The Georgia Department of Agriculture annually awards grants to humane societies to help fund dog and cat sterilization programs. Funding of those grants comes from state issued auto tags and private donations.

The more familiar tags are the Golden lab, the gray and white cat and the dog/cat inside a heart shaped logo that have been available for several years. All promote the sterilization programs.

Now, a new specialty license plate is available through the Georgia Pet Foundation that was established as a 501 ©(3) non-profit organization in April 2016, when Governor Nathan Deal signed legislation approving the new tag.

In addition to the GPF funding grants to assist with sterilization programs, it will also focus on public education initiatives to increase community awareness of the benefits and imperatives of spaying and neutering Georgia pets.

A press release has gone out from the GPF stating there is a need to sell 5,000 tags to begin accepting grant applications. Once the program is awarding grants, information will be shared with the public reference the grant winners and how the programs are conducted. This will offer programs and guidelines to help others succeed.

GPF’s overhead was funded through 2018, thanks to a generous private donation. This frees 100 percent of funds raised from the sale of plates to go directly to funding spay/neuter programs.

Ashley White, director of the local Animal Shelter, says they have received spay and neuter grants in the past, enabling them to offer special reduced fees for those services. They continue to apply for the grants annually.

For more information about the sterilization grants available through auto plate sales in the State of Georgia, go to http://agr.georgia.gov/dog-cat-sterlization-program.aspx.

The local tag office here in Bainbridge has the new plate available. It features a cartoon character styled dog and cat together with a tag line “Spay/Neuter Saves Lives.” Residents do not have to wait until their birthdays to buy the new tag. They can be purchased from any tag office in the state of Georgia.