Chatham County Animal Services reported improved live-release rates and described operational changes and community partnerships intended to reduce shelter intake and increase adoptions.

Dr. Hopper, director of Chatham County Animal Services, told the board the department is an open-admission shelter and has increased the number of animals leaving the shelter alive through programs including behavioral enrichment, transfers to rescues and a TNVR (trap–neuter–vaccinate–return) voucher program executed with PetFix. "We are an open admission shelter," Dr. Hopper said. "We try to have most of the animals leave alive."

The department said it currently operates with an animal-services staff that includes a director/veterinarian, an assistant director, seven field officers (with one vacancy expected to be filled), shelter animal-care staff, an on-call part-time veterinarian and a volunteer/social media coordinator. Shelter public hours are 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily (closed to the public Wednesdays for internal training) and officers respond to priority calls 24/7 with emergency response coordinated with 911 after regular hours.

Key program details shared with commissioners:
- TNVR and low-cost spay/neuter: The department uses vouchers at PetFix (a contracted low-cost clinic) for feral cat surgeries and rabies vaccinations. Dr. Hopper said the contract rate is $50 per cat and that PetFix’s limited veterinarian capacity constrains how many animals can be scheduled. "We do about 800 to 100 cats a month," Dr. Hopper said when describing volume and capacity.
- Chatham 90: A cooperative local portal that lists lost-and-found animals, vaccination and microchip clinic links, community resources, and coordinates rescue efforts with groups including Renegade Paws and the Humane Society.
- Calls and priorities: Animal Services reported nearly 5,400 calls in 2024 with the highest volumes for dogs at large, welfare checks and nuisance/barking complaints. The department separates calls into four priorities: immediate threats (bites, aggressive animals), significant welfare/confined stray follow-ups, nuisance/dog-at-large high-volume calls and lower-priority follow-ups.

Commissioners asked for clarification on follow-up to calls and on service hours. Commissioner Bobby Whiteley pressed for more frequent updates to callers; Dr. Hopper said staff will provide status if requested but noted limits tied to open-records considerations and case investigation needs. Multiple commissioners asked about TNVR voucher availability; Hopper said the limiting factor is veterinary capacity at PetFix and similar clinics, not a voucher cap.

Future goals listed by staff include extending shelter public hours, additional disaster-response training, public education and recruitment of more veterinary partners to expand surgical capacity. Dr. Hopper emphasized the staff’s focus on community outreach and working with rescues to move animals out of the shelter for adoption or foster care.

The board received the report; no formal vote or funding decision on operations was recorded in the transcript.