Details on the decisions leading to the Beaufort County and Jasper Animal Rescue Mission partnership

The Jasper County Animal Rescue Mission and Beaufort County’s intergovernmental agreement for animal shelters is in its initial stages now.

Beaufort County has taken over the Rescue Mission’s facility in Jasper County.

As of August 6, 48 animals have been transferred to the Hilton Head Humane Association from JARM.

How it works

All strays and owner surrenders are now handled through the Beaufort County location, wrote Tallulah McGee in an email through county channels.

Hilton Head Humane Society has also donated veterinary services, employee assistance, supplies and medical supplies.

All other costs associated with the animals transferred to Beaufort County’s animal shelter will be reimbursed by Jasper County, McGee said. The county will maintain tracking for employee hours, mileage and any supplies not included in donations.

From August 1 to August 8, Beaufort County had logged 36 hours and is sending its first invoice this week, according to Beaufort County Administrator Micheal Moore in Monday’s County Council meeting. They plan to send one every two weeks.

What led to this partnership

Beaufort County started assisting Jasper County on the July 4th weekend. According to Jasper County Councilman Chris VanGieson, a key player in pushing the IGA forward, their services were overwhelmed.

Keith Hughes and his wife Melissa had taken over JARM in 2024, VanGeison said they had turned things around when they started.

“I mean, they’ve done a fantastic job, they’re just overwhelmed,” VanGeison said.

Keith Hughes, president of JARM, was in progress on a new deal with Jasper County and had already offered limited intake of animals. One of the points of emphasis was to only intake animals from residents in incorporated parts of the county.

While the contract was being negotiated with Jasper County, after the first reading and before the second, county leaders opted for the Intergovernmental Contract with Beaufort County. Hughes said this was without his knowledge.

“We, at JARM, are agreeable with the decision of JC to reach out and accept the support of BCAS and HHH for the proper care of the animals of JC at their current intake rate because the outdated and deplorable facility provided to JARM by JC could no longer keep up,” Hughes said in an email statement. “BCAS and HHH can provide better conditions for housing, more behavior assessment, dog enrichment etc.”

JARM was taken over by Hughes’ board in 2024. The conditions at the facility have improved since. They were no longer stacking crates to house animals, repaired trench drains, cleaned the facility of many years of waste, installed dividers between kennels, etc. according to Hughes.

In an email to Jasper County officials on July 30 during contract negotiations and before the IGA, Hughes described the problems they were having, as ones that they have been having for 20 years.

“The core issues that still remain are; a County provided (leased) shelter facility that is entirely too small (which forces us to keep our animals inhumanely), facility grounds and a building that is in deplorable condition with no renovations or upgrades since the facility was built in 1996, an animal intake rate that is astronomical when compared to the actual population of the County, and a severe lack of funding levels from the County, or municipalities, that utilize the services that will allow an organization, like JARM, to properly provide humane sheltering and care along with the outreach services, like spay and neuter services, that are typically required for a County Animal Shelter/Rescue,” he said.

The Jasper County administrator did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publishing.

Because the proposals for expansion and renovation were not going anywhere, according to Hughes, JARM needed to limit intake in order to maintain humane conditions, which then led to the IGA.

With the dogs and cats in mind, Hughes believes this IGA to be what is right for the animals at this time.

“I can go on and on about the accomplishments that this Board and JARM have made in the past year,” he said in a statement. “I have challenged the new team to carry on our accomplishments at JARM as all of our numbers and services were headed in the right direction.”

How to adopt

Hilton Head Humane Association is where most of the Jasper County animals are housed now. They can be adopted for a $100 adoption fee. However, several of the animals have been sponsored, meaning their adoption fees are waived.

Beaufort County Animal Service also has waived several adoption fees due to the higher number of animals in their care, according to McGee.

“Interested adopters may also check local rescues, nonprofits, and animal welfare organizations for available animals,” McGee said in a statement. “These agencies all work together as force multipliers in the battle to protect animals and provide them [with] their forever homes.”

This story was originally published August 12, 2025 at 1:13 PM.