animals into homes where they belong. Here is a brief update for all three LifeLine shelters\, including the unique c hallenges and the most important ways you can get involved. \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal ServicesDog Population: 506 | Opti mum Capacity: 475 \n \n \n \n Last year\, DeKalb Count y Animal Services reached peak numbers of dogs housed in the shelter durin g an outbreak of Canine Flu.. Because of an incredible response from our c ommunity\, we successfully saw the population drop down to 312 dogs. Becau se the need in our community is so great\, this number steadily rose back up to 500+ dogs and has remained in that range for months on end despite o ur best efforts. It is a near constant struggle to balance the amount of “noses in”\, pets arriving at the shelter\, with the amount of “nose s out” each week\, pets leaving. As an open intake municipal facility\, we do not turn away animals in need in Dekalb County\, no matter how much or little space we have in our kennels when we begin a new day. It is impo rtant that the community understands this distinction from other rescue or ganizations and is aware of ways they can help prevent lost or stray pets from ever having to enter the shelter. We need to create room for pets tha t have the most urgent need for our help. We must find a way to help more animals find homes and keep the shelter at a capacity that is humane for t he pets in our care. Heartbreaking space euthanasia decisions must be made weekly and overcrowding is putting more dogs at risk. Instead of focusing our at-risk dogs\, we are asking our community to focus efforts and resou rces on getting more of our highly-adoptable dogs out so that those animal s identified as most at risk (struggling in the shelter and exhibiting a v ariety of challenging behaviors) can get the time that they need to find a home. Any animal that leaves the building will help us reach our target o f decreasing the dog population to below a threshold of 475. This new proc ess includes daily population updates on the website and improved communic ations with our volunteers and community about how to best support dogs in need in our shelters. Even still\, 475 dogs housed in the building is les s than ideal. This is an incredible number of pets to care for daily. Whil e their basic needs are met\, quality of life deteriorates the longer they are housed in a shelter intended to be a temporary safety net. The lower we can keep that number\, the less dogs there will be at risk for illness\ , increased stress and euthanasia. In addition to these adjustments in com municating the ongoing need\, we have partnered with DeKalb County leaders on both short and long-term solutions that were announced last fall to he lp more pets in need: Increased funding for support to pets of DeKalb Coun ty residents including:A free monthly pet food bankFree spay/neuter surger ies through SNIP DeKalbFree vaccinations through LifeLine’s Mobile Clini cAdditional kennel space to provide more humane housing for the dogs curre ntly in our care:Plans have been approved to build new\, additional kennel s which will provide better housing for court case dogs who are in our car e long termProjected installation is September 2024We believe programs lik e these that make pet resources more accessible\, including affordable spa y/neuter surgery\, are the key to helping more pets stay out of the shelte rs and in homes where they belong. \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal ServicesDog Population: 419 | Optimum Capacity: 325 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At the end of 2023\, we celebrated the grand opening of a brand new 40\,0 00 square foot shelter facility in Fulton County! With the opening of the new building\, we’ve fortunately seen improvement in all of these ways t o create a better environment for the teams and the animals as well as a b etter experience for visitors and supporters: Staff is less stressed. We h ave improved our ability to train\, onboard and implement new and efficien t processes.The building is easier to clean and has decreased the spread o f infectious disease.With separate kennel runs\, animals are less stressed or overwhelmed in the building and do not experience as high of stimulati on. It’s now easier to identify issues with dogs so we can work on getti ng them placed in a home more quickly.Visitors feel more welcome and have the ability to more easily spend time with individual animals. We have als o been able to increase the number of spay/neuter surgeries for our adopta ble animals and provide adopters\, fosters and rescue partners with better diagnostics for their pets with the new clinic.We have seen an increase i n the number of volunteers and hours spent with our team.We are able to ho st other shelters and bring more learning and collaborative opportunities to staff in-houseAt the same time\, we experienced a challenging transitio n as we worked to close the former facility\, adjust to the new set up\, a nd final projects and installations were wrapped up by the county. With th e new opening\, there was an uptick of stray or abandoned pets being broug ht to the new shelter. The shelter is a safe haven\, but can only be so te mporarily for pets in need of homes\, and we’ve seen the dog population quickly fill the building past its limits. Similarly to DeKalb County\, it has been difficult to balance the new intakes with finding outcomes for t he animals\, even in the wake of creative and successful adoption events. According to Animal Shelters Count’s recent annual report\, “In 2023\, 3% more dogs entered shelters than left\, resulting in an additional 107\ ,000 dogs in shelters at the end the year.” Fulton County Animal Service s is also an open intake municipal shelter facility and can’t simply “ stop” taking new animals in even when we’re overcapacity. Fortunately\ , we’ve also started 2024 with recent pawsitive media and exciting opera tional updates. The full-service clinic at Fulton County Animal Services i s now open for the public to make low-cost wellness appointments for their pets to receive the care they need! Additionally\, a Fulton County foster dog\, a pit mix now known as Miss Peaches\, has gone viral after being ad opted by celebrity and President of Barstool Sports\, Dave Portnoy. Miss P eaches’s story\, Dave’s choice to adopt and his initiative to raise fu nds for animal rescue has captured hearts nationwide. Lifesaving deserves to be trending so that we can keep up with the influx of dogs in need. We hope others will follow in his footsteps!  \n \n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal CenterDog Population: 119 | Optimum Capacity: 80 \n \n \n \n The incredible dedication of the team at our LifeLine Community Animal Center cannot be overlooked. Our county s helter facilities tend to take the spotlight in the news and on social med ia because of the massive number of pets that come through their doors\, b ut the Community Animal Center is always working quietly in the background to help the county operations. When the county shelters are over capacity \, so is this facility to keep up with the need. Not only do they consiste ntly take in pets from our county shelters and other rural facilities\, bu t\, when there is a neglect or hoarding case being investigated\, this loc ation takes in dozens of pets when they have nowhere else to go. As we ent er the warmer months of summer\, the Community Animal Center is also const antly preparing to help with the large numbers of kittens and puppies that are in need. Maintaining a full staff at this location is critical to its function. If you’re interested in joining our team full-time\, or even as a volunteer\, our Community Animal Center would love to have you! \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A National Crisis \n \n \n \n In conversations wit h other rescue organizations and in a review of data over the past few yea rs\, we’ve learned that these challenges are not unique to LifeLine or t he city of Atlanta. For the fourth year in a row\, we are faced with a “ new normal” in animal sheltering. According to the report\, “A total o f 900\,000 animals have entered and lingered in our nation’s shelters an d rescues since January 2021. This surplus is on top of the population alr eady residing within organizations\, resulting in an ongoing capacity cris is.” “The number of animals entering shelters through community intake s in 2023 remained roughly the same as 2022 at 6.5 million\, with intakes nearly evenly split between dogs and cats.” Compared to a national decre ase of 3.2% in intakes between 2019 and 2023\, our community intakes throu gh the Fulton and DeKalb County shelters decreased 6.89% from 2019 to 2023 . But\, intakes increased by 14.5% from 2022 to 2023. Even in the wake of these higher intake numbers\, we have been able to rally our community and find an incredible number of homes in 2023 compared to previous years. “While 2.2 million dogs were adopted in 2023\, dog adoptions are still 5 % lower than in 2019 (-108\,000 dogs adopted).” At LifeLine\, our overal l pet adoptions were only down by 1.92% in 2023 compared to 2019\, and ado ptions were higher in 2023 compared to 2018\, 2020\, 2021 and 2022. We are frequently partnering with more organizations who want to help and who ar e spreading the word that adopting is the way to go when searching for a n ew pet. For full shelter statistics across our organization\, please visit www.shelteranimalscount.org/stats. \n \n \n \n In Su mmary \n \n \n \n The animals in our city need help. W hile donations are the foundation for our work in the community and allow us to help more pets get the care they need\, donations don’t create mor e available kennel space. We need your help in getting more pets adopted o r fostered. We need the community’s help in getting more lost pets back home. We need our community to know about available resources for food\, v eterinary care\, and affordable spay/neuter options. Together\, we can sav e these lives and help the animals who need us most. \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Octob er 2023 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message To Our C ommunity \n \n \n \n We are in the midst of an ongoing crisis affecting city and county animal shelters across the country. Time s are extremely difficult for the animals housed in our shelters and the s taff and volunteers who care for them. We have frequently reported on the conditions of our shelters and how desperate we are to get hundreds of ani mals into homes. We hear the distress and complaints about the overcrowdin g from our volunteers\, fosters\, and community\; we experience the condit ions daily\; we see the news articles written and segments being broadcast on television and radio\; we feel and share your frustration and heartbre ak. We are heartbroken\, too. Let us express to you in no uncertain terms: the current conditions in our shelters are not humane or sustainable. We can and we must do better. We will exhaust all efforts to prioritize the h ealth and safety of both pets and people in our care. The balance of human ely sheltering a growing number of animals while giving each one the care and the time they deserve to be placed in a loving home is getting substan tially harder to achieve. The issues contributing to overcrowding primaril y are rooted in the community\, not the shelter\, and cannot be changed ov ernight. In the shelters\, we’ve reached a pivotal breaking point. We ha ve stretched the shelter capacity and resources to unsustainable limits wh ile hoping\, for too long now\, that there would be a turning point where more animals would leave these buildings than enter. But that has not happ ened this year and without homes to go to\, we must euthanize more dogs at both county shelters in order to reach and maintain safe and humane housi ng. There are many facets to the challenges we are currently facing and we will cover some of them in this blog. We also encourage you to check out two other blog posts that go into deeper detail on two important issues: T he No-Kill controversyThe Impact of Spay and Neuter (and other pressing qu estions) \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Are The Shelters So Overcrowded? \n \n \n \n We know there are a lot of questions around why this is happening. We are seeing a new reality\, a post-pandemic world\; E conomic challenges to families\, a lack of affordable and pet-friendly hou sing\, a national shortage of veterinarians\, a decrease in spay/neuter du ring the pandemic and a need for more accessible and affordable spay/neute r options\, a desire for specific breeds\, and a diminishing public capaci ty to help and home shelter animals are all taking a heartbreaking toll on the growing number of animals coming into LifeLine’s care. We have acce pted pets from families arriving at the shelter with all of their possessi ons in a U-haul and nowhere to turn for help. People newly arriving to the area are surrendering their dogs to the shelter because they are unable t o find affordable housing that will allow them to keep their companions.We are coming to terms with an untenable reality of the community relying on a singular shelter as the sole means of support for the growing number of animals at risk – animals who mostly were people’s pets and family me mbers at one time. Systemically\, the shelter alone cannot support the she er volume of need. Here Is A Look At Our Shelters In Crisis: \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 569Target Dog Capacity: 450 On Tuesday \, October 17th\, DeKalb County CEO\, Michael Thurmond\, visited DeKalb Co unty Animal Services. The following day\, he met with our CEO\, Rebecca Gu inn\, and other LifeLine leadership. Together\, LifeLine and DeKalb County leadership agreed that Dekalb County Animal Services must reduce the dog population at the shelter to 450 in 60 days and maintain the population at or below that number. They collaborated and decided on both short- and lo nger-term actions to help aid in this crisis including: Working with staff ing agencies for additional staff and support for cleaning.Deploying perso nnel from other divisions within LifeLine to assist with animal care\, man agement and training and restructuring staff schedules to ensure greater c overage\, particularly on weekends.Sadly\, increasing euthanasia rates if necessary and continuing to do so until we reduce the dog population to 45 0 or less. If we cannot increase lifesaving outcomes