2010 $10,000 Raffle Winner Announced!

Special thanks to everyone who helped make this another successful fundraiser for the Humane Society Of Morgan County!

HSMC would like to thank
Madison Vet Clinic (Dr. Stenette Brooks 706-342-1232) and
Main Street Vet (Dr. James Williams 706-342-2955)
for helping us place cats.  Cat & Kittens are available for adoption
at both locations!

Cyndi came to us in mid-June.  Her owner passed away around Christmas time and his house has fallen into bad repair - overgrown grass, misc. items strewn about the yard, etc. Neighbors finally called the code enforcement officers to see what could be done about the eyesore house.  When the officer went out he found that the dead man's dog was still there, hiding under the porch.  She was scared, HORRIBLY matted, filthy, and blind.  The poor girl had survived the winter and had been eating the neighbors cat food to survive.  She was very grateful to finally be rescued! 

The Humane Society made an appointment with a canine opthalmologist to see what could be done to possibly restore Cyndi's vision.  Although she's not an old dog, it appears that it may be cataracts that have caused her blindness.  Her left eye is a good to fair candidate for cataract removal surgery.  Dr. Pentlarge feels she would likely regain pretty good vision.  Surgery for cataract removal $1600.00

Unfortunately her left eye must be completely removed. Not only is the cataract much worse, but she also has severe glaucoma.  Dr. Pentlarge feels there would be little hope for a significant improvement no matter how much money was spent (she stated that if it were her dog she would remove the eye).  Glaucoma causes pressure in the eye and is also painful, that's why she suggested to remove it. Cost of removal $450.00.

Cyndi has a great personality, is good with other dogs and cats, loves to sit on your lap and will roll over for a belly rub when she hears people (she can't see us, but her hearing is great).

The Humane Society Of Morgan County is looking for Crippled Critter Sponsors to help defray the cost of Cyndi’s eye surgery as well as a permanent, loving home where she can live out her years in a happy, caring environment. If you’d like to help please call us at 706-343-9977.

The Humane Society of Morgan County, Inc. exists for the purposes of preventing cruelty to, relieving the suffering of, and providing humane treatment for animals. It is also the HSMC’s function to determine, and then to eliminate, the causes of animal suffering through various means, including, but not limited to education, legislation and general promotion of the humane ethic. Under no circumstances shall the HSMC permit an animal in its care or custody to undergo any experimentation, nor shall it release an animal for any such experimentation.

The HSMC is made up of volunteers dedicated to the welfare of companion animals. All animals that come into our care are housed in foster homes until they can be matched with a carefully screened, permanent home. While in our care, they are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, dewormed, treated for any illnesses or injuries, and started on quality heartworm and flea prevention. In addition to rescue and adoption, we provide financial assistance for spaying/neutering, an annual reduced-cost vaccination clinic as well as educational materials for the community.

Georgia now diverting Wildlife License Plate Funds to “General Fund” to used by Legislators as they see fit.

   Buyers pay an extra fee for a wildlife tag, and until this year, most of the money went to the state Department of Natural Resources' nongame wildlife program.
   But under a bill passed by the legislature this year and signed into law by Gov. Sonny Perdue in May, most of the additional money will go into the state's general fund - just like taxes - to be spent as legislators decide.
   The changes also apply to other specialty tags designed to raise money for specific causes such as dog and cat sterilization.
   Under the old specialty tag program, buyers paid $25 extra for their wildlife tag, the familiar eagle or hummingbird, and $22 went to the nongame program, whose official title is the Nongame Wildlife Conservation and Wildlife Habitat Acquisition Fund. There was no additional fee until the state issued new license plates - which Georgia has not done since 2003.
   Under the new fee schedule, buyers pay $35 extra for the tag, plus a $35 annual renewal fee. The nongame wildlife program will get $10 of the $35 fee each year; most of the rest goes to the state's general fund.
   Because tag buyers now will have to pay an annual renewal fee, the agency actually could get more money in the long run from tag sales, said Rick Lavender, a spokesman for the DNR's Wildlife Resources Division.
   "We just don't know at this point," Lavender said.
   But some tag buyers already have decided to find other ways to support the nongame wildlife program, said Glen Dowling, executive vice president of the Georgia Wildlife Federation.
   "We want people to support wildlife conservation, but our fear is that fewer people might buy tags," Dowling said.
   Unlike most state agencies, the nongame wildlife program gets no state tax money. About 43 percent of the agency's $1.8 million income last year came from tag sales; most of the rest came from donations taxpayers can check off on their state income tax returns or from an annual fundraising event the nongame wildlife program stages.
   The money is used for a variety of programs, including environmental education, protecting rare species, research and even buying land considered important habitat for native plants or animals.
   The higher wildlife tag fee is not the first time legislators have converted a supposedly dedicated fee into general revenue funds for the state.
   The state collects a special fee on cell phone sales, supposedly to improve emergency 911 services in the state. But of the $15 million collected in such fees, none has gone toward 911 improvements, said Amy Henderson of the Georgia Municipal Association.
   Other state fees require courts to collect special fees that are supposed to go back to local governments to pay for training police officers. But little of the money ever comes back, Henderson said.
   In a similar way, trash haulers pay an extra fee every time they carry a load to state landfills. The fee originally was enacted to pay for cleaning up toxic waste sites, but for the last several years, legislators have diverted most of the money into the state's general fund.