2022 marks LifeLine’s 20th anniversary! From an online adoption network in 2002 to providing care for over 40,000 pets in our shelters, clinics and community in 2022, LifeLine has come a long way in the past 20 years of lifesaving. But none of this would be possible without the support from our amazing community of adopters, volunteers, donors, animal lovers, community advocates and so many more!
Join us as we look retrospectively and celebrate the accomplishments throughout our journey.
The Vision Begins
After visiting a county animal shelter, Rebecca Guinn and Sharon Eikey learn that 100,000 animals are being euthanized annually in metro Atlanta and become determined to find a way to save animals entering county shelters.
LifeLine Animal Project is Founded
Recruiting a small group of animal-loving friends, Rebecca and Sharon form LifeLine Animal Project with the singular mission to end shelter euthanasia of healthy and treatable animals in Atlanta.
Getting Started
They start by creating a searchable, “virtual” online shelter and adoption network, the first of its kind (prior to social media), with the goal of including every cat and dog available for adoption in all county shelters and rescue groups in the metro Atlanta area. LifeLine also launches “Catlanta,” the first and now largest community cat trap-neuter-return assistance program in metro Atlanta.
LifeLine Opens a Private Shelter
The Dog House in Avondale Estates opens as a rehabilitation facility for homeless dogs needing extra care for medical or behavioral challenges before they can be placed in homes of their own.
The LifeLine Spay & Neuter Clinic
One of the area’s first high-volume, low-cost spay/neuter clinics also opens in Avondale Estates, in the same building as the Dog House.
A Second LifeLine Spay & Neuter Clinic opens
A second low-cost spay/neuter clinic opens in Southwest Atlanta in College Park.
LifeLine Begins Managing Two County Shelters
LifeLine is awarded the management contracts for Atlanta’s two high-kill, open-intake animal shelters: Fulton County Animal Services (FCAS) and DeKalb County Animal Services (DCAS). At the time, the lifesaving rates for each shelter were 39% and 61%, respectively.
LifeLine Adds the Cat Adoption Center
A LifeLine Cat Adoption Center opens in Scottdale, Georgia to provide overflow capacity to DeKalb County Animal Services.
LifeLine Receives National Recognition
LifeLine receives the transformational Lifesaving Impact Grant from Petco Love (formerly Petco Foundation), and again in 2019.
The New DCAS Shelter Opens
DeKalb County builds and opens a brand new DeKalb County Animal Services facility. The new shelter significantly increases the capacity for animals and provides a much more enjoyable adoption experience for visitors.
LifeLine Adds Pets for Life
LifeLine takes over the Humane Society of the United States’s Pets for Life program in Atlanta, providing door-to-door community support and free pet services to people living in the seven lowest income zip codes in Fulton County.
100,000 Animals Fixed
LifeLine celebrates its 100,000th low-cost spay/neuter surgery.
LifeLine Opens the Community Animal Center
LifeLine says goodbye to the Dog House & Kitty Motel and the Cat Adoption Center to open the 25,000 square-foot LifeLine Community Animal Center (CAC). The CAC features a full-service, low-cost veterinary clinic to make pet care accessible to all and increases adoption capacity by over 2,000 animals annually.
DCAS Achieves No-Kill
LifeLine celebrates one year of no-kill rates at the DeKalb County Animal Services shelter.
LifeLine Celebrates One Year of No-Kill
LifeLine celebrates one year of no-kill rates at both the Fulton and DeKalb County Animal Services shelters for the first time in Atlanta’s history. The shelters have maintained no-kill levels ever since.
Share your favorite LifeLine memory in the Facebook post below!
Commemorate LifeLine’s 20 years of lifesaving with fun, new merchandise styles! We’ve launched a tshirt and insulated wine tumbler with our commemorative 20th anniversary logo. Show your support of LifeLine’s future with limited edition merchandise!
Available now!
Support the next 20 years of lifesaving!
A quote about what the next 20 years holds.