beyond the current ra te\, we will have to euthanize 9 animals each day\, or 63 animals each wee k.Constructing an overflow campus adjacent to the shelter\, designed to ho ld up to 120 additional dogs above the current target capacity and provide effective isolation areas\, to help alleviate the need for euthanasia for population control. This solution will take time to build\, staff and ope rate and until then we must get below 450 animals in the current building. Improving communications between DeKalb County’s Animal Services Enforce ment division and the shelter to more proactively address factors in the f ield that are causing animals to come into the shelter.Increasing support to fund access to veterinary care for DeKalb pet owners in need\, includin g subsidized and free spay/neuter\, and targeting areas of DeKalb County y ielding the highest number of animals impounded in the shelter.What it wil l take to change the situation most\, in the short-term\, is simply fewer dogs in the building. We are asking our community to help us achieve those target dog population numbers because\, without homes to go to\, dogs wil l be euthanized for space\, regardless of health and temperment. Please a dopt or foster a pet today. \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dog s: 357Sustainable Capacity for Dogs: 325 We’ve mentioned that there is h ope on the horizon in Fulton County in the form of a brand new shelter fac ility preparing to open before the end of the year. However\, this does no t change the fact that the current facility is in dire straits. On average \, 15 dogs are being euthanized for space each week. Each day\, 16 dogs en ter the facility. That’s\, on average\, 2 more dogs that come in than le ave. While some conditions will improve with the upcoming move to the new facility\, rising intake and overcrowding will not be solved entirely by t ransitioning from one building to another. Fulton County is in desperate n eed of adopters and fosters\, including Friendly Finders who are willing t o foster a lost or stray dog through its mandated stray hold (3 to 5 busin ess days total) instead of immediately dropping them at the shelter when f ound. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n LifeLin e Midtown \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 105O ptimum Capacity for Dogs: 75 As an overflow facility\, for every dog adopt ed at LifeLine Midtown\, space opens up for another dog from the Fulton Co unty Animal Services. And\, because the shelter is smaller\, it is a less overwhelming experience for individuals to visit and bring home a pet. Ado pting a pet from LifeLine Midtown greatly supports the main Fulton County shelter. When the new Fulton shelter opens\, the Midtown facility will clo se and any dogs still there will have to move to the new shelter. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 111 O ptimum Capacity for Dogs: 60  LifeLine’s Community Animal Center adopti on center was designed as an overflow facility for our county shelters. St aff and volunteers also provide pets with special medical or behavioral ch allenges more time and attention to meet those needs. For dogs\, the Commu nity Animal Center is the primary overflow facility for the DeKalb County shelter. Because it is also full\, our Community Animal Center is limited in serving these critical functions. Beyond just dogs\, our staff is also caring for the majority of our organization’s cats. This adoption center \, like our Midtown location\, offers a calmer environment that may be eas ier to visit. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We Cannot Do This Alone \n \n \n \n Two things can be true: we can be proud of what we’ve accomplished together as a community in 10 ye ars’ time AND acknowledge the ways LifeLine needs to improve and perseve re as an organization. We have committed ourselves to helping these animal s\, but we are limited now by a lack of space and resources\, as well as e xternal challenges in the communities we serve. We are also human and make mistakes. And\, most importantly\, we cannot do this alone. While we are pursuing all avenues toward long-term solutions\, in the short term\, we n eed a miracle. We need you. We are asking our community to please foster o r adopt a pet today. You will be truly saving a life. If you have question s about any topic in this blog and would like to reach out\, please email feedback@lifelineanimal.org or write to LifeLine Animal Project\, ATTN: Op erations 3180 Presidential Drive\, Atlanta\, GA 30340. Thank you\, Atlanta . For believing in our work and helping us save lives today and always. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n February 2023 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Hello\, friends and supporters.  We wanted to share some critical u pdates and news as we turn the page on 2022\, and enter 2023 in a much bet ter position to give our deserving animals the love and space they need to thrive. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In January\, on the heels of a Canine Flu outbreak\, we were faced with a grim reality and life or death decisions. After more than a year of being at critical capacity at our DeKalb County Animal Services sh elter\, we were left with the heartbreaking possibility of having to eutha nize animals for space. We had nearly 600 dogs in need of home (at just th is one shelter). We put out a plea for help in the Greater Atlanta area\, and in a mere 7 days\, 373 dogs from DeKalb and 556 dogs from all LifeLine shelters found new homes! We are forever grateful to the Atlanta communit y for their support in our darkest hour. This is what lifesaving looks lik e. By the end of January\, our Fulton County Animal Services had fewer tha n 300 animals for the first time in almost a year. But within days of hitt ing that milestone\, we were called in with law enforcement on a rescue ca se and brought more than 60 new impounded animals safely into our care. Ea ch of these animals requires space\, food and immediate medical care. Our Fulton shelter team was also tasked with running LifeLine Midtown\, our te mporary shelter that opened in early January during the Canine Flu outbrea k to divert intake and keep dogs healthy. While it helped contain that out break\, a new location strains precious resources and manpower\, which has been challenging due to staffing shortages. \n \n \n \n Number of Dogs in Need of Homes as of February 15th \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services: 343 in the shelter and 928 in foster hom es\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services: 339 in the shelter and 22 0 in foster homes\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal Center: 65 in t he shelter and 85 in foster homes\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n LifeLine Midtown: 82 in t he shelter\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The LifeLine Community Animal Center con tinues to aid in the efforts of freeing up space at our county shelters an d helping dogs clear their quarantine period from the Canine Flu outbreak. Recent staffing hires have provided much needed relief to our existing te ams. After the incredible number of adoptions at our DeKalb shelter\, ther e are many animals in need of spay/neuter procedures. The Community Animal Center has stepped in to help temporarily house animals awaiting surgery and ensure that pets don’t have to wait any longer than necessary to go home with new\, loving families. Fortunately\, while the dogs in our care have been a major media focus in 2023\, we have also happily seen a steady flow of cat adoptions at the Community Animal Center and have enough open cat housing space to prepare for a busy kitten season to start in the spr ing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n It’s bee n a busy start to the new year. And\, while we are celebrating the wins\, the hard work isn’t over. Even though we successfully saved many lives\ , 20-40 dogs come into our county shelters every single day and they need your help to find their way home.  \n \n \n \n What We Need Most Now: \n \n \n \n Volunteers and new staff are urgently needed to keep this much-needed LifeLine Midtown shelter up and running\, as well as help at our other locations.We always need adopte rs and fosters to place more pets into homes where they belong.We need goo d Samaritans in our community to help lost pets make their way back home i nstead of to the shelter. Find out what to do if you should find a lost pe t.And\, if you can’t foster or adopt\, please consider making a donation .As always\, thank you for your critical support. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2022 Posts \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Novem ber\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n September\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n June\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n May\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n March\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n AN URGENT PLEA FROM OUR CEO TO THE CITY OF ATLANTA\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The current situation in our Atlanta animal shelters is dire. The animals in our care do not have the space they need\, or dese rve\, and we need your help. Our hard working teams are understaffed and w orking extreme overtime to ensure that kennels are clean\, bowls are full\ , and the pets in our shelters are well cared for. Our volunteers walk hun dreds of dogs a day. And it’s still not enough. We have teams covering r escue\, adoptions\, marketing\, volunteers\, and foster parents\, all work ing tirelessly to find homes and other ways Atlanta’s pets can get out o f the shelter. This is not the life our city’s animals deserve. This sta te our shelters are in is not sustainable for the pets nor the people who care for them. Animal shelters have never been\, and will never be\, the i deal solution for the animals. Atlanta\, we urgently need your help. Our a nimals are in desperate need of homes. Each of our shelters have exceeded capacity by the hundreds. DeKalb County Animal Services has nearly 600 dog s and over 50 cats in the building\, Fulton County Animal Services has alm ost 400 dogs in a building meant to hold 80. The more pets in our care\, t he harder it is to make sure they are living as comfortably as they deserv e during their time with us. We are meant to be a temporary refuge for pet s in need\, not a home. Pets cannot thrive here\, especially when there is an overwhelming amount of them. We know you’ve heard this plea before. And we hope you’ll hear it now. The situation is not improving. There ar e more animals in our care than ever and they really need your help. We ne ed your help. Adopt: Whether you’re looking for a calm couch potato\, wa lking partner\, or anything in between\, there are over 1\,000 deserving p ets waiting for you. Foster: If you have just two weeks to help a pet\, th at can make all of the difference. Sign up here.Donate: We need monetary d onations and supplies to continue caring for this many animals each day. Y ou can help by donating here or sending us much-needed items from our Amaz on wishlists. Help lost pets: Most pets are found within a mile of their h ome. If they come to a shelter\, their chances of being reunited greatly d eclines. If you find a pet\, follow these steps or become a friendly finde r. Spay/Neuter: Unlike humans\, dogs and cats give birth to 4-to-6 animals in one litter. Also\, dogs can give birth up to twice a year and cats up to 5 times a year! Because they can produce so many offspring each year\, it is important to spay/neuter your pet as soon as possible to reduce pet overpopulation. Learn more here about the benefits and how to book an appo intment with one of our Spay/Neuter clinics. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n September 202 2 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We wish we had bette r news to share\, but right now\, the shelters are still struggling. There is a lot of pressure right now on the county shelters to be the lifeline for more pets than the shelters have space to house. The reason for this o vercrowding is simple: more animals are coming in than are leaving. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In August\, we saw a total of 601 dogs adopted\, but 863 came in du ring that same time. That’s 262 more dogs entering our already full buil dings.  \nNumber of dogs that need homes: \n\n337 dogs in need at our Ful ton County shelter\n526 dogs in need at our DeKalb County shelter\n81 dogs in need at our Community Animal Center\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The situation is dir e. We are urging our communities in Fulton and DeKalb Counties to please n ot bring healthy pets they find straight to the shelter as first response. Please take a few steps in the first 48 hours to get lost pets back home where they belong. This does not mean pets will be without support in the community. Those injured or sick are always a top priority. We’re tryin g to make more space for those most in need. And\, we are also trying to f ind solutions for humans in emergency situations who have run out of optio ns. Here are a few things anyone can do to help during this crisis: Adopt a petFoster a pet. 200 emergency fosters are needed at our shelters right nowDonate to support pets in the shelterCollect newspaper\, towels and bla nkets to drop off at any locationCheck the shelter wishlist for items most in needHelp a neighbor who can’t keep their pet find a new home – her e’s howFollow our social channels and help us get the word out by sharin g posts from your preferred platform\, Facebook\, Instagram and Twitter.Wr ite an article in your local neighborhood paper about adopting/fostering s helter petsIf you find a lost pet\, fill out a found pet report\, follow t hese steps or become a friendly finder \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n June 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n You are the next chapter in animal w elfare. \n \n \n \n Animal shelters have never been\, and will never be\, the ideal solution for the animals. They have always b een a flawed answer to a bigger community challenge of how to best help lo st\, stray and unwanted pets.  Across the nation\, all communities are fa cing the aftershocks of the pandemic. For animal shelters\, those challeng es include overpopulated and understaffed facilities\, higher intake and f ewer adopters\, and a substantial decrease in rescue transfer support. In Atlanta\, we’ve had to restrict intake at varying levels due to the seve re overcapacity status at both county shelters.  