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Mike Barsness - Chair 

Diane Coffill - Vice Chair

Wendi Spraker - Secretary/Treasurer

Dr. Deborah Cowan - Vet of Record 

Fran Hollis - Facilities Chair ​

Kate Waterman ​

Wendy Welch



Donating to FOSS means that we are able to continue to save homeless pets in Stokes County 

FOSS Staff ​

ABOUT THe friends of the stokes shelter inC. (FOSS)

Click here to learn about FOSS's history


Emily Burgess - Animal Operations Manager 

​Renea Brown - FOSS Services Manager 

Tonya Palmer - Kennel Assistant 

Bethany Woods - Kennel Assistant​

FOSS Board Members

We have lots of adoptable animals!  Click here to learn about our adoption process

A Better Future for Homeless Pets of Stokes County is OUR Mission.

The Friends of the Stokes Shelter Inc. (FOSS) operates a no-kill Animal Adoption Center in the middle of Stokes County, NC at 1111 Dodgetown Road in the Meadows community between Walnut Cove & Danbury.  Physical & mailing address is 1111 Dodgetown Road, Walnut Cove, NC 27052.

The goal is to provide a “fur-ever” home for homeless pets and relieve overcrowding at the Stokes County Animal Control shelter, thereby reducing euthanizations due to space.

The 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization completed the building in the Meadows community through private donations. They raised $450,000 over six years from people in the community.  FOSS receives no local or other government funding.   FOSS is a totally separate entity from the SCAC shelter on Sizemore Road.  We rely 100% on private donations to operate.

“It’s going to be able to help the animal control officers to be able to do their job at the center, while we actually take care of adopting animals,” said Dr. Deborah Cowan, former Chairperson for The Friends of the Stokes Shelter. “We were having a real problem with a lot of euthanizations because we just didn’t have the money or the people to be able to adopt them out.”

Friends of the Stokes Shelter Inc. opened the FOSS Animal Adoption Center on February 29, 2020.  As of 4/13/23, FOSS has saved 1,094 animals in Stokes County.  With your support, we will continue to save many more!

Adopt from FOSS

FOSS Volunteer coordinators​

          FOSS History

Lorrie Van Hoy Bennett

Katie Sands Winfrey