January 16, 2008 The time has finally arrived. By court order, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) has the authority to direct the removal of at least 350 animals from the All Creatures Great and Small (ACGS) site in Hendersonville, North Carolina. I respectfully ask that ANY group that has space please make arrangements to accept as many animals from ACGS as quickly as possible. The current on-site animal count today is as follows: 284 dogs, 220 cats, 6 rabbits, 2 guinea pigs. The procedure for adopting from ACGS as a rescue/humane group at no cost to your group is as follows, and must be adhered to: Go to our website http://www.agr. state.nc. us/vet/welfare. htm , click on the ACGS button, download and complete the Request for Adoption form and fax it to our Animal Welfare Section. We will verify that you are a legitimate rescue or humane organization, provide your entity's name to ACGS so they will know you will be coming soon, and respond to your contact within 3 days (probably much quicker than that). You will sign a brief MOA that releases NCDA&CS from any liability, as required by our attentive legal support. You can then go to ACGS and request to adopt however many animals your facility can properly manage. Please do not go before you finish steps 1-3. Upon completion of the adoption, you then will fill out the Notice of Adoption form and fax it to our office, so we can maintain an accurate count of animals removed under the Consent Order. You will be thanked profusely by all animal lovers, including us in NCDA&CS, for helping get these animals into appropriate situations! Please feel free to contact me directly with questions or concerns – and thank you for helping us help these animals. Mary Ann McBride, DVM Mary Ann McBride, DVM Assistant State Veterinarian North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Raleigh, NC Office 919-733-7601 Mobile 919-740-2894 [email protected] ncmail.net