SUPPORT OUR NEW BUILDING

WE'RE GROWING, AND WE NEED YOUR HELP!

553 Waterman Street SE, Bldg. 200, Marietta, GA 30060

When the Humane Society of Cobb County transitioned from a foster-based model to a brick-and-mortar no-kill adoption facility in the 1990s, we were able to do so only because of a generous bequest. In 1996, we purchased the building at 148 S. Fairground Street SE with proceeds we received from the George Keeler Estate, and we have been sheltering dogs, cats, and exotics at this location ever since.

 

Now, thanks to further generosity from animal lovers in our community, we have been able to expand again. We’ve enlarged our small campus near the Marietta Square by acquiring the adjoining property at 553 Waterman Street SE. We've constructed a new $1M no-kill shelter on the Waterman lot, which will enable us to better serve the community and improve the lives of the animals who come under our care. We broke ground in July 2019 and completed construction in September 2020.

EXPANDING AND IMPROVING OUR CAMPUS

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Before the construction of our new shelter, all the animals under our care were housed under the Fairground roof — dogs, cats, exotics, special-needs animals, babies, seniors, and animals under medical isolation. Having the space and the equipment to segregate animals by type and need will improve the lives of all animals we shelter, now and in the future.

 

The new 2,500-square-foot Waterman Street shelter is dedicated to the care and housing of cats and kittens. It features a cageless environment to reduce stress, four free-roam adult cat rooms, a free-roam kitten room, a bonding room, and suites dedicated to cats with special needs.

 

Our Fairground facility continues to provide shelter for dogs and some cats. It also houses newly improved Intake and Isolation areas. With most of our cats now residing in the Waterman Street shelter, we will now be able to devote a substantial portion of the Fairground shelter to dogs, which will allow us to increase canine intake and help more dogs.

 

Here’s a look at the improvements we've been able to implement with our expansion project:

The New Waterman Street Shelter

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The floorplan for the new Waterman Street shelter.
The floorplan for the new Waterman Street shelter.

The new Waterman Street shelter provides a low-stress, cageless environment for its feline residents. All cat rooms offer generous window space, with views to the outdoors as well as interior windows. Cat-centric wall shelving provides vertical space and enrichment. A dedicated kitten room provides free-roam space for our younger residents. The facility also features a bonding room, where potential adopters can spend one-on-one time with animals they are considering adopting.

The New HSCC Welcome Center

553 Waterman Street SE, Bldg. 100, Marietta, GA 30060
553 Waterman Street SE, Bldg. 100, Marietta, GA 30060

The existing street-facing structure on the Waterman lot is a 1960s-era house which we have left intact, with some renovations to make it suitable for our purposes. This building will become our new primary address and will serve as the reception hub for general contact with the public.

 

In addition to featuring an adequate reception area (something we lacked at the Fairground facility), the building has space for interviews, counseling, and meetings with potential adopters and donors; ample space for volunteer orientations, training sessions, and other group activities; dedicated space for informational literature and other materials of interest to the public; and a new interactive learning center and on-site education space for visiting youth groups such as scouts and school groups.

 

This building also houses our resident exotics (currently two birds and a chinchilla), providing them with comfortable living space, sunshine, and human company, as well as peace from barking dogs!

The Fairground Street Shelter

148 S. Fairground Street SE, Marietta, GA 30060
148 S. Fairground Street SE, Marietta, GA 30060

With most of our cats now residing in the new Waterman Street shelter, we are expanding the dog housing areas in our Fairground Street shelter. There are Large Dog and Small Dog housing areas, both significantly more spacious than the dog space we have been able to provide in the past.

 

We have also greatly improved and expanded our Intake and Isolation areas for both dogs and cats. As new animals come in, we are able to house them in comfortable, sanitary conditions during the temporary quarantine period before transitioning them to the resident housing areas. Further, animals who are ill or injured have a comfortable and quiet Isolation space where they can receive treatment, rest, and recover.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Make a direct donation

All the growth we have experienced since our inception has been fueled by the generosity of supporters. We are a small nonprofit, primarily funded by donations, and every dollar matters to us. Our daily operating costs have increased since completion of the new shelter, and we also must replenish the money we have spent to fund this expansion. We gratefully accept donations of any amount, either one-time or recurring.

 

Please visit our Donate Now page to give a direct, immediate donation.

 

 

 

 

Make a contribution for naming rights

You can support the HSCC and our mission with a contribution for permanent naming rights for a number of campus locations, spaces, and items. Your donation will help replenish funds expended for our campus expansion and will be an inspiring example for others to follow. Each Donor’s gift, with permission granted, will be announced by the HSCC via social media, featured on our website, and shared via any other public means available to us. Each Donor will be further recognized by installation of a permanent, customized plaque or plate.

 

Please visit our Naming Opportunities section for more information.

 

 

 

 

 

Include the HSCC in your planned giving

Time and again, bequests and planned gifts have made the impossible possible for our small organization. We have been blessed with generous gifts from individuals who had the foresight to include the HSCC in their plans to give, and plans by others to give in the future will support our mission going forward.

 

Please visit our Bequests & Planned Giving section to learn more about planned giving basics, popular alternatives, and the tax benefits of planned gifts.

 

 

 

 

Have your own ideas about how to help? We want to hear from you!

We welcome assistance from businesses, groups, and individuals in a variety of forms, some of which perhaps have not yet been conceived! If you would like to start a conversation about potentially unexplored ways to get involved, please visit our Business & Community Support page to learn how.