NATCHEZ — A tiny pet was given a big send off Thursday at the Natchez-Adams County Humane Society Animal Shelter.

Four years after the organization started transporting puppies and cats to areas where adoptable animals are in short supply, the little black and white kitten named Lonnie was celebrated as the 3,000th animal to leave Natchez for a new adopted home.

While Lonnie may have received a little more attention and a few extra scratches behind the ears, all of the pets that have left Natchez for Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maine, Virginia and other areas of the country have been transported with one thought in mind, NACHS transport coordinator Kathy Fitch said.

“We do this with the theory that every single one matters,” Fitch said.

Lonnie and his other 52 travel mates were headed to Pennsylvania Thursday. NACHS staff members drove a van packed with 34 puppies and 19 kittens to Birmingham, Ala., to meet up with a Georgia organization called Puppy Pipeline. From there, Puppy Pipeline took Lonnie and his friends to Pets Plus Natural, a company that specializes in adopting dogs, cats and other animals to areas where pet adoptions are in high demand.

“In Pennsylvania  (and other areas of the country) there is more demand than there is supply,” Fitch said. “They have had spay and neuter programs that have been in effect for decades.”

In Natchez and surrounding areas, the pet situation is very different.

“Down here it is the opposite,” Fitch said. “We have fewer people and more pets that are not spayed and neutered. The key is to move the pets from an area where the supply of animals is too great to an area where there are a lot of adopters.”

In the beginning of the program, NACHS only transported dogs. In recent months, the organization has also been fortunate to transports cats such as Lonnie to new homes.

NACHS currently works with three transport partners to help find homes for the shelter’s many pets.

Before being transported, the animals are quarantined for two weeks in the NACHS isolation shelter. The shelter continues to need supplies, including non-clumping cat litter, bleach, new or used towels, small kitten beds, blankets and pet toys.

Donations can be dropped off at the shelter at 75 Liberty Road. The shelter’s hours are 2 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Monetary donations can be dropped off at the shelter. Checks can also be mailed to NACHS, P.O. Box 549, Natchez, MS, 39121.