2022 marked a milestone year for LifeLine: our 20th anniversary. Amidst the celebrations, we found ourselves turning to our community for help more than ever before. Dire struggles with overcrowding in our shelters lended themselves to moments of hope and unity because of you, our community of lifesavers.
This year’s impact is one we are extraordinarily proud of, as we faced some of our greatest challenges to continue helping people and pets in Atlanta. To wrap up this year, we wanted to share our top 10 moments of 2022! Please reflect with us on these special times of hard work, celebration and collaboration.
Thank You for Being a Friend
At the beginning of the year, animal lovers around the country made donations to their favorite rescue organizations in posthumous honor of Betty White’s 100th birthday. LifeLine supporters donated an incredible $41,000 on this day for Atlanta’s animals!
Lights! Camera! Action!
Coco, a Fulton County Animal Services alumnus, took the movie world by storm with her debut in Hulu’s “Prey” this year! Our post about Coco’s newfound stardom went almost as viral as she did, with many praising the studio’s choice for showcasing the incredible potential of dogs living in shelters. While we think all of our adoptable pets are stars, we are so proud to see what Coco has accomplished and can’t wait to see what role she takes on next!
Healthy Pets Returns
After a 3-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our Healthy Pets community events made their return this fall to both Fulton and DeKalb counties! A total of 1,016 pets received free vaccinations, microchips, spay/neuter vouchers, pet supplies and more. We are grateful for the support of partners, like the Conservancy at Historic Washington Park and Petco Love, and for our hard working teams who made these events possible. We look forward to helping more pet families at our next Healthy Pets events in the spring!
LifeLine's Core Values
As an organization, we wanted to acknowledge the driving force behind the work that we do and share the values we are committed to as a team. After two years of working with our teams, we finally announced LifeLine’s seven core values! We strive to conduct ourselves in a manner that upholds these values in our daily interactions with each other, the pets in our care and our community. We are also committed to recognizing members of our team on a monthly basis as Lifesaving Champions who exemplify these values. We are so proud of the work they do each and every day!
100 Club Hits a Home Run!
Ozzie Albies, the star 2nd baseman for the Atlanta Braves, is also a star player for Atlanta’s animals off the field! He has fostered and adopted dogs from LifeLine shelters, and formed the Ozzie Albies Foundation this year! The foundation sponsors adoption fees for special pets living in our shelters longer than 100 days, known as the 100 Club. So far this year, Ozzie and his team have helped dozens of pets find their homes through their generosity!
Dog Days of Summer
Our adorable, adoptable dogs knocked it out of the park during WAG-A-LOT’s Dog Days of Summer series at Truist Park! One lucky foster pup, Mariah, caught the eye of an adopter who just happened to be visiting from out of town. It was love at first sight! She happily headed to her new home in Florida after her adoption was finalized the very next day!
A Little Backstage Magic
We teamed up with the historic Fox Theatre to help bring awareness to the many pets in need of homes across our city! A few lucky pups were brought backstage this year to meet some incredible talent, including Tedeschi Trucks Band and Widespread Panic. Partnerships like this one are so important in helping us spread awareness, and a lot of pawsitivity, to our community! If you have a fun partnership in mind, reach out to events@lifelineanimal.org.
Lemonade for LifeLine
Kids of all ages across the city found a new way to beat the heat and support the animals in our shelters by hosting Lemonade for LifeLine stands! Our team put together tips and tools to help guide our youngest supporters with their fundraising efforts. On National Lemonade Day alone, lemonade stands raised over $1,000 for Atlanta’s animals! No matter the age, even one person can make a difference and help save lives. And, it’s not just lemonade, kids can host a hot cocoa or cider stand for support the whole year through!
The Future of Fulton County Animal Services
After years of planning and preparation, Fulton county officials broke ground on the construction of a new animal shelter! Fulton County Animal Services currently operates out of a shelter built in the 1970s that was only meant to house 80 dogs at a time. This brand new state-of-the-art 50,000 square foot facility will be life changing for the animals in our care and is set to open in fall 2023.
The Power of Teamwork
From stories about critical medical care for dogs like Casper, to jumping into action for a MEGA adoption event with the Brandywine Valley SPCA, the LifeLine teams never hesitate to give so much of themselves to our lifesaving missions. In addition to celebrating 20 years of lifesaving, we also honored the 5th anniversary of our Pets for Life program. We truly thank you all for the countless hours and selflessness you give to pets and their families in need!
While 2022 had some extraordinary challenges, it also gave us these moments and many more to be grateful for! We look forward to saving even more lives in 2023 and helping more people and pets stay together. Support from our community, including donors, volunteers, foster parents and rescue partners, makes all the difference in saving pet lives.