But over the last few ye ars\, and through the recent challenges\, we’ve begun to see how a criti cal shift\, and a different path forward\, can actually save the lives of the animals in our community without having animals languish in shelters. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Over 60% of the animals in a shelter are stray/lost pets. Imagine if the shelters d idn’t exist to collect all the lost and stray pets of a community. What if the community itself was able to help those pets find and reunite with their families?  63% of animals are found just a mile from their home (26 % are just a block away). If neighbors could reunite pets with their famil ies\, instead of bringing them to the shelter\, our shelters would always have space to help those with nowhere to go. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n What if the community could help struggling neighbors rehome their pets instead of turning them over to a shelter? Wha t if more resources were spent on keeping pets and people together instead of housing pets in a crowded shelter? If we\, as a community\, could shif t the focus to support each other in creative and practical ways\, the she lters wouldn’t be overcrowded with lost pets missing their families\, or abandoned pets looking for new homes. There will always be a need for she lters to help animals in emergency situations and victims of animal cruelt y\, but the real safety net for pets is a caring community – neighbors h elping neighbors.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Especially now\, when the need continues to exceed available sh eltering resources\, we believe we must find more community-centric soluti ons by working together with pet-lovers and good samaritans to get more pe ts home where they belong.  LifeLine does not believe killing healthy and treatable pets to make more space in a shelter is ever the right answer. Population management through euthanasia has never worked. Reliance on eut hanasia constrains the development of lifesaving solutions\, and the resul ts are always tragic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n When faced with external pressure to euthanize healthy and treatabl e animals to create more shelter space last month\, we turned to our anima l-loving community and in one week found foster and adoptive homes for 300 + pets. Atlanta\, you are the ideal solution. With your help\, we can weav e together a new safety net for the animals in need. Whether you are a vet eran rescuer or new to animal welfare\, help us shift the response when we find lost and stray pets\, so that more pets can be returned to their hom es. If you hear of situations where people need help with a found pet\, he lp them find options\, contact friends to find a foster home and help canv as the neighborhood to reunite families. Share this page.If you read about someone needing to rehome a pet\, share these resources and ask your neig hbors and friends if anyone can help. The pet owner\, rather than the shel ter\, will be able to find the best match for a loved pet. If someone is missing a pet\, check the lost pet pages of our website to see if the pet ended up at the shelter.If you can’t adopt\, foster. If you can’t fost er\, donate. If you can’t donate\, volunteer. If you can’t volunteer\, become an ambassador and share information and resources. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Please continue to suppor t our county shelters. Know that the staff is making the best decisions fo r every individual animal and human who comes to our doors with the resour ces that are available.  \nPlease extend the benefit of the doubt to lear n more about decisions that are being made. The people who dedicate our li ves to help animals in the shelter are not perfect\, but we are doing thei r very best in every situation\, for every individual pet\, and we are wor king with very limited resources and the most challenging of circumstances .  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Right now\, we are at a pivotal moment to change the course of animal welfare and lif esaving in our city. Animals deserve to be in homes and people deserve the love of a pet. Will you join us in committing to turn to each other to fi nd ways to help the animals in your community? Are you in?  We are. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n May 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availabili ty ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n Metro Atlanta County Animal Shelters are Out of Space! \n \n \n \n The county shelters have reached peak capacity and no longer have kennel space to house dogs. Because of the sheer volume\, we have had to set up temporary crates to house new arrivals but this is n ot a sustainable or acceptable solution.  This year we have seen a declin e in adoptions by 14% and a 37% decline in the number of animals leaving w ith rescue partners (compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels). We also saw a decline in the number of lost pets finding their families again. Not only are there more animals currently in the shelters\, but they are staying lo nger which impacts their physical and mental wellbeing.  We URGENTLY need help to place our medium to large dogs into homes so that the shelters do not have to face difficult life or death decisions. We currently need to find 250 homes for dogs living at the DeKalb shelter. The Fulton County an imal shelter is facing a similar situation and needs to find 150 homes thi s week.  Here’s what we are experiencing currently across metro Atlanta . \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb Coun ty Animal Services \n \n \n \n Today\, there are 560 d ogs in our DeKalb facility*. In May 2019\, prior to the pandemic the shelt er held 440 dogs. Fewer animals are leaving the shelter\, and animals are staying longer looking for homes. They’re waiting an average of 80 days at DeKalb County Animal Services. Due to this critical status\, Dekalb Cou nty and LifeLine Animal Project\, in conjunction with the Georgia Departme nt of Agriculture\, are enacting emergency only intake protocols. This mea ns the DeKalb shelter is only able to accept animals from emergency situat ions or in critical need (injured animals\, animals involved in bite cases or cruelty situations). DeKalb County Animal Enforcement will also enforc e these emergency protocols and will only respond to high priority calls. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n *As of May 25\, 2022\, with the help of our community\, the number of dogs housed at DeKalb County Animal Service s has decreased to 433. We are making slow\, but steady\, progress towards reducing the number of pets housed at the shelter to a more comfortable t hreshold of 320. However\, the situation remains critical and your continu ed help is needed to find homes for the pets in our care. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n There are currently 360  dogs in our Fulton facility**\, which was bui lt to house only 80 dogs. Dogs are waiting an average 40 days to be placed in a home\, which is longer than previous years and is very stressful for the animals. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n **As of May 25\, 2022\, thanks to our community’s help in response to an urgent plea for fosters and ad opters\, the number of dogs housed at Fulton County Animal Services has di pped below 300. Additionally\, a generous volunteer has pledged to sponsor 100 dog adoptions this May at Fulton County. We always want to provide hu mane housing for the animals in our care and at the levels we are experien cing\, that is extremely challenging. Our community’s continued help at this critical time is needed to find homes for the pets in our care. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Community Animal C enter \n \n \n \n Our Community Animal Center takes in pets from our county shelters to help alleviate space constraints. Right now\, the center is full and can only take in more dogs when dogs currentl y in our care are adopted or head to foster homes.  Last week\, 128 cats arrived from our DeKalb and Fulton shelters. If you are looking for a cat\ , there are many available at the LifeLine Community Animal Center. There are also over 100 dogs available for adoption at this location. \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n Let's save lives together. \n \n \n \n Please share this blog with your community and network to help more pets find the homes they deserve today. \n \n \n \n Ways to Help \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n March 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel spa ce\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangero usly full\n \n \n \n \n \n Crit ical Needs This Week: Adopters and Fosters \n \n \n \n This February\, we saw the highest intake levels on record for the mont h since LifeLine took over shelter management in 2013. Both of our county shelters are in the red zone for space availability!  As we continue to f ace a growing space crisis\, we turn our attention to the impact of crowdi ng and the shelter environment on the health of our pets. It is a common m isconception that pets may fare better in a shelter than in a home where t he pet parent has to leave daily for work or doesn’t have a yard. There is no place like a home when it comes to animals. Even with the incredible support of our staff and volunteers\, it is impossible to replicate the c alm and one-on-one attention a pet will receive in a home. Shelters\, part icularly at the capacity level we currently face\, can be loud and overwhe lming for many pets. Though they are safe and fed\, the close proximity to so many other pets can lead to a spread in medical conditions. Ultimately \, we see a deterioration of our pets the longer they spend in the shelter \, along with added strain for our veterinary teams.  Our goal is to see all of our pets find their way to a warm and loving home. We need help giv ing our shelter pets a break\, including taking them out for a day or a we ekend\, while they await the arrival of their new family. We immediately s ee an improvement in our pet’s health and happiness when they are in a h ome. Plus\, you can provide key insights on the dog or cat’s personality (which tends to shine beyond the shelter walls) to share with potential a dopters! We are facing a particular need for fosters for our pets that hav e medical needs\, are part of an ongoing court case\, and dogs that are la rger in size. To find out more and help give our pets a break\, check out our Foster page. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \n There ar e currently 471 dogs at DeKalb County Animal Services\, 253 MORE than the ideal number of dogs that should be housed in our shelter here and putting us in the RED ZONE!  The need for special care fosters is imperative. Ce rtain pets\, such as those that have just given birth\, are undergoing med ical treatment or are part of a court case\, deserve a quiet space and may need a little extra care. This can include receiving regular doses of med icine\, restricted or regulated exercise regimes or extra space to care fo r their puppies. It is important that they have a home where they can rela x\, heal and rest stress-free.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n The Fulton County Animal Services shelter is in the RED ZONE! There are 265 dogs in the shelter\, an alarming 115 dogs over the ideal number of 150. This means some runs have up to five dogs s haring a space. As a result\, the shelter is seeing an uptick in medical i ssues\, particularly contagious ailments like upper respiratory infections . \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n In Feb ruary 2022\, the LifeLine Community Animal Center brought in 222 pets to h elp create space at our two county shelters. 94 dogs and 84 cats are waiti ng for a place to call home\, with many more patiently waiting in foster h omes. Our animals are showing tremendous resilience\, but we need urgent h elp from our community to provide these precious pets with homes! Our miss ion remains\, as always\, to save the lives of all healthy and treatable a nimals. We appreciate the support of our community! \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n Help us save lives together! \n \n \n \n Share this blog with your community\, and help get mor e pets into homes today! \n \n \n \n Ways to Help \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n January 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n We are kicking off the new year with an unfamiliar sight for this time of the year: shelters that are stil l full from this summer. Shelter space is unfortunately\, yet typically\, limited during the summer months\, but this is the first time we have expe rienced such a continued strain on our shelter capacity and team. The numb er of animals coming in our doors has increased by 12% over last year whil e the number of dogs adopted has decreased. People are also struggling to care for their pets and have been facing evictions and other challenges. T his means more pets have been surrendered. Over the last two years\, we ha ve seen a 39% decline in the number of animals our rescue partners have be en able to help pull to safety\, largely due to factors resulting from the COVID pandemic. All of these challenges would be difficult alone but\, li ke so many others\, we are also facing severe labor shortages. We currentl y have 34 open positions across three locations\, which means we are missi ng 13% of our workforce. Between the staffing challenge and the number of staff who have been out sick due to the latest wave of the COVID-19 virus\ , we are struggling. Animal care is always our top priority. Our understaf fed teams and volunteers are working doubly hard to care for all the anima ls in need\, covering extra shifts and taking on additional responsibiliti es. In these times\, we must depend even more so on our community’s supp ort. By adopting\, donating\, volunteering\, helping lost animals back hom e and finding new homes for those alone in the shelter\, our community off ers real and sustained hope for the animals in our care. We are continuing to take in animals for emergency situations and for those who do not have any other options. Our Animal Service Officers and community support team s continue to provide resources\, including access to veterinary care and pet supplies\, pet lost and found assistance and self-rehoming options for animals in non-emergency situations. We always work with individuals faci ng financial hardship who need help for their pets. We often reduce or wai ve reclaim and surrender fees in the hopes of helping people and finding t he best outcomes for the animals. