Nestled among the dozens of businesses that operate out of a quiet office park in Doraville, a different kind of operation is going on, one that requires extraordinary dedication, devotion, and lots and lots of love (not to mention a very special landlord).

FurKids, Inc. is an animal rescue organization striving to provide a no-kill haven for homeless, abused, and abandoned animals. The office space in Doraville was opened less than a year ago by founder Samantha Shelton, who hopes to turn the location into a one-stop adoption center in the near future.

"It started when a stray mama cat appeared on my doorstep," Shelton says, recalling the day several years ago when she first became aware of the pet overpopulation problem in Georgia. Shelton called around, thinking that there would be space for the new arrival(s) at area rescue groups. But no program had room for the pregnant feline because their resources were already stretched to the limit caring for their own strays. Shelton says she was shocked to discover that there were so many animals in need.

"I was living in the dark," she says, shaking her head. But rather than throw up her hands, Shelton took the road less traveled. She founded FurKids, Inc. in 2003 and started rescuing cats from the streets as well as local animal control facilities on the day the felines were scheduled to be killed.

Opening the shelter hasn't come without a price tag, though. The operating costs of the new shelter run around $7,000 per month, and Shelton’s spent over $20,000 of her own money to get it up and running. She works only part- time so she can spend the other half of the day at the adoption center caring for the cats. Sometimes she stays as late as 3 in the morning. “It’s a labor of love,” Shelton says, reaching down to stroke one of the 50 cats that live in the office.

Shelton has big plans for the Doraville location— eventually she wants it to be a full service adoption center, with all 200 of the program's cats in one location to encourage adoption. She is currently constructing a spay/ neuter clinic in the back of the space, as well as different rooms for the cats to live, play, and be adopted in.

To date, FurKids has rescued over 1000 felines, Shelton says. She receives over 30 phone calls or emails a day from people in the community wanting help finding a home for either their own cat or one they have found. A group of volunteers rotates returning the calls, and Shelton prides herself on the fact that every phone call or email is eventually returned. But that doesn’t mean she takes in every cat. Shelton now finds herself in the position of bearing the message that she received several years ago. “We discourage owner-give-ups,” she says. Instead, volunteers provide callers with education about the overpopulation problem and the value of pets and the human-animal relationship.

On November 2, 2005, FurKids 2nd Annual Stand-Up and Silent Auction will be held at The Punchline in Sandy Springs. Funny man Jerry Farber will be the entertainment for the evening. Tickets for the event are $35 and all proceeds will go toward operating the adoption center. Shelton’s goal is to raise $20,000.

Donations to FurKids are tax-deductible. Send a check by mail to:

PO Box 191102, Atlanta GA 31119-1102
Or visit online at www.furkids.org.

For information about the Punchline event, email info@furkids.org.

Kelly L. Stone lives in Lawrenceville. To learn more about her, visit www.kellylstone.com