The Friends of Shelter Animals for Cobb County (FOSACobb) said farewell to ten lucky shelter dogs on Friday as they were loaded into a transport van to make their way to the Midwest Animal Rescue and Services (MARS) facility in Minnesota.

This will be the third rescue transport run by FOSACobb since Sept. 2011 with a fourth scheduled for Jan. 21.

The combined efforts between MARS and FOSACobb to assist with adoptions of Cobb County shelter animals came about through the efforts of Kristin Adams, who is the master coordinator of the group.

Adams, who has been involved with other shelter animal transports to northern states over the years, contacted MARS concerning the proliferation of Cobb animals in need of adoption. They agreed to help.

Janice Riccio, a FOSACobb volunteer, said, “According to MARS, they receive in upwards of 400 applications a month for pets, but are only able to fill about 150. The spay and neuter laws are much stricter in the north.”

Before any animal can be transported to MARS, they must be spayed or neutered, and then health certified by the Cobb County Animal Shelter after a ten-day quarantine period.

During this quarantine period, the designated pets live in the home of a volunteer in order to become re-acclimated to living outside the shelter.

Don Bruce, operations manager at the Cobb shelter, is grateful for the support and success that the FOSACobb has accomplished with the transport program.

“Currently, we have 451 animals in need of adoption. We usually average around 500. In June 2011, we hired a full-time veterinarian and several vet techs so we could start spaying and neutering pets at our facility, and to ensure their health. Now before any pet is adopted they have been spayed or neutered, micro-chipped, vaccinated and dewormed," said Bruce.

“MARS has expressed interest in making the transport program an on-going event,” said Riccio. “They have even posted a rescue donation request for Cobb County pets on their website. They have been very supportive of us.”

Once the transport animals arrive at MARS, they will be placed in foster homes where they will be well cared for until they are adopted.

Donations are always needed to help keep the transport program going. For further information or to make a donation, interested parties can visit the FOSACobb Facebook page, or contact Janice Riccio at Quietzsch@aol.com.