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \ n The ideal number of dogs that should be housed at DeKalb County Animal Services is 218. This allows us to house one dog per kennel with ac cess to both sides of the kennel. We are currently in the red zone with 48 0 dogs in the building. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n With Fulton County Animal Services being a smaller\, older building\, there is space to optimally house only 150 dogs. As of la st week\, there were 221 dogs in the shelter. This forces us to house mult iple dogs in most of the kennels. Not only does this make cleaning the she lter a logistical challenge\, but it means the environment is less than id eal for our animals. Our goal is to safely house a large population while mitigating risk of disease and shelter stress on the animals. If we had fe wer dogs in the building\, we could provide larger\, single kennels for 26 of our larger breed dogs\, who need individual housing\, and who are curr ently residing in smaller cages. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n In December 2021\, the LifeLine Community Animal C enter transferred in 170 pets from Fulton and DeKalb to help make space at the our two county shelters. We currently have 95 dogs and 102 cats looki ng for homes\, and even more are waiting to find families while they live in foster homes. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We believe space limitations alone are an unacceptable reason to euthani ze healthy and treatable animals. LifeLine has been able to achieve “no- kill\,”  saving 90% or more of all the animals who enter our shelters\, but we are only able to maintain this lifesaving achievement with the com munity’s support and advocacy. We know our community has the ability to provide the support needed to save precious lives.  Their lives depend on it. \n \n \n \n Make a difference today! \n \n \n \n Share this blog post with your community\, and help g et more pets into homes today. LAST-MODIFIED:20260901T061439Z URL:https://lifelineanimal.org/lifeline-events/take-em-home-tuesday-at-lif eline-animal-project/2026-09-22/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&ut m_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:LifeLine Animal Project X-SOURCE-URL:https://lifelineanimal.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Day Trip to Jaemore Farms DTSTART:20260922T130000Z DTEND:20260922T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260914T001502Z UID:10001833-1790067600-1790085600@www.prumc.org CATEGORIES:community,outdoors DESCRIPTION:Join us for a fun-filled day of apple picking and fresh mounta in air.  Ticket to farm $6.00.  Bring money for any produce purchases an d lunch.  RSVP to Diane Scanlan at dianes@prumc.org. \nhttps://media.blub rry.com/prumc_sermons/content.blubrry.com/prumc_sermons/2026-09-13.mp3Podc ast: Play in new window | Download LAST-MODIFIED:20260914T001502Z LOCATION:Rollins Center URL:https://www.prumc.org/event/day-trip-to-jaemore-farms/?utm_source=cald iscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Peachtree Road United Methodist Church X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.prumc.org/event/an-evening-with-tom-johnson END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Research Tower Grand Opening DTSTART:20260922T140000Z DTEND:20260922T150000Z DTSTAMP:20260918T004403Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53959322603908 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Join us as we celebrate the grand opening of the new Research Tower. LAST-MODIFIED:20260918T004403Z LOCATION:Research Tower URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu/event/research-tower-grand-opening?utm_source =caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Georgia State University Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:SGA Fall Town Hall Tabling DTSTART:20260922T153000Z DTEND:20260922T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260904T182536Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53865716871173 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Come visit SGA's table in Evans to express your student concer ns before the upcoming town hall! LAST-MODIFIED:20260904T182536Z LOCATION:Letitia Pate Evans Hall\, Evans Dining Hall Upper Level Lobby Tab le 1 URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/sga-fall-town-hall-tabling?utm_s ource=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:GSU Builds For 9/11 :Clarkston! DTSTART:20260922T160000Z DTEND:20260922T173000Z DTSTAMP:20260917T124106Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53945204840518 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Join us for a Day of Service in observance of September 11\, a day of remembrance and reflection.\n \nHonor the spirit of service by joi ning fellow Panthers in assembling Welcome Home Kits for Atlanta Mission. These projects support individuals and families as they transition into st able housing!\n \n\nHosted by: Leadership and Service\, POUNCE Rewards Pro gram\n\nAdditional Information can be found at: https://pin.gsu.edu/event/ 12738427 LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T124106Z LOCATION:Student Center\, Clarkston Campus URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu/event/gsu-builds-for-911-clarkston?utm_source =caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Georgia State University Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Scotties Vote Coalition: Chat-Tea DTSTART:20260922T170000Z DTEND:20260922T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260821T122414Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53759518964997 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Chat-Tea with the Scotties Vote Coalition is an opportunity to talk about current events\, the upcoming election and ask any questions y ou may have about voter registration\, voting or democratic engagement. LAST-MODIFIED:20260821T122414Z LOCATION:Alston Campus Center\, AL 200 The Gue Hudson Center URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/scotties-vote-coalition-chat-tea ?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Fall 2026 Tabling Tuesdays - Part-Time Jobs Only DTSTART:20260922T190000Z DTEND:20260922T220000Z DTSTAMP:20260910T182306Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53939050113305 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Looking for a part-time job or internship while in school? Join us for Tabling Tuesdays and connect with employers hiring GSU stu dents for part-time jobs\, internships\, and seasonal opportunities. Stop by 25 Park Place between classes to learn about available positions\, meet recruiters\, and explore opportunities that fit your schedule. Locatio n: 25 Park Place\, 1 st Floor Time: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Dates: Septem ber 22\, September 29\, and October 27 Opportunities may include: Part-time jobs Part-time internships Seasonal positions Customer ser vice and retail roles Administrative support Hospitality and recreation Education and childcare Marketing and brand ambassador positions Other student-friendly employment opportunities Whether you're looking to earn income\, gain experience\, or build your professional network\, we encour age you to attend. LAST-MODIFIED:20260910T182306Z LOCATION:25 Park Place Northeast URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu/event/fall-2026-tabling-tuesdays-part-time-jo bs-only?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Georgia State University Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Physics & Astronomy Colloquioum Series DTSTART:20260922T190000Z DTEND:20260922T200000Z DTSTAMP:20260917T184536Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53991602485139 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Epigraphene: from 2-dimensional semiconductor to ballistic tra nsport\n\nProf. Claire Berger\n\nGeorgia Tech-CNRS International Research Laboratory (France) & Georgia Institute of Technology (USA)\n\nTuesday\, S eptember 22\, 2026\, at 3:00 PM | 25PP 223\n\nHosts: Prof. Misty Bentz and Dr. Abhay Nayak LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T184536Z LOCATION:25 Park Place Building (SunTrust Tower)\, 223 URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu/event/physics-astronomy-colloquioum-series?ut m_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Georgia State University Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Weekly -Tues Cruise In at The Varsity-Dawsonville\, 73 Bethel Dr DTSTART:20260922T203000Z DTEND:20260922T233000Z DTSTAMP:20260830T001557Z UID:14036-1790094600-1790105400@shiftatlanta.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:WOOOO HOOO … it’s time for the Weekly Tues Evening Cruise In at The Varsity – Dawsonville 73 Bethel Dr Dawsonville ga( across Ga 4 00 from Outlet Mall.)See ya there🍔🌭🥗🍟🥤🕶️😁🇺🇸(N ote— not my Event .. just adding as FYI .. Enjoy! ) \nhttps://www.facebo ok.com/events/1236989821419390/?event_time_id=1236989914752714 LAST-MODIFIED:20260830T001557Z LOCATION:The Varsity @ Dawsonville 73 Bethel Dr Dawsonville Ga URL:https://shiftatlanta.org/atlanta-car-event/weekly-tues-cruise-in-at-th e-varsity-dawsonville-73-bethel-dr-22/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium= ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:ShiftAtlanta X-SOURCE-URL:https://shiftatlanta.org/atlanta-car-events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Mortar Board Meeting DTSTART:20260922T203000Z DTEND:20260922T213000Z DTSTAMP:20260902T122454Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53865720398058 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Mortar Board Meeting LAST-MODIFIED:20260902T122454Z LOCATION:Alston Campus Center\, AL-Meeting Room 205 URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/mortar_board_meeting?utm_source= caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Family Dinner DTSTART:20260922T210000Z DTEND:20260922T230000Z DTSTAMP:20260826T005501Z UID:10001510-1790096400-1790103600@shepherd.org CATEGORIES:community,food DESCRIPTION:Share a warm\, home-cooked meal with your loved ones at Family Dinner. This event brings patients and families together for a comforting and communal dining experience that feels like home.Family dinners are of fered weekly on Tuesdays\, beginning at 5 p.m.This event is for current in patients and their families/caregivers only. LAST-MODIFIED:20260826T005501Z LOCATION:Shepherd Center\, 2020 Peachtree Road NW\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30309\, United States URL:https://shepherd.org/event/family-dinner-2/2026-09-22/?utm_source=cald iscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Shepherd Center X-SOURCE-URL:https://shepherd.org/treatment/services-clinics/recreation-th erapy/events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Scotties For Change General Body Meetings DTSTART:20260922T220000Z DTEND:20260922T230000Z DTSTAMP:20260904T182536Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53874561697474 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Come stop by to learn about our upcoming events and build comm unity! LAST-MODIFIED:20260904T182536Z LOCATION:Alston Campus Center\, AL-Meeting Room 205 & 206 URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/scotties-for-change-general-body -meetings?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Vision Board n Mingle DTSTART:20260922T223000Z DTEND:20260923T000000Z DTSTAMP:20260911T183443Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53874558263645 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Welcome back meeting for the NAACP and New Scotties. Setting g oals for the school year. LAST-MODIFIED:20260911T183443Z LOCATION:Alston Campus Center\, AL-Hub URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/vision-board-n-mingle?utm_source =caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Ward A Community Meeting DTSTART:20260922T223000Z DTEND:20260923T003000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T011251Z UID:46894-1790101800-1790109000@eastpointga.gov CATEGORIES:community LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T011251Z LOCATION:City Hall\, 2757 East Point Street\, East Point\, GA\, 30344\, Un ited States URL:https://eastpointga.gov/event/ward-a-community-meeting/?utm_source=cal discovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:City of East Point\, Georgia X-SOURCE-URL:https://eastpointga.gov END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Small Group for all Young Adults DTSTART:20260922T230000Z DTEND:20260923T003000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T210112Z UID:10011205-1790103600-1790109000@napc.