Local woman creates nonprofit to assist in pet adoptions

After volunteering at the Morgan County Animal Shelter, one local woman was inspired to make a change.

At one time having owned six dogs and two cats, Karen Taylor is a self-proclaimed animal lover, and she has created a nonprofit to make adopting furry friends more affordable for everyone in Morgan County.

Taylor created the Morgan County Animal Services Foundation to assist the Morgan County Animal Shelter obtain more adoptions and funding. Through the organization, she said she hopes to be able to reduce the cost of adoption to help rescue more animals from the shelter. “It seems like they always stay close to capacity, so I was hoping to help collect adoptions – to help pay for the fees or at least help reduce them,” Taylor said.

Enquirer photo/Lauren Jackson

After spending two months volunteering in the shelter, Taylor said she was inspired to create something similar to programs in Huntsville and Madison County. The nonprofit is currently fundraising to sponsor adoption, and Taylor said as the nonprofit grows, she hopes to be able to add a foster program and help provide veterinarian services for the animals in the shelter. She is personally fostering a dog from the shelter and is hoping to help others find their homes, too. “These guys need all the help they can get to get out,” Taylor said.

The Morgan County Animal Services Foundation was officially approved in early April, and since then Taylor and others have been working hard through the nonprofit to get more animals out of the shelter. “When I started volunteering at the shelter, I just saw there was a need. They are government funded, so they don’t have a lot of money, so they are limited,” Taylor said. “I just want to help this shelter and hope to grow to where I can even possibly help the one in Decatur, too.”

Taylor said animals have always held a soft place in her heart. Through this organization, she said she hopes to be able to assist even more than she could by herself. “If I see an animal on the side of the street, I am likely to stop and help it. I am just a big animal lover – always have been,” Taylor said.

In addition to donations, Taylor said the organization could also use volunteers. She spends time each week helping at the shelter by playing or walking the dogs while also managing the daily tasks at the foundation. She said as the foundation continues to grow, the need for volunteers will also increase.

Enquirer photo/Lauren Jackson

Taylor said the more volunteers who can interact with the animals at the shelter, the better. “The more human contact they have, the more adoptable they are going to be,” she explained. “If they can get out and see the sunshine – if we can get volunteers to come out and walk them and spend some time with them – they are going to be so much better off.”

Donations for the foundation can be made at morgancountyanimalservicefoundation.com. Anyone interested in learning more about the foundation or volunteering can email Taylor at kaljase@gmail.com.