The Holland M. Ware Charitable Foundation, recognizing the positive steps that Coweta County is taking in animal control, has donated $125,000 to be used for an addition to the shelter.
The money, which came from both the foundation and from Mr. Ware personally, will be used for expanding the intake area of the shelter, said county spokesperson Patricia Palmer. The planned outcome is that more lives will be saved and that boarding opportunities will allow more animals to be adopted locally as well as transported to areas desiring animals to adopt, Palmer said.
“Coweta County is making such positive steps in animal control and Mr. Ware feels this addition to the shelter will enhance an already advancing program,” said Brenda Thueson, Assistant to Holland Ware. “The Foundation is also impressed at the ability of the county to provide the labor necessary to complete this project.”
Palmer said one of the most important needs at the shelter is for an intake facility to help better monitor animals as they come in. This will help control disease and provide better resources for caring for these animals, she added.
The donation came about extremely quickly, said Palmer. A representative of Holland Ware met with county officials to discuss needs at the shelter and within a few hours, she reported back that, through his foundation and his personal funds, that Mr. Ware had provided one half of the estimated cost of this expansion.
Palmer said the donation was a terrific surprise and, as a result, the details of the actual design have not been worked out yet.
“I think we need to clearly give credit where credit is due: the outstanding job that Warden McKenzie and his staff have done and the overwhelming generosity of Mr. Holland,” said Commissioner-Elect Bob Blackburn who made contact with Ware after a smaller donation was made from his foundation to benefit felines at the Coweta facility.
Just about a month earlier, the Ware Foundation donated almost $10,000 to the shelter that was used, along with donations from individuals, rescue groups and county budgeted funds, to purchase cat condos for the shelter, according to Palmer. These condos provide the healthiest and best care for cats in an animal control situation. After meeting to discuss the cat condos with Thueson, the conversation expanded to other needs of the facility, Palmer said.