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Small Group for all Young Adults – Tuesdays 7pm 3rd Floor L ibrary LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T210112Z LOCATION:GA URL:https://napc.org/event/small-group-for-all-young-adults/2026-09-22/?ut m_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:North Avenue Presbyterian X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.napc.org/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Multiple Sclerosis Symposium: Knowledge for Every Journey DTSTART:20260923T130000Z DTEND:20260923T183000Z DTSTAMP:20260911T013043Z UID:10002987-1790154000-1790173800@shepherd.org CATEGORIES:community,education DESCRIPTION:Join us for an educational symposium for individuals living wi th Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and their care partners in the Callaway Auditor ium on the 7th floor. This community event will feature MS specialists who will share information on current topics in MS care\, treatment\, and res earch. Attendees will learn more about the prevalence of MS\, advances in care\, and the direction of future research\, and will have the opportunit y to ask questions and engage in meaningful discussion.Whether you are new ly diagnosed\, have been living with MS for years\, or support a loved one with MS\, this symposium is designed to empower you with information\, re sources\, and a deeper understanding of the evolving landscape of MS care. Open to Shepherd Center patients\, non-patients\, care partners\, and the entire MS community.This symposium is free\, and breakfast and lunch will be provided. Multiple Sclerosis Symposium Agenda9:00 AM : Registration\, Breakfast & Exhibits10:00 – 10:15 AM: Welcome & Overview with Rebecca Du guid\, PT\, DPT Program Manager\, Andrew C. Carlos MS Institute10:15 – 1 1:00 AM: Prevalence of MS Across Communities & Cultures with Jacqueline F. Rosenthal\, MD Neurologist & Medical Director\, Andrew C. Carlos MS Insti tute11:00 – 11:45 AM: Understanding Your Options: Current MS Treatments with Cole Crowson\, MD Neurologist\, Andrew C. Carlos MS Institute11:45 AM – 1:00 PM: Lunch (Provided) & Panel Discussion1:00 – 1:45 PM: Advanci ng MS Rehabilitation: Research & Future Directions with Brad Willingham\, PhDDirector of MS Research\, Andrew C. Carlos MS Institute1:45 – 2:30 PM : The Pipeline: Promising MS Research on the Horizon with Meena Kannan\, M DNeurologist\, Andrew C. Carlos MS Institute2:30 PM: Closing Remarks & Exh ibits \n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Previous slide\n \n \n \n\n \n \n Next slide\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n Register for Multiple Sclerosis Symposium LAST-MODIFIED:20260911T013043Z LOCATION:Shepherd Center\, 2020 Peachtree Road NW\, Atlanta\, GA\, 30309\, United States URL:https://shepherd.org/event/multiple-sclerosis-symposium-knowledge-for- every-journey/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta -ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Shepherd Center X-SOURCE-URL:https://shepherd.org/treatment/services-clinics/recreation-th erapy/events END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Volunteer Project DTSTART:20260923T130000Z DTEND:20260923T150000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T210208Z UID:10001339-1790154000-1790161200@www.woodlandsgarden.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Everyone is welcome to come volunteer. More details about how to register here: https://www.woodlandsgarden.org/come-volunteer/ LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T210208Z URL:https://www.woodlandsgarden.org/event/volunteer-project-35-2/2026-09-2 3/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Woodlands Garden X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.woodlandsgarden.org/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Goodwill of North Georgia: NorthStar Testing Session DTSTART:20260923T130000Z DTEND:20260923T140000Z DTSTAMP:20260916T063631Z UID:10035302-1790154000-1790157600@metroatlantaexchange.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Goodwill of North Georgia is hosting a NorthStar Testing Sessi on every Wednesday\, from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM\, at the Woodstock Career Ce nter. \nFor more information\, call 770-874-0901. \nClick here to learn mo re and register. LAST-MODIFIED:20260916T063631Z LOCATION:Goodwill of North Georgia – Woodstock Career Center\, 9425 High way 92\, Woodstock\, GA\, 30188\, United States URL:https://metroatlantaexchange.org/event/goodwill-of-north-georgia-north star-testing-session/2026-09-23/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&ut m_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:MAX X-SOURCE-URL:https://metroatlantaexchange.org/event/georgia-chamber-of-com merce-future-of-energy-and-sustainability END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Mobile Vaccine Clinic DTSTART:20260923T140000Z DTEND:20260923T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260901T061439Z UID:37640-1790157600-1790172000@lifelineanimal.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Our goal with this page is to share the current shelter needs with our community in an ongoing way. We hope to update this page seasonal ly or more frequently as needed. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n May 2024 \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n Last year\, we reached a pivotal break ing point in terms of the number of animals housed in our care. We recogni zed the physical capacity limitations of our buildings and made a commitme nt to work towards humane housing solutions\, which means both the county shelters need to reduce the number of animals living in the buildings. Whi le we continue to face severe overcrowding into 2024\, we have worked hard to increase resources to help more pet owners and improve the quality of life for the animals in our care. We are continuing to adapt to the challe nges we’re facing\, including many systemic problems that contribute to the number of animals arriving in our care. We have collaborated with many supportive community members and leaders in pursuit of creating a safer a nd more humane shelter environment for all. There are no overnight solutio ns to drastically reduce our shelter populations\, but we continue to have hope that with your support and the strategies currently in place\, our c ommunity will help us get more animals into homes where they belong. Here is a brief update for all three LifeLine shelters\, including the unique c hallenges and the most important ways you can get involved. \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal ServicesDog Population: 506 | Opti mum Capacity: 475 \n \n \n \n Last year\, DeKalb Count y Animal Services reached peak numbers of dogs housed in the shelter durin g an outbreak of Canine Flu.. Because of an incredible response from our c ommunity\, we successfully saw the population drop down to 312 dogs. Becau se the need in our community is so great\, this number steadily rose back up to 500+ dogs and has remained in that range for months on end despite o ur best efforts. It is a near constant struggle to balance the amount of “noses in”\, pets arriving at the shelter\, with the amount of “nose s out” each week\, pets leaving. As an open intake municipal facility\, we do not turn away animals in need in Dekalb County\, no matter how much or little space we have in our kennels when we begin a new day. It is impo rtant that the community understands this distinction from other rescue or ganizations and is aware of ways they can help prevent lost or stray pets from ever having to enter the shelter. We need to create room for pets tha t have the most urgent need for our help. We must find a way to help more animals find homes and keep the shelter at a capacity that is humane for t he pets in our care. Heartbreaking space euthanasia decisions must be made weekly and overcrowding is putting more dogs at risk. Instead of focusing our at-risk dogs\, we are asking our community to focus efforts and resou rces on getting more of our highly-adoptable dogs out so that those animal s identified as most at risk (struggling in the shelter and exhibiting a v ariety of challenging behaviors) can get the time that they need to find a home. Any animal that leaves the building will help us reach our target o f decreasing the dog population to below a threshold of 475. This new proc ess includes daily population updates on the website and improved communic ations with our volunteers and community about how to best support dogs in need in our shelters. Even still\, 475 dogs housed in the building is les s than ideal. This is an incredible number of pets to care for daily. Whil e their basic needs are met\, quality of life deteriorates the longer they are housed in a shelter intended to be a temporary safety net. The lower we can keep that number\, the less dogs there will be at risk for illness\ , increased stress and euthanasia. In addition to these adjustments in com municating the ongoing need\, we have partnered with DeKalb County leaders on both short and long-term solutions that were announced last fall to he lp more pets in need: Increased funding for support to pets of DeKalb Coun ty residents including:A free monthly pet food bankFree spay/neuter surger ies through SNIP DeKalbFree vaccinations through LifeLine’s Mobile Clini cAdditional kennel space to provide more humane housing for the dogs curre ntly in our care:Plans have been approved to build new\, additional kennel s which will provide better housing for court case dogs who are in our car e long termProjected installation is September 2024We believe programs lik e these that make pet resources more accessible\, including affordable spa y/neuter surgery\, are the key to helping more pets stay out of the shelte rs and in homes where they belong. \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal ServicesDog Population: 419 | Optimum Capacity: 325 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n At the end of 2023\, we celebrated the grand opening of a brand new 40\,0 00 square foot shelter facility in Fulton County! With the opening of the new building\, we’ve fortunately seen improvement in all of these ways t o create a better environment for the teams and the animals as well as a b etter experience for visitors and supporters: Staff is less stressed. We h ave improved our ability to train\, onboard and implement new and efficien t processes.The building is easier to clean and has decreased the spread o f infectious disease.With separate kennel runs\, animals are less stressed or overwhelmed in the building and do not experience as high of stimulati on. It’s now easier to identify issues with dogs so we can work on getti ng them placed in a home more quickly.Visitors feel more welcome and have the ability to more easily spend time with individual animals. We have als o been able to increase the number of spay/neuter surgeries for our adopta ble animals and provide adopters\, fosters and rescue partners with better diagnostics for their pets with the new clinic.We have seen an increase i n the number of volunteers and hours spent with our team.We are able to ho st other shelters and bring more learning and collaborative opportunities to staff in-houseAt the same time\, we experienced a challenging transitio n as we worked to close the former facility\, adjust to the new set up\, a nd final projects and installations were wrapped up by the county. With th e new opening\, there was an uptick of stray or abandoned pets being broug ht to the new shelter. The shelter is a safe haven\, but can only be so te mporarily for pets in need of homes\, and we’ve seen the dog population quickly fill the building past its limits. Similarly to DeKalb County\, it has been difficult to balance the new intakes with finding outcomes for t he animals\, even in the wake of creative and successful adoption events. According to Animal Shelters Count’s recent annual report\, “In 2023\, 3% more dogs entered shelters than left\, resulting in an additional 107\ ,000 dogs in shelters at the end the year.” Fulton County Animal Service s is also an open intake municipal shelter facility and can’t simply “ stop” taking new animals in even when we’re overcapacity. Fortunately\ , we’ve also started 2024 with recent pawsitive media and exciting opera tional updates. The full-service clinic at Fulton County Animal Services i s now open for the public to make low-cost wellness appointments for their pets to receive the care they need! Additionally\, a Fulton County foster dog\, a pit mix now known as Miss Peaches\, has gone viral after being ad opted by celebrity and President of Barstool Sports\, Dave Portnoy. Miss P eaches’s story\, Dave’s choice to adopt and his initiative to raise fu nds for animal rescue has captured hearts nationwide. Lifesaving deserves to be trending so that we can keep up with the influx of dogs in need. We hope others will follow in his footsteps!  \n \n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal CenterDog Population: 119 | Optimum Capacity: 80 \n \n \n \n The incredible dedication of the team at our LifeLine Community Animal Center cannot be overlooked. Our county s helter facilities tend to take the spotlight in the news and on social med ia because of the massive number of pets that come through their doors\, b ut the Community Animal Center is always working quietly in the background to help the county operations. When the county shelters are over capacity \, so is this facility to keep up with the need. Not only do they consiste ntly take in pets from our county shelters and other rural facilities\, bu t\, when there is a neglect or hoarding case being investigated\, this loc ation takes in dozens of pets when they have nowhere else to go. As we ent er the warmer months of summer\, the Community Animal Center is also const antly preparing to help with the large numbers of kittens and puppies that are in need. Maintaining a full staff at this location is critical to its function. If you’re interested in joining our team full-time\, or even as a volunteer\, our Community Animal Center would love to have you! \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A National Crisis \n \n \n \n In conversations wit h other rescue organizations and in a review of data over the past few yea rs\, we’ve learned that these challenges are not unique to LifeLine or t he city of Atlanta. For the fourth year in a row\, we are faced with a “ new normal” in animal sheltering. According to the report\, “A total o f 900\,000 animals have entered and lingered in our nation’s shelters an d rescues since January 2021. This surplus is on top of the population alr eady residing within organizations\, resulting in an ongoing capacity cris is.” “The number of animals entering shelters through community intake s in 2023 remained roughly the same as 2022 at 6.5 million\, with intakes nearly evenly split between dogs and cats.” Compared to a national decre ase of 3.2% in intakes between 2019 and 2023\, our community intakes throu gh the Fulton and DeKalb County shelters decreased 6.89% from 2019 to 2023 . But\, intakes increased by 14.5% from 2022 to 2023. Even in the wake of these higher intake numbers\, we have been able to rally our community and find an incredible number of homes in 2023 compared to previous years. “While 2.2 million dogs were adopted in 2023\, dog adoptions are still 5 % lower than in 2019 (-108\,000 dogs adopted).” At LifeLine\, our overal l pet adoptions were only down by 1.92% in 2023 compared to 2019\, and ado ptions were higher in 2023 compared to 2018\, 2020\, 2021 and 2022. We are frequently partnering with more organizations who want to help and who ar e spreading the word that adopting is the way to go when searching for a n ew pet. For full shelter statistics across our organization\, please visit www.shelteranimalscount.org/stats. \n \n \n \n In Su mmary \n \n \n \n The animals in our city need help. W hile donations are the foundation for our work in the community