Albany Humane Society requests holiday gifts for furry friends

ALBANY – These Albany inhabitants won’t be home for the “paw-lidays,” so the Albany Humane Society is asking the public to remember the four-legged residents it cares for during the annual season of giving.

Currently, the Humane Society is housing about 177 animals at its main facility on Oakridge Drive and an additional 26 dogs are at the Sally Weatherbee Adoption Center, which is also serving as a nursery for new moms and pregnant dogs.

An additional 30 or so dogs are currently in foster homes.

Donations can help give the animals something special for Christmas like new toys, but the PAW-liday drive is mostly about providing the resources needed to provide year-round care.

The effort kicked off on Giving Tuesday, five days after Thanksgiving and is extending through the end of the year.

“We’ve done the holiday giving for three years now,” said Humane Society Development Director Samantha Threadgill. “Our goal is $10,000.”

Last year, a benefactor matched other gifts with a single contribution of $10,000 to double the total brought in to $20,000, she said.

“It takes a lot of money to feed and house them,” Threadgill said. “We try to keep the animals as happy as we can until they find their forever home.”

Nearly all of the animals, overwhelmingly dogs, that come to the shelter are dropped off by the city of Albany and Dougherty County, both of which contract with the agency to provide housing for stray and neglected animals.

“That’s why we have so many animals, because they pick up animals every day,” Threadgill said.

The Humane Society is able to transport a number of dogs through adoption agencies in other states. Sometimes a dog will be held at the Albany facility for several years before the right person comes along to take it home.

One such story is that of Atlas, who arrived at the shelter in October 2022 after an owner who couldn’t provide the space the Labrador mix needed for play turned him in. Atlas was still in the shelter in 2025 but recently was accepted by an adoption agency.

Among the dogs currently being housed at the facility is Lugnut. While he has only been there a few months, he is representative of many of the stories, said Brandy Waller, interim director at the shelter.

The mixed-breed dog arrived severely malnourished as a transport from the county.

“I would say he was abandoned,” Waller said. “He was a stray. As skinny as he was when he came in, I would guess he had been out for a while.”

Three months of good food has made a difference for the friendly pup who was excited to be brought to the front office area and given some attention from several shelter employees.

“They come in like that,” Waller said of Lugnut’s arrival. “Your pledges, or gifts, help get them to this.”

Individuals can make donations to the shelter by going to albanyhumane.org to either make an online monetary contribution or purchase needed items through the Humane Society’s Amazon wish list or through other wish lists that are available.