Boggs Mountain Humane Shelter Weekend Rally

This past Saturday there was a Protest / Rally in response to what has been taking place at Boggs Mountain Humane Shelter and the killing of dogs and cats that were supposed to be extra protected because they were a part of the “Lucky Dog / Lucky Cat program”. The program should have provided with a $100 donation from a supporter of the shelter complete vaccinations, a microchip, and no cost adoption to the person or family that decided to adopt that animal. It turns out though that some of the dogs and cats in this special program were instead killed through a decision by the Director of the facility. People who attended the rally want answers as to what happened to all of the dogs and cats that were left in Boggs Mountain’s care many were shipped out to other facilities either down in Atlanta or up to the Northeast.







By the time the Rally / Protest took place the Director of Boggs Mountain was taken off of Paid Administrative leave and fired by the Board of Directors. The President of the Board also resigned her position and the rest of the board was hoping to regroup and figure out how to save the Shelter. From what was said during the protest / rally the local community really wants to have Boggs Mountain Reopen under new Direction and Guidance. The Rabun County Community and surrounding Communities really believe that Boggs Mountain has something to offer the animals they all love so much and are saddenend that one or two bad people have tainted the facility and their town image. That really was the biggest take away from the day for me. Rabun County and more specifically the town of Clayton, Georgia want people to know that they love animals and cannot believe that their trust of the facility and those in charge was broken.







There was a petition going around at the Rally / Protest asking for Boggs Mountain to open their files so that people shelters and rescues that turned over animals to them can know what happened to the dogs and cats. They also are asking for a full accounting of where all of the money from the donations that were meant to go to the Lucky Dog Program actually wound up. No one at the event on Saturday were asking for the facility to close down they want to see a change in how things are handled with more accountability by the staff and Board of Directors. They are also asking for more transparency basically opening up the facility not just to the public but have a greater presence on Social Media channels so that people can see what occurs on a day to day basis at the facility.

There was a family at the event that had left their 2 dogs at Boggs Mountain because it was the closest no kill shelter to where they lived in Toccoa. When they left the dogs there they paid $40 since they were from out of the county and told that the money was meant to cover the cost of the dogs being left there. As a No-Kill Facility the Director promised that both dogs would either be adopted locally or sent up North to find a loving family that either had a more secure fencing situation as that is the reason the family had to turn them over. The female kept digging out of their chain link fence and taking her brother with her to bother the neighbors who complained to local animal control.







After being turned over to Boggs Mountain the female dog somehow dug out while in the exercise yard and made her way over to visit the jail which is located on an adjacent piece of property. The female made herself known to the staff there and they tried to gain her trust by feeding her. Eventually she stayed and ate the food she was left and allowed a husband wife team that work at the jail to pick her up. They carried her over to Boggs Mountain and asked to adopt her on the spot as they had fallen in love with her and knew they could give her a home where she could have free roam of the top of the mountain they live on. They also have 2 children who love dogs and knew she would be a great family dog to add to their pack now that they had gained her trust. The male that was turned over to Boggs Mountain after assurances he would be found a loving home was put down just 8 days after he had been dropped off the only information found in his file by a independent investigator were the words “Medical Reasons” with no explanation no veterinarian’s notes nothing. The family that had dropped off the two dogs had gotten to have a reunion with the female dog the day before and spent the day of the rally hanging out with her and loving on her. They felt deceived and that instead of finding them a home that could provide a better environment for them signed his death certificate and that he would have had a better chance of getting adopted or sent to another facility if they had turned them over to their local animal control. Molly was a very happy little beagle mix dog who seemed extremely loved. Her new family is even thinking that the next time they go on vacation that her old family will babysit for her since they still love her. Both families are extremely sad that her brother was killed and wish that the outcome had been different.