Background

The city of Guntersville, Alabama does not have a shelter for animals secured by the Animal Control Officer or surrendered. In lieu of a designated facility to serve this purpose, the city selected to contract with a local veterinary office, Guntersville Animal Hospital (GAH), to provide the legal 7-day stray hold that allows owners to come forward and reclaim their animal. If the owner does not come forward within this timeframe, GAH has the legal authority to euthanize these animals on day 8. Unfortunately, it was the sad reality for the majority of the animals entering the facility as neither GAH staff nor the city was staffed to work towards maximizing the live release rate (animals leaving the shelter alive).

As we became aware of the situation, we reached out to GAH to partner them with the goal to increase adoption and rescue pull rates and turn Guntersville around to being a no-kill shelter. A no-kill shelter is an animal shelter that strives to save every healthy and treatable animal in its care, reserving euthanasia only for animals with severe, untreatable illnesses or those deemed a danger to the community. They aim for a live release rate of 90% or higher.  Tails & Ales of Guntersville (TAG) was born from this effort in March 2021 and since then, we have consistently maintained a live release rate above 95%.

TAG is an all-volunteers organization who donates time to work with the animals weekly. We exercise the dogs every Saturday mornings and assess them for skills such as leash knowledge, basic training (e.g., sit, share, stay), dog/cat compatibility, energy level, etc. We photograph them, socialize them, and offer treats and TLC they otherwise would not receive. We assess potential medical issues such as worms, extreme scratching, etc. and report to the GAH staff for their professional opinion. After we gather the information, we aggressively utilize social media, pet search websites, and other information sources to advertise their availability for adoption. We support meet and greets for potential adopters when available and offer guidance on incorporating a new animal into their family structure. In addition, coordinate with a wide range of no-kill rescues to support transfer if we are unable to get the dogs adopted in a reasonable amount of time. We regularly transport the animals and all necessary paperwork.

In the past, all costs for transport crates, leashes, collars, harnesses, treats, transportation, and medical costs outside the scope of the city contract were covered by the volunteers. We also regularly sponsor adoption fees of $95 to encourage the adoption of heartworm positive or long-term residents dogs. As you can imagine, the amount started adding up beyond what we could provide, so we decided to work through the 501(c)(3) acceptance process. With this new designation, we hope to enlist the community to support our efforts and reach out to charitable organizations that offer grants directed toward prevention of animal cruelty. If you can help, please do! You can adopt, donate, foster animals, volunteer, or share our story. Feel free to reach out using the Contact option or on social media.