Lowndes Co. residents encouraged to properly care for pets during colder months

VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - Lowndes County officials are urging pet owners to take proper care of their furry friends to avoid having them wandering off and ending up at the animal shelter.

So far this year, 2,000 dogs and cats have been found wandering around, ending up at the Lowndes County Animal shelter, and only 200 of them were reclaimed.

Looking for warmth, shelter and food, pets are known to wander off during the colder months.

The best way to keep them safe is by meeting their needs and getting them microchipped.

Pets that are brought in are evaluated and put up for adoption or released to rescues. Dogs are held for five business days at the shelter. Cats are immediately evaluated, an average of only 20 cats are reclaimed a year.

Meghan Barwick, the Lowndes County spokesperson, said if your pet goes missing, you need to act quickly.

“If your pets go missing, especially here in the Lowndes County area, we do encourage you to post a picture of contact information and pet in the LOST/FOUND Pets of Valdosta Facebook group. Do not wait for your pet to come home. Go to the animal shelter as soon as possible and we also encourage all pets to be microchipped because that’s the most valuable tool used to reunite lost pets with owners,” explained Barwick.

If your pet is microchipped, remember to update your contact information as it changes.

The shelter remains full, seeing high numbers of pets needing loving homes.

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