There is no limit to the amount of joy a pet brings to its family. But for rescue animals, it takes a lot of moving parts to get from the streets to a loving home. Friends of Perry Animal Shelter is here for helpless animals that cannot help themselves.

Adoption Volunteer Manager Lynne Gibbs talks about the history of FOPAS in Houston County with great pride.“FOPAS was founded in 2004 by Davis Cosey,” she says. “It was originally started as more of a fundraiser to raise money to help the animal shelter here in our town.”

Around this time, Lynne joinedFOPASin their efforts to raise funds for the animal shelter. Wanting to do more to help make a difference in the community,they decided to take the next step. “We worked out a program where we could start doing adoptions for Perry Animal Control. Some of them would stay at the animal control and then we would do adoptions at PetSmart,”Lynne recalls.

Now fulling operational as an adoption center, they steamrolled ahead to help connect families with furry friends. Taking in as many animals as they can help, they ensure the pets medical needs are met, they are properly neutered or spayed,and they are move-in ready.

While they pull the majority of their rescues from animal control, Lynne says, “We have a rescue vet weworkwith to get them up to date, healthy, [and] get the medications they need. We house them here while we’re taking care of them, and then we have specific days and hours where we’re open for adoption.”

Lynne and the staff take great care to love on the animals during this transition. Many of the animals they rescue are underfed, abandoned, and in desperate need of affection. With the right amount of tender care these animals need, they work tirelessly to nurse them back to health.

Lynne discusses the tragedies of some of the animals that come through their doors. She tells the story of an abandoned nine-week-old rescue cat. The kitten, named Hippa, was covered in maggots and fleas, suffered frommal nutrition,and was near death.

With proper medical attention and a little TLC, the kitten regained its health. “That is what keeps us going, when we can see the good,” Lynne says. “Knowing that you’re helping an innocent animal that can’t help themselves to get healthy and get into a happy home is what our goal is.”

Currently, Lynne says they have about 20 dogs and 40 cats and are expected to rehome approximately 300 animals by the end of 2023. However, those numbers are considered low for them as previous years have been twice as successful. Lynne admits that their decrease in capacity is a result of events that caused them to prepare for a shutdown.

We recently had our landlord raise our rent. We weren’t sure we were going to be able to pay it,” Lynne explains. “We are nonprofit and volunteer and we don’t get as much money donated as people might think.

”In addition to providing their rescues basic necessities like food and water, they also supply them with medications and treatment as required. The expenses of these add up, and the future of FOPAS became bleak at the prospect of increased rent.

As a nonprofit organization, FOPAS operates with a board of directors. In years past, their board consisted of a small select group of volunteers.To combat their financial struggles, Lynne shares that they established a more mature board. “They are more in the know,” she shares. “They’re going to meet once a month and plan fundraisers and decide how things should go for FOPAS.”

The board consists of a variety of men and women who are joining forces with FOPAS in their fight to continue serving the community. They are hosting fundraisers to include a golf tournament and other fun activities to allocate proceeds to a building fund account. “All the money we raise on these events will go into that account,” Lynne explains.“We’re going to try to build the funds up where we can actually find FOPAS a location of its own where we don’t have to rent.”

Lynne expresses her gratitude for the board members who have stepped up to help the nonprofit. One board member, Billie Carriker, had a personal reason for joining their cause. A spirited woman with lots of love to give, Billie decided to adopt a dog from FOPAS.

“The reason I got him is I decided I probably need companionship,” Billie says of her shih tzu yorkie terrier mix.“He’s just been perfect. They really helped me get exactly what I wanted.” Billie explains that she had certain criteria for adopting a dog, and the people at FOPAS helped find her perfect match.

“Everybody there is fantastic, they go above and beyond. You couldn’t ask for a better group to handle this organization,” she says. Touched by their kindness throughout her own adoption experience,Billie joined the board of directors to help provide that same experience for others.

Jennifer Cheshire has also been blessed by FOPAS.Her family has adopted two cats and two dogs from them.

“We lost our favorite pet when we moved here, and it was heartbreaking,”she says. Aching from their loss, they went to FOPAS to see about adopting.“

They knew the grieving process of losing the pet and that it had to be a good fit with getting a new one,” Jennifer says. “You can’t replace one with the other, but it was so healing for us.” From that first adoption experience with FOPAS to the very last, the staff has continued to help them find just what their family is looking for.

“Every person there is loving. They’re volunteer based and they really need community support,” Jennifer reemphasizes. She hopes the community can continue to support the nonprofit that supported her family in a terrible time of loss.

While the community’s need for animal rescue is great, Lynne says that community awareness is not where it should be. She remembers being unaware of the need until events led her to look it right in the face.Her middle school aged son had to choose a nonprofit to volunteer with and through research he found the local animal control.“I had lived in town for five or six years [and] I didn’t even know that we had an animal control, that’s how hush-hush it was,” Lynne remembers.

When her son volunteered at the animal shelter, Lynne was touched by the desperation of the animals she saw. “It was bad,” she says sadly. “That’s when I started volunteering with other organizations from the bottom and learned my way all the way up.”

FOPAS is only operable because of the generosity of volunteers and donors. They are entirely grateful for the opportunity to provide animals in need with a second chance at happiness and will continue to connect pets to their forever homes as long as they are able.