and allow us to help more pets get the care they need\, donations don’t create mor e available kennel space. We need your help in getting more pets adopted o r fostered. We need the community’s help in getting more lost pets back home. We need our community to know about available resources for food\, v eterinary care\, and affordable spay/neuter options. Together\, we can sav e these lives and help the animals who need us most. \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Octob er 2023 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Message To Our C ommunity \n \n \n \n We are in the midst of an ongoing crisis affecting city and county animal shelters across the country. Time s are extremely difficult for the animals housed in our shelters and the s taff and volunteers who care for them. We have frequently reported on the conditions of our shelters and how desperate we are to get hundreds of ani mals into homes. We hear the distress and complaints about the overcrowdin g from our volunteers\, fosters\, and community\; we experience the condit ions daily\; we see the news articles written and segments being broadcast on television and radio\; we feel and share your frustration and heartbre ak. We are heartbroken\, too. Let us express to you in no uncertain terms: the current conditions in our shelters are not humane or sustainable. We can and we must do better. We will exhaust all efforts to prioritize the h ealth and safety of both pets and people in our care. The balance of human ely sheltering a growing number of animals while giving each one the care and the time they deserve to be placed in a loving home is getting substan tially harder to achieve. The issues contributing to overcrowding primaril y are rooted in the community\, not the shelter\, and cannot be changed ov ernight. In the shelters\, we’ve reached a pivotal breaking point. We ha ve stretched the shelter capacity and resources to unsustainable limits wh ile hoping\, for too long now\, that there would be a turning point where more animals would leave these buildings than enter. But that has not happ ened this year and without homes to go to\, we must euthanize more dogs at both county shelters in order to reach and maintain safe and humane housi ng. There are many facets to the challenges we are currently facing and we will cover some of them in this blog. We also encourage you to check out two other blog posts that go into deeper detail on two important issues: T he No-Kill controversyThe Impact of Spay and Neuter (and other pressing qu estions) \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Why Are The Shelters So Overcrowded? \n \n \n \n We know there are a lot of questions around why this is happening. We are seeing a new reality\, a post-pandemic world\; E conomic challenges to families\, a lack of affordable and pet-friendly hou sing\, a national shortage of veterinarians\, a decrease in spay/neuter du ring the pandemic and a need for more accessible and affordable spay/neute r options\, a desire for specific breeds\, and a diminishing public capaci ty to help and home shelter animals are all taking a heartbreaking toll on the growing number of animals coming into LifeLine’s care. We have acce pted pets from families arriving at the shelter with all of their possessi ons in a U-haul and nowhere to turn for help. People newly arriving to the area are surrendering their dogs to the shelter because they are unable t o find affordable housing that will allow them to keep their companions.We are coming to terms with an untenable reality of the community relying on a singular shelter as the sole means of support for the growing number of animals at risk – animals who mostly were people’s pets and family me mbers at one time. Systemically\, the shelter alone cannot support the she er volume of need. Here Is A Look At Our Shelters In Crisis: \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 569Target Dog Capacity: 450 On Tuesday \, October 17th\, DeKalb County CEO\, Michael Thurmond\, visited DeKalb Co unty Animal Services. The following day\, he met with our CEO\, Rebecca Gu inn\, and other LifeLine leadership. Together\, LifeLine and DeKalb County leadership agreed that Dekalb County Animal Services must reduce the dog population at the shelter to 450 in 60 days and maintain the population at or below that number. They collaborated and decided on both short- and lo nger-term actions to help aid in this crisis including: Working with staff ing agencies for additional staff and support for cleaning.Deploying perso nnel from other divisions within LifeLine to assist with animal care\, man agement and training and restructuring staff schedules to ensure greater c overage\, particularly on weekends.Sadly\, increasing euthanasia rates if necessary and continuing to do so until we reduce the dog population to 45 0 or less. If we cannot increase lifesaving outcomes beyond the current ra te\, we will have to euthanize 9 animals each day\, or 63 animals each wee k.Constructing an overflow campus adjacent to the shelter\, designed to ho ld up to 120 additional dogs above the current target capacity and provide effective isolation areas\, to help alleviate the need for euthanasia for population control. This solution will take time to build\, staff and ope rate and until then we must get below 450 animals in the current building. Improving communications between DeKalb County’s Animal Services Enforce ment division and the shelter to more proactively address factors in the f ield that are causing animals to come into the shelter.Increasing support to fund access to veterinary care for DeKalb pet owners in need\, includin g subsidized and free spay/neuter\, and targeting areas of DeKalb County y ielding the highest number of animals impounded in the shelter.What it wil l take to change the situation most\, in the short-term\, is simply fewer dogs in the building. We are asking our community to help us achieve those target dog population numbers because\, without homes to go to\, dogs wil l be euthanized for space\, regardless of health and temperment. Please a dopt or foster a pet today. \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dog s: 357Sustainable Capacity for Dogs: 325 We’ve mentioned that there is h ope on the horizon in Fulton County in the form of a brand new shelter fac ility preparing to open before the end of the year. However\, this does no t change the fact that the current facility is in dire straits. On average \, 15 dogs are being euthanized for space each week. Each day\, 16 dogs en ter the facility. That’s\, on average\, 2 more dogs that come in than le ave. While some conditions will improve with the upcoming move to the new facility\, rising intake and overcrowding will not be solved entirely by t ransitioning from one building to another. Fulton County is in desperate n eed of adopters and fosters\, including Friendly Finders who are willing t o foster a lost or stray dog through its mandated stray hold (3 to 5 busin ess days total) instead of immediately dropping them at the shelter when f ound. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n LifeLin e Midtown \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 105O ptimum Capacity for Dogs: 75 As an overflow facility\, for every dog adopt ed at LifeLine Midtown\, space opens up for another dog from the Fulton Co unty Animal Services. And\, because the shelter is smaller\, it is a less overwhelming experience for individuals to visit and bring home a pet. Ado pting a pet from LifeLine Midtown greatly supports the main Fulton County shelter. When the new Fulton shelter opens\, the Midtown facility will clo se and any dogs still there will have to move to the new shelter. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n Current Population of Dogs: 111 O ptimum Capacity for Dogs: 60  LifeLine’s Community Animal Center adopti on center was designed as an overflow facility for our county shelters. St aff and volunteers also provide pets with special medical or behavioral ch allenges more time and attention to meet those needs. For dogs\, the Commu nity Animal Center is the primary overflow facility for the DeKalb County shelter. Because it is also full\, our Community Animal Center is limited in serving these critical functions. Beyond just dogs\, our staff is also caring for the majority of our organization’s cats. This adoption center \, like our Midtown location\, offers a calmer environment that may be eas ier to visit. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We Cannot Do This Alone \n \n \n \n Two things can be true: we can be proud of what we’ve accomplished together as a community in 10 ye ars’ time AND acknowledge the ways LifeLine needs to improve and perseve re as an organization. We have committed ourselves to helping these animal s\, but we are limited now by a lack of space and resources\, as well as e xternal challenges in the communities we serve. We are also human and make mistakes. And\, most importantly\, we cannot do this alone. While we are pursuing all avenues toward long-term solutions\, in the short term\, we n eed a miracle. We need you. We are asking our community to please foster o r adopt a pet today. You will be truly saving a life. If you have question s about any topic in this blog and would like to reach out\, please email feedback@lifelineanimal.org or write to LifeLine Animal Project\, ATTN: Op erations 3180 Presidential Drive\, Atlanta\, GA 30340. Thank you\, Atlanta . For believing in our work and helping us save lives today and always. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n February 2023 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Hello\, friends and supporters.  We wanted to share some critical u pdates and news as we turn the page on 2022\, and enter 2023 in a much bet ter position to give our deserving animals the love and space they need to thrive. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In January\, on the heels of a Canine Flu outbreak\, we were faced with a grim reality and life or death decisions. After more than a year of being at critical capacity at our DeKalb County Animal Services sh elter\, we were left with the heartbreaking possibility of having to eutha nize animals for space. We had nearly 600 dogs in need of home (at just th is one shelter). We put out a plea for help in the Greater Atlanta area\, and in a mere 7 days\, 373 dogs from DeKalb and 556 dogs from all LifeLine shelters found new homes! We are forever grateful to the Atlanta communit y for their support in our darkest hour. This is what lifesaving looks lik e. By the end of January\, our Fulton County Animal Services had fewer tha n 300 animals for the first time in almost a year. But within days of hitt ing that milestone\, we were called in with law enforcement on a rescue ca se and brought more than 60 new impounded animals safely into our care. Ea ch of these animals requires space\, food and immediate medical care. Our Fulton shelter team was also tasked with running LifeLine Midtown\, our te mporary shelter that opened in early January during the Canine Flu outbrea k to divert intake and keep dogs healthy. While it helped contain that out break\, a new location strains precious resources and manpower\, which has been challenging due to staffing shortages. \n \n \n \n Number of Dogs in Need of Homes as of February 15th \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services: 343 in the shelter and 928 in foster hom es\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services: 339 in the shelter and 22 0 in foster homes\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n LifeLine Community Animal Center: 65 in t he shelter and 85 in foster homes\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n LifeLine Midtown: 82 in t he shelter\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The LifeLine Community Animal Center con tinues to aid in the efforts of freeing up space at our county shelters an d helping dogs clear their quarantine period from the Canine Flu outbreak. Recent staffing hires have provided much needed relief to our existing te ams. After the incredible number of adoptions at our DeKalb shelter\, ther e are many animals in need of spay/neuter procedures. The Community Animal Center has stepped in to help temporarily house animals awaiting surgery and ensure that pets don’t have to wait any longer than necessary to go home with new\, loving families. Fortunately\, while the dogs in our care have been a major media focus in 2023\, we have also happily seen a steady flow of cat adoptions at the Community Animal Center and have enough open cat housing space to prepare for a busy kitten season to start in the spr ing. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n It’s bee n a busy start to the new year. And\, while we are celebrating the wins\, the hard work isn’t over. Even though we successfully saved many lives\ , 20-40 dogs come into our county shelters every single day and they need your help to find their way home.  \n \n \n \n What We Need Most Now: \n \n \n \n Volunteers and new staff are urgently needed to keep this much-needed LifeLine Midtown shelter up and running\, as well as help at our other locations.We always need adopte rs and fosters to place more pets into homes where they belong.We need goo d Samaritans in our community to help lost pets make their way back home i nstead of to the shelter. Find out what to do if you should find a lost pe t.And\, if you can’t foster or adopt\, please consider making a donation .As always\, thank you for your critical support. