In the January/February Washington Magazine, a feature story tells about the partnership between volunteers and county staff at the local animal shelter. What the article does not include is how that partnership plays out in actual numbers.

In 2013, a total of 1,056 animals were adopted from the Betsey Bailey Nelson Animal Control Facility, nearly double the number of animals adopted in 2012.

That number is phenomenal. And that number also represents a lot of time and dedication. It represents volunteer-driven animal rescue networks, using social media to bring shelter animals exposure (and often rescue) and staff going above and beyond their duties to facilitate the process.

In fact, the Beaufort County shelter is gaining quite a reputation in eastern North Carolina. Recently, a woman from a neighboring county drove a carful of puppies to the Beaufort County shelter on U.S. Highway 264, just east of Washington. She brought the puppies here because she had heard how high Beaufort County’s shelter adoption/rescue numbers were and wanted these puppies to have a fighting chance at finding a home. Unfortunately, the shelter can’t take in animals from other counties. Fortunately, one of the shelter’s many volunteers with rescue contacts happened to drive up, got on the phone, and found those puppies some place to go.

So rescues are apparently not confined to the inner workings of the Beaufort County animal shelter. They happen in the parking lot as well.

Humane Society of Beaufort County volunteers put a total of 4,149.75 hours into the shelter and its animals last year. Beaufort County is fortunate to have residents here who put their love for animals into man-hours. Beaufort County is also fortunate to have animal-control staff who aren’t just putting in hours — they want to make a difference.

Beaufort County is truly fortunate to have so many people that care.