Media Contact:
Scott Bennett
President & CEO, Southern Comfort Animal Rescue
912-423-0145
socorescue@yahoo.com


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Southern Comfort Animal Rescue Ready to Build
Not-for-profit hopes to re-open in fall; donations still needed


July 1, 2011, Glenwood, Ga. -- Southern Comfort Animal Rescue plans to start construction this month on a new building to house homeless animals in Wheeler County.

Scott Bennett, president and CEO of Southern Comfort, said he plans to construct the building in stages, so the rescue can begin to take in dogs again as soon as possible. He hopes to be able to reopen the rescue in the fall.

The rescue suffered a devastating fire in April and has been closed since. Besides causing immense damage to the owners’ house, the blaze took the lives of three animals.

“The many generous donations, kind and supportive words, and prayers from all the friends of SoCo have made dealing with this tragedy more bearable,” Bennett said. “We hope to be able to rebuild quickly so we can get back to our mission of saving animals.”

Southern Comfort is the only rescue organization in Wheeler County, which also does not have an animal control.

Before the fire, the rescue used a combination of the space in the house, outdoor kennels and a trailer converted to provide sheltered housing to hold the animals, rotating them to make sure all dogs got time to comfortably eat, sleep and play.

Constructing a dedicated shelter building will make the operation more efficient and effective, as well as eliminate several issues the rescue had with the previous setup, like a tendency for an area near the kennels to flood, Bennett said.

Footers for the new building were completed well before the fire, but the project that stalled when the economy worsened.

“We had always planned to build an upgraded facility, but between a downturn in the economy and focusing our energies on helping so many homeless dogs in the area, it was never completed,” Bennett said.

Though the rescue has been closed since the fire, it continues to assist in finding animals homes through courtesy listings, pulling animals from kill shelters and transportation assistance.

The rescue is still accepting donations, both monetary and in the form of building materials, to complete the building. Donations can be made through the PayPal link on the group’s website, www.socorescue.com.

 

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