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2022 Posts \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n Novem ber\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n September\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n June\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n May\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n March\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n AN URGENT PLEA FROM OUR CEO TO THE CITY OF ATLANTA\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The current situation in our Atlanta animal shelters is dire. The animals in our care do not have the space they need\, or dese rve\, and we need your help. Our hard working teams are understaffed and w orking extreme overtime to ensure that kennels are clean\, bowls are full\ , and the pets in our shelters are well cared for. Our volunteers walk hun dreds of dogs a day. And it’s still not enough. We have teams covering r escue\, adoptions\, marketing\, volunteers\, and foster parents\, all work ing tirelessly to find homes and other ways Atlanta’s pets can get out o f the shelter. This is not the life our city’s animals deserve. This sta te our shelters are in is not sustainable for the pets nor the people who care for them. Animal shelters have never been\, and will never be\, the i deal solution for the animals. Atlanta\, we urgently need your help. Our a nimals are in desperate need of homes. Each of our shelters have exceeded capacity by the hundreds. DeKalb County Animal Services has nearly 600 dog s and over 50 cats in the building\, Fulton County Animal Services has alm ost 400 dogs in a building meant to hold 80. The more pets in our care\, t he harder it is to make sure they are living as comfortably as they deserv e during their time with us. We are meant to be a temporary refuge for pet s in need\, not a home. Pets cannot thrive here\, especially when there is an overwhelming amount of them. We know you’ve heard this plea before. And we hope you’ll hear it now. The situation is not improving. There ar e more animals in our care than ever and they really need your help. We ne ed your help. Adopt: Whether you’re looking for a calm couch potato\, wa lking partner\, or anything in between\, there are over 1\,000 deserving p ets waiting for you. Foster: If you have just two weeks to help a pet\, th at can make all of the difference. Sign up here.Donate: We need monetary d onations and supplies to continue caring for this many animals each day. Y ou can help by donating here or sending us much-needed items from our Amaz on wishlists. Help lost pets: Most pets are found within a mile of their h ome. If they come to a shelter\, their chances of being reunited greatly d eclines. If you find a pet\, follow these steps or become a friendly finde r. Spay/Neuter: Unlike humans\, dogs and cats give birth to 4-to-6 animals in one litter. Also\, dogs can give birth up to twice a year and cats up to 5 times a year! Because they can produce so many offspring each year\, it is important to spay/neuter your pet as soon as possible to reduce pet overpopulation. Learn more here about the benefits and how to book an appo intment with one of our Spay/Neuter clinics. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n September 202 2 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We wish we had bette r news to share\, but right now\, the shelters are still struggling. There is a lot of pressure right now on the county shelters to be the lifeline for more pets than the shelters have space to house. The reason for this o vercrowding is simple: more animals are coming in than are leaving. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In August\, we saw a total of 601 dogs adopted\, but 863 came in du ring that same time. That’s 262 more dogs entering our already full buil dings.  \nNumber of dogs that need homes: \n\n337 dogs in need at our Ful ton County shelter\n526 dogs in need at our DeKalb County shelter\n81 dogs in need at our Community Animal Center\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The situation is dir e. We are urging our communities in Fulton and DeKalb Counties to please n ot bring healthy pets they find straight to the shelter as first response. Please take a few steps in the first 48 hours to get lost pets back home where they belong. This does not mean pets will be without support in the community. Those injured or sick are always a top priority. We’re tryin g to make more space for those most in need. And\, we are also trying to f ind solutions for humans in emergency situations who have run out of optio ns. Here are a few things anyone can do to help during this crisis: Adopt a petFoster a pet. 200 emergency fosters are needed at our shelters right nowDonate to support pets in the shelterCollect newspaper\, towels and bla nkets to drop off at any locationCheck the shelter wishlist for items most in needHelp a neighbor who can’t keep their pet find a new home – her e’s howFollow our social channels and help us get the word out by sharin g posts from your preferred platform\, Facebook\, Instagram and Twitter.Wr ite an article in your local neighborhood paper about adopting/fostering s helter petsIf you find a lost pet\, fill out a found pet report\, follow t hese steps or become a friendly finder \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n June 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n You are the next chapter in animal w elfare. \n \n \n \n Animal shelters have never been\, and will never be\, the ideal solution for the animals. They have always b een a flawed answer to a bigger community challenge of how to best help lo st\, stray and unwanted pets.  Across the nation\, all communities are fa cing the aftershocks of the pandemic. For animal shelters\, those challeng es include overpopulated and understaffed facilities\, higher intake and f ewer adopters\, and a substantial decrease in rescue transfer support. In Atlanta\, we’ve had to restrict intake at varying levels due to the seve re overcapacity status at both county shelters.  But over the last few ye ars\, and through the recent challenges\, we’ve begun to see how a criti cal shift\, and a different path forward\, can actually save the lives of the animals in our community without having animals languish in shelters. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Over 60% of the animals in a shelter are stray/lost pets. Imagine if the shelters d idn’t exist to collect all the lost and stray pets of a community. What if the community itself was able to help those pets find and reunite with their families?  63% of animals are found just a mile from their home (26 % are just a block away). If neighbors could reunite pets with their famil ies\, instead of bringing them to the shelter\, our shelters would always have space to help those with nowhere to go. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n What if the community could help struggling neighbors rehome their pets instead of turning them over to a shelter? Wha t if more resources were spent on keeping pets and people together instead of housing pets in a crowded shelter? If we\, as a community\, could shif t the focus to support each other in creative and practical ways\, the she lters wouldn’t be overcrowded with lost pets missing their families\, or abandoned pets looking for new homes. There will always be a need for she lters to help animals in emergency situations and victims of animal cruelt y\, but the real safety net for pets is a caring community – neighbors h elping neighbors.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Especially now\, when the need continues to exceed available sh eltering resources\, we believe we must find more community-centric soluti ons by working together with pet-lovers and good samaritans to get more pe ts home where they belong.  LifeLine does not believe killing healthy and treatable pets to make more space in a shelter is ever the right answer. Population management through euthanasia has never worked. Reliance on eut hanasia constrains the development of lifesaving solutions\, and the resul ts are always tragic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n When faced with external pressure to euthanize healthy and treatabl e animals to create more shelter space last month\, we turned to our anima l-loving community and in one week found foster and adoptive homes for 300 + pets. Atlanta\, you are the ideal solution. With your help\, we can weav e together a new safety net for the animals in need. Whether you are a vet eran rescuer or new to animal welfare\, help us shift the response when we find lost and stray pets\, so that more pets can be returned to their hom es. If you hear of situations where people need help with a found pet\, he lp them find options\, contact friends to find a foster home and help canv as the neighborhood to reunite families. Share this page.If you read about someone needing to rehome a pet\, share these resources and ask your neig hbors and friends if anyone can help. The pet owner\, rather than the shel ter\, will be able to find the best match for a loved pet. If someone is missing a pet\, check the lost pet pages of our website to see if the pet ended up at the shelter.If you can’t adopt\, foster. If you can’t fost er\, donate. If you can’t donate\, volunteer. If you can’t volunteer\, become an ambassador and share information and resources. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Please continue to suppor t our county shelters. Know that the staff is making the best decisions fo r every individual animal and human who comes to our doors with the resour ces that are available.  \nPlease extend the benefit of the doubt to lear n more about decisions that are being made. The people who dedicate our li ves to help animals in the shelter are not perfect\, but we are doing thei r very best in every situation\, for every individual pet\, and we are wor king with very limited resources and the most challenging of circumstances .  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Right now\, we are at a pivotal moment to change the course of animal welfare and lif esaving in our city. Animals deserve to be in homes and people deserve the love of a pet. Will you join us in committing to turn to each other to fi nd ways to help the animals in your community? Are you in?  We are. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n May 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availabili ty ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n Metro Atlanta County Animal Shelters are Out of Space! \n \n \n \n The county shelters have reached peak capacity and no longer have kennel space to house dogs. Because of the sheer volume\, we have had to set up temporary crates to house new arrivals but this is n ot a sustainable or acceptable solution.  This year we have seen a declin e in adoptions by 14% and a 37% decline in the number of animals leaving w ith rescue partners (compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels). We also saw a decline in the number of lost pets finding their families again. Not only are there more animals currently in the shelters\, but they are staying lo nger which impacts their physical and mental wellbeing.  We URGENTLY need help to place our medium to large dogs into homes so that the shelters do not have to face difficult life or death decisions. We currently need to find 250 homes for dogs living at the DeKalb shelter. The Fulton County an imal shelter is facing a similar situation and needs to find 150 homes thi s week.  Here’s what we are experiencing currently across metro Atlanta . \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb Coun ty Animal Services \n \n \n \n Today\, there are 560 d ogs in our DeKalb facility*. In May 2019\, prior to the pandemic the shelt er held 440 dogs. Fewer animals are leaving the shelter\, and animals are staying longer looking for homes. They’re waiting an average of 80 days at DeKalb County Animal Services. Due to this critical status\, Dekalb Cou nty and LifeLine Animal Project\, in conjunction with the Georgia Departme nt of Agriculture\, are enacting emergency only intake protocols. This mea ns the DeKalb shelter is only able to accept animals from emergency situat ions or in critical need (injured animals\, animals involved in bite cases or cruelty situations). DeKalb County Animal Enforcement will also enforc e these emergency protocols and will only respond to high priority calls. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n *As of May 25\, 2022\, with the help of our community\, the number of dogs housed at DeKalb County Animal Service s has decreased to 433. We are making slow\, but steady\, progress towards reducing the number of pets housed at the shelter to a more comfortable t hreshold of 320. However\, the situation remains critical and your continu ed help is needed to find homes for the pets in our care. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n There are currently 360  dogs in our Fulton facility**\, which was bui lt to house only 80 dogs. Dogs are waiting an average 40 days to be placed in a home\, which is longer than previous years and is very stressful for the animals. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n **As of May 25\, 2022\, thanks to our community’s help in response to an urgent plea for fosters and ad opters\, the number of dogs housed at Fulton County Animal Services has di pped below 300. Additionally\, a generous volunteer has pledged to sponsor 100 dog adoptions this May at Fulton County. We always want to provide hu mane housing for the animals in our care and at the levels we are experien cing\, that is extremely challenging. Our community’s continued help at this critical time is needed to find homes for the pets in our care. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Community Animal C enter \n \n \n \n Our Community Animal Center takes in pets from our county shelters to help alleviate space constraints. Right now\, the center is full and can only take in more dogs when dogs currentl y in our care are adopted or head to foster homes.  Last week\, 128 cats arrived from our DeKalb and Fulton shelters. If you are looking for a cat\ , there are many available at the LifeLine Community Animal Center. There are also over 100 dogs available for adoption at this location. \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n Let's save lives together. \n \n \n \n Please share this blog with your community and network to help more pets find the homes they deserve today. \n \n \n \n Ways to Help \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n March 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel spa ce\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangero usly full\n \n \n \n \n \n Crit ical Needs This Week: Adopters and Fosters \n \n \n \n This February\, we saw the highest intake levels on record for the mont h since LifeLine took over shelter management in 2013. Both of our county shelters are in the red zone for space availability!  