Adoptions are up and spirits are high at the Vicksburg Warren Humane Society, and its president is upbeat about the coming year.

&#8220I’m proud of our community,” said Georgia Lynn, president for a third year.

One statistic stands out. The society placed 26 percent of the 1,612 animals accepted at the shelter. That number is well above the 17 to 20 percent recognized by the Humane Society of the United States as the yearly average.

&#8220We had a good month in October because of our Adopt-A-Thon, but it just continued after that,” Lynn said.

The 111 dogs and cats adopted from October through December far outpaced the 75 that found new homes between July and September.

The society has struggled in years past and was once mired in controversy among rival groups for control. Stability has been achieved and the organization wants to be more effective.

Income includes $1,645 in impoundment and boarding fees for 2005 plus adoption fees, membership fees, donations and a $120,000 contract with the Warren County Board of Supervisors.

The public service contract was initiated in 2002 when supervisors adopted the county’s first-ever animal control ordinance and hired the society to enforce it.

There have been off-and-on talks of consolidating with City of Vicksburg animal control services, but no plan has gelled.

For the future, the society wants a new, larger shelter than the one it operates across U.S. 61 South from Vicksburg Municipal Airport, to increase membership from about 70 to 250 and to increase the sense of responsibility people feel to their pets.

&#8220People who don’t want a dog or cat anymore can drop them off to us anytime,” Lynn said. &#8220But at least people can have them spayed or neutered.”

Lynn hopes to use the encouraging statistics as a springboard to an even more successful 2006. The group kicked off its year with a membership meeting and social Saturday at the shelter. Those in attendance received pet care and vaccination tips, then feasted on food and refreshments.

Also at Saturday’s event, all officers of the Vicksburg-Warren Humane Society were renominated for another year, while a few former members showed up to resume their membership, Lynn said. Three more dogs were adopted out Saturday, she said.

Lynn said she is working on details of a competitive dog show and picnic, one she hopes can be held in early May.

&#8220People would be able to enter their dogs in contests to see how fast theirs is fetching and things,” Lynn said, adding she will seek trained obedience experts to judge the contests. The site of the event is yet to be determined, Lynn said.

In October, the New York-based headquarters of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals supplied the local pet shelter with a $20,000 hurricane assistance grant to repair a leaky roof and pay to replace about $3,000 in vaccinations lost when Hurricane Katrina hit Aug. 29.