The Humane Society of Terrell County
Visit us on the web at www.hstco.org 
NEWS...
Now open EVERY Saturday from 9 am-1 pm the Humane Society of Terrell County's Tails and Whiskers Rummage Store located at 168 East Lee Street in historic Downtown Dawson, GA. All proceeds to benefit the care of homeless pets! Items old and new, antique and contemporary, including furniture, home decorations, linens, dining ware, cooking ware, electronics, seasonal and SO MUCH MORE! We will provide free delivery on any large furniture items and we receive new items every week so please visit us often! If you have items you would like to donate, please call 229-995-7845 and we will arrange pick up.
The Humane Society of Terrell County (HSTC) is an all volunteer non-for-profit rescue organization based in Dawson, GA. We are a 501(c)(3) group of foster homes that care for companion pets in our homes until they can be adopted into loving homes; our county does not have a shelter and we operate solely on donations and fundraisers. All pets are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, heartworm tested, dewormed and treated with Frontline flea control; it is our goal to make sure all pets are healthy while under our care. An adoption application form can be requested by visiting our website at www.hstco.org. The adoption fee for most pets is generally $75 (we will discount if more than one pet is adopted at the same time or the adoptee is taking on some type of medical care). We do allow out-of-state adoptions, however, transportation is for the most part the responsibility of the adopter. We are in contact with a group that transports pets all over the country and will try to accomodate as best we can. Only pets that have been spayed or neutered and current on all vaccinations are eligible for pet transports.
***Please Remember:*** HSTC is not animal control and we are not authorized to pick up stray and/or abandonded dogs and cats. Although Terrell County does not have a shelter, Terrell County does have an animal control officer for dogs only. To have a stray and/or abandonded dog picked up, the officer can be reached Monday-Friday from 9 am-5 pm. For residents of Terrell County, please call 229-995-4476; within the city limits of Dawson, please call 229-995-4444.
Volunteering and Donations
We are always in need monetary donations and of crates, dog houses, kennels, collars, leashes, dog and cat food, cat litter and all types of pet toys. Our goal one day is to have south Georgia's first and only no-kill animal sanctuary so certainly, a donation of land and/or a facility would allow us to get much closer to this goal. Tax-deductible cash donations are gratefully accepted at PO Box 311 Dawson, GA 39842-0311 or through pay-pal.
We can always use pet supplies of every kind! We will gladly use a gift certificate to PETCO for our fur kids in foster care! You can send one online:
Volunteers and foster homes are also needed (it is not a requirement to live Terrell County to vounteer or foster). Contact us via email at info@hstco.org 
Come Visit Us!
Our foster care network is based out of Dawson, Georgia. We are in rural southwest Georgia, about 2 ˝ hours south of Atlanta, just north of Albany, Georgia on Hwy 520. We are also close to the Florida and Alabama borders.
Adopting a Pet
We require a completed adoption application with references verified for adoption-you may request an adoption application on-line at our website at www.hstco.org. Adoption applications are approved on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration matching the needs of the pet to an owner. Some long distance adoptions may also require a home visit from a local animal rescuer in the adopter’s area. Because the majority of our pets come to us as strays, we want to make certain they will never find themselves homeless again, afterall, they deserve the very best! All of our adopted pets are eligible for 2 months of free pet insurance.
Please remember that owning a pet is a major responsibility but it also can be the best decisions you ever make. A pet's love comes with no strings attached-we should all be so lucky to have that kind of love in our lives! Before you decide to adopt from our organization or any other rescue or shelter, do consider that with proper care, a pet can live 10 years or more. This is a lifetime commitment; if more people would take this into consideration, maybe one day we will not have so many homeless pets. Think about where you will be in your life in the next year, 5 years and even 10 years from now. Do you think you will move? Do you think you will change jobs? Do you think you will have children? Do any current or future members in your household have pet allergies? Are all the current and future members of your household in agreement on adopting a pet? These types of factors can have a future impact on a pet's ability to remain with you for its lifespan. If you cannot answer these questions positively, maybe it is not the right time in your life to adopt. Why not consider volunteering with your local rescue or animal shelter instead? It is a great way to fill a void in a homeless pet's life and gain some experience in taking care of a pet-when the time is right for you, you will know it!
The vast majority of pets that find themselves homeless have done nothing wrong. They are given up because for some reason, they simply do not fit into their ower's lifestyle anymore; this is the owner's lack of committment to the pet, not the other way around. It is a priviledge to own a pet. Although we do have an open door return policy on our pets, continual uprooting of a pet is stressful and unfair and can have long term damaging affects on pet behavior. Sadly, we have seen pets surrendered for all types of reasons and it makes us sad each and every time. When our pets leave us, we want them to go to their “forever homes”. Often, this means giving a pet a chance to adjust to his or her new home and not be so quick to give up if things do not go 100% smoothly immediately after adoption. Afterall, no one is perfect and a pet needs time to learn you and your home!
Come Visit our website!
www.hstco.org
Humane Society of Terrell County
PO Box 311
Dawson, GA 39842-0311
Phone: 229-995-7845
Email: info@hstco.org