As we continue to f ace a growing space crisis\, we turn our attention to the impact of crowdi ng and the shelter environment on the health of our pets. It is a common m isconception that pets may fare better in a shelter than in a home where t he pet parent has to leave daily for work or doesn’t have a yard. There is no place like a home when it comes to animals. Even with the incredible support of our staff and volunteers\, it is impossible to replicate the c alm and one-on-one attention a pet will receive in a home. Shelters\, part icularly at the capacity level we currently face\, can be loud and overwhe lming for many pets. Though they are safe and fed\, the close proximity to so many other pets can lead to a spread in medical conditions. Ultimately \, we see a deterioration of our pets the longer they spend in the shelter \, along with added strain for our veterinary teams.  Our goal is to see all of our pets find their way to a warm and loving home. We need help giv ing our shelter pets a break\, including taking them out for a day or a we ekend\, while they await the arrival of their new family. We immediately s ee an improvement in our pet’s health and happiness when they are in a h ome. Plus\, you can provide key insights on the dog or cat’s personality (which tends to shine beyond the shelter walls) to share with potential a dopters! We are facing a particular need for fosters for our pets that hav e medical needs\, are part of an ongoing court case\, and dogs that are la rger in size. To find out more and help give our pets a break\, check out our Foster page. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \n There ar e currently 471 dogs at DeKalb County Animal Services\, 253 MORE than the ideal number of dogs that should be housed in our shelter here and putting us in the RED ZONE!  The need for special care fosters is imperative. Ce rtain pets\, such as those that have just given birth\, are undergoing med ical treatment or are part of a court case\, deserve a quiet space and may need a little extra care. This can include receiving regular doses of med icine\, restricted or regulated exercise regimes or extra space to care fo r their puppies. It is important that they have a home where they can rela x\, heal and rest stress-free.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n The Fulton County Animal Services shelter is in the RED ZONE! There are 265 dogs in the shelter\, an alarming 115 dogs over the ideal number of 150. This means some runs have up to five dogs s haring a space. As a result\, the shelter is seeing an uptick in medical i ssues\, particularly contagious ailments like upper respiratory infections . \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n In Feb ruary 2022\, the LifeLine Community Animal Center brought in 222 pets to h elp create space at our two county shelters. 94 dogs and 84 cats are waiti ng for a place to call home\, with many more patiently waiting in foster h omes. Our animals are showing tremendous resilience\, but we need urgent h elp from our community to provide these precious pets with homes! Our miss ion remains\, as always\, to save the lives of all healthy and treatable a nimals. We appreciate the support of our community! \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n \n Help us save lives together! \n \n \n \n Share this blog with your community\, and help get mor e pets into homes today! \n \n \n \n Ways to Help \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n January 2022 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Availability ofkennel space\n \n \n \n \n Good amount\n Dangerously full\n \n \n \n \n \n We are kicking off the new year with an unfamiliar sight for this time of the year: shelters that are stil l full from this summer. Shelter space is unfortunately\, yet typically\, limited during the summer months\, but this is the first time we have expe rienced such a continued strain on our shelter capacity and team. The numb er of animals coming in our doors has increased by 12% over last year whil e the number of dogs adopted has decreased. People are also struggling to care for their pets and have been facing evictions and other challenges. T his means more pets have been surrendered. Over the last two years\, we ha ve seen a 39% decline in the number of animals our rescue partners have be en able to help pull to safety\, largely due to factors resulting from the COVID pandemic. All of these challenges would be difficult alone but\, li ke so many others\, we are also facing severe labor shortages. We currentl y have 34 open positions across three locations\, which means we are missi ng 13% of our workforce. Between the staffing challenge and the number of staff who have been out sick due to the latest wave of the COVID-19 virus\ , we are struggling. Animal care is always our top priority. Our understaf fed teams and volunteers are working doubly hard to care for all the anima ls in need\, covering extra shifts and taking on additional responsibiliti es. In these times\, we must depend even more so on our community’s supp ort. By adopting\, donating\, volunteering\, helping lost animals back hom e and finding new homes for those alone in the shelter\, our community off ers real and sustained hope for the animals in our care. We are continuing to take in animals for emergency situations and for those who do not have any other options. Our Animal Service Officers and community support team s continue to provide resources\, including access to veterinary care and pet supplies\, pet lost and found assistance and self-rehoming options for animals in non-emergency situations. We always work with individuals faci ng financial hardship who need help for their pets. We often reduce or wai ve reclaim and surrender fees in the hopes of helping people and finding t he best outcomes for the animals. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n DeKalb County Animal Services \n \n \n \ n The ideal number of dogs that should be housed at DeKalb County Animal Services is 218. This allows us to house one dog per kennel with ac cess to both sides of the kennel. We are currently in the red zone with 48 0 dogs in the building. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fulton County Animal Services \n \n \n \n With Fulton County Animal Services being a smaller\, older building\, there is space to optimally house only 150 dogs. As of la st week\, there were 221 dogs in the shelter. This forces us to house mult iple dogs in most of the kennels. Not only does this make cleaning the she lter a logistical challenge\, but it means the environment is less than id eal for our animals. Our goal is to safely house a large population while mitigating risk of disease and shelter stress on the animals. If we had fe wer dogs in the building\, we could provide larger\, single kennels for 26 of our larger breed dogs\, who need individual housing\, and who are curr ently residing in smaller cages. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Community Animal Center \n \n \n \n In December 2021\, the LifeLine Community Animal C enter transferred in 170 pets from Fulton and DeKalb to help make space at the our two county shelters. We currently have 95 dogs and 102 cats looki ng for homes\, and even more are waiting to find families while they live in foster homes. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We believe space limitations alone are an unacceptable reason to euthani ze healthy and treatable animals. LifeLine has been able to achieve “no- kill\,”  saving 90% or more of all the animals who enter our shelters\, but we are only able to maintain this lifesaving achievement with the com munity’s support and advocacy. We know our community has the ability to provide the support needed to save precious lives.  Their lives depend on it. \n \n \n \n Make a difference today! \n \n \n \n Share this blog post with your community\, and help g et more pets into homes today. LAST-MODIFIED:20260901T061439Z URL:https://lifelineanimal.org/lifeline-events/mobile-vaccine-clinic-2026- 06-24/2026-09-23/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atla nta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:LifeLine Animal Project X-SOURCE-URL:https://lifelineanimal.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:SGA Fall Town Hall Tabling DTSTART:20260923T153000Z DTEND:20260923T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260904T182536Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53865716882438 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Come visit SGA's table in Evans to express your student concer ns before the upcoming town hall! LAST-MODIFIED:20260904T182536Z LOCATION:Letitia Pate Evans Hall\, Evans Dining Hall Upper Level Lobby Tab le 1 URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/sga-fall-town-hall-tabling?utm_s ource=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Public Interest Keynote DTSTART:20260923T160000Z DTEND:20260923T170000Z DTSTAMP:20260913T000039Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53825907657715 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Join us for the Center for Access to Justice's annual Public I nterest Keynote on Sept. 23 at noon in the COL Salons featuring a panel of lawyers and jurists from Georgia Lawyers for the Rule of Law. Please RSVP by Sept. 16: https://forms.gle/5G9boDAaXzxHZrdB8. Lunch will be served. LAST-MODIFIED:20260913T000039Z LOCATION:College of Law\, Lower Level Salons URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu/event/public-interest-keynote-1515?utm_source =caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Georgia State University Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Research Speed Networking - AYS and SPH DTSTART:20260923T160000Z DTEND:20260923T170000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T003318Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53975981753192 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Faculty and staff from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studi es and the School of Public Health are invited to join us for brief resear ch presentations from panelists\, followed by a speed networking session d esigned to spark new collaborations.\n\nThis event is part of the Andrew Y oung School's Sponsoring Success Series\, which empowers our professionals to excel in research\, teaching\, leadership\, and community engagement. Designed to spark growth and connection\, each session delivers valuable i nsights\, dynamic networking opportunities\, and actionable strategies tha t participants can immediately put into practice. LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T003318Z LOCATION:Andrew Young School of Policy Studies\, 903/904 URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu/event/research-speed-networking-event-ays-and -sph?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Georgia State University Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.gsu.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:JobFairX: Atlanta Veteran Virtual Job Fair DTSTART:20260923T160000Z DTEND:20260923T200000Z DTSTAMP:20260916T063631Z UID:10036696-1790164800-1790179200@metroatlantaexchange.org CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:JobFairX is hosting an Atlanta Veteran Virtual Job Fair on Tue sday\, September 22nd\, from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. \nThis event will connec t job seekers directly with employers online. Attendees will be able to ap ply through the platform to employers posting open positions. \nClick here to learn more and register. LAST-MODIFIED:20260916T063631Z URL:https://metroatlantaexchange.org/event/jobfairx-atlanta-veteran-virtua l-job-fair-2/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta- ga X-SOURCE-NAME:MAX X-SOURCE-URL:https://metroatlantaexchange.org/event/georgia-chamber-of-com merce-future-of-energy-and-sustainability END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Scottie Supply Closet Opening DTSTART:20260923T170000Z DTEND:20260923T200000Z DTSTAMP:20260729T180352Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53485210735748 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:The Scottie Supply Closet offers free food\, toiletries\, and household goods to Agnes Scott students. Open from 1 - 4 PM in Walters Hal l. Student ID required. LAST-MODIFIED:20260729T180352Z LOCATION:Walters Hall\, Walters 100 Supply Closet URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/scottie-supply-closet-opening?ut m_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Masala S.A.C.E. General Body Meeting: India DTSTART:20260923T213000Z DTEND:20260923T223000Z DTSTAMP:20260908T183537Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53892281078922 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Come hang out with Masala S.A.C.E. at our General Body Meeting ! We’ll be talking about India and sharing a little about its culture. T here will be some Indian snacks to try! Come by\, grab some food\, and spe nd some time with us. Everyone is welcome! LAST-MODIFIED:20260908T183537Z LOCATION:Alston Campus Center\, AL-Luchsinger Lounge URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/masala-sace-general-body-meeting -india?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:PPGA General Body Meeting: Repro Health Care Kits DTSTART:20260923T223000Z DTEND:20260924T003000Z DTSTAMP:20260904T182536Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53874558641549 CATEGORIES:community DESCRIPTION:Join Planned Parenthood Generation Action to pack reproductive health wellness kits for your fellow Scotties! Decorate bags\, distribute resources\, and enjoy a movie and snacks. LAST-MODIFIED:20260904T182536Z LOCATION:Alston Campus Center\, AL-Hub URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu/event/ppga-general-body-meeting-repro- health-care-kits?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlan ta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:Agnes Scott College Calendar Calendar X-SOURCE-URL:https://calendar.agnesscott.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:team trivia DTSTART:20260923T230000Z DTEND:20260924T010000Z DTSTAMP:20260915T195050Z UID:10000126-1790190000-1790197200@stillfirebrewing.com CATEGORIES:community,drink DESCRIPTION:Some people peaked in high school. Others are saving it all fo r Team Trivia night. \nBring your squad\, order a round\, and chase house cash prizes for the top three teams. Bragging rights are nice. Bragging ri ghts with free beers hit different. \nGame on at 7 PM. Snag your table\, g rab your favorite beer\, and let’s find out who actually knows things. LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T195050Z URL:https://stillfirebrewing.com/event/team-trivia/2026-09-23/?utm_source= caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=atlanta-ga X-SOURCE-NAME:StillFire Brewing X-SOURCE-URL:https://stillfirebrewing.com END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR