GA: Free Pit Bull Spay if you Live in Macon, GA

Not many people love animals more than Virginia Upright did.

Everywhere she went, her little rat terriers were likely to be with her.

They rode in the front seat of the car, slept in her bed and traveled to visit her family in the Southeast mountains.

After her last dog, Cricket, died several years ago, the retired Robins Air Force Base worker refused to get another dog for fear of dying before the animal.

When Upright died as a widow at age 89 in November, she left chunks of her estate to animal rights organizations, including All about Animals and Heart of Georgia Humane Society.

Conaway said the board decided the best way to help reduce Macon’s unwanted pet population and cut the number of euthanizations was to offer free spaying of any female pit bull dog living in Macon.

“A lot of times, they are chained out, and every dog that comes along will breed with her,” Conaway said.

In working with local veterinarians, the humane society wants to reach as many dogs as they can, even female puppies as young as 8 weeks old.

“It doesn’t matter if you have a million dollars, it’s free,” she said. “But of course, we want to focus on the ones who can’t afford to pay.”

Anyone interested in taking advantage of the free program is urged to call (478) 477-9713 or log onto Heart of Georgia Humane Society. Online applications should be available next week.

This effort in Upright’s memory is in addition to the organization’s lower cost spay and neuter, or Snip program.

Tenon applauded the group’s efforts.

“It will help us reduce the number of animals coming into the shelter and reduce the number of healthy animals we have to euthanize each day,” she said.

Upright never had her own children, said her nephew Jay McGhee, who lives in Charlotte.

He thinks this project is a perfect tribute for his aunt, who cared for her dogs like they were her kids.

“She treated them like gold,” McGhee said.

Upright bequeathed certificates of deposit worth at least $40,000 to each of the Macon organizations and also left money, he said.

As an animal lover himself, McGhee believes Heart of Georgia’s mission fits a motto his aunt penned in her Bible in 1951: “The kind of world we have today is the result of the kind of life we lived yesterday.”

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