Potomac — Allan Cohen has a lofty goal.

Cohen, chairman of Montgomery County Partners for Animals Wellbeing (MCPAW), said that his organization would ultimately like to provide free spay and neuter services to every pet in Montgomery County.

"Right now we're in the process of tackling the feral cat population," Cohen said. "The number of feral cats is huge. This is a big problem all over, but especially in Montgomery County."

MCPAW was created as a partner with the county to promote and supplement funding for the Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center, which opened March 1. While the center is funded primarily by the county, MCPAW works to help meet the shelter's other financial needs and provide animal education and resources to the community.

The center is the only open admission shelter in Montgomery County now, according to center representative Katherine Zenzano. That means the shelter accepts any type of animal that is dropped off at the shelter or that officers get called out to pick up.

"We have dogs and cats, but we also have ferrets, chickens, and even sugar gilders," Zenzano said.

The Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center took over the contract that was previously held by the Montgomery County Humane Society and is operated by the county Department of Police, Animal Services Division. The group has animal control officers on call 24 hours a day. Zenzano said that the officers respond to wildlife calls on a daily basis, and that they sometimes send animals to the Second Chance Wildlife Reserve in Gaithersburg.

The facility contains plenty of room for animals though.

"We're one big facility, so we kind of break it down in two ways," Zenzano said. "We have animal services on the left side of the building, and the adoption center on the right side. In the back, we have a barn, and a walking trail that volunteers can use for walking dogs."

Zenzano said that because the shelter is so new, an exact number of current volunteers is unavailable, but Cohen said that there are upwards of 300 people who have filled out volunteer application forms. There is currently a hold on new volunteer applications until all the received applications have been reviewed and volunteers have been trained.

"It's great to see them come in and want to work with the animals," Cohen said.

Volunteers at the facility work in all different areas, including working at the store that MCPAW operates at the facility, walking dogs, playing with cats, photographing the animals, assisting trainers, greeting visitors to the center, and helping with the adoption process.

Zenzano said that earlier this month, the shelter placed 16 dogs with families during an adoption event.

MCPAW offers an Explorer Post and Exploring Club, a division of the Boy Scouts of America, to boys and girls who are interested in veterinary science and working with animals. The Explorer Club is for students in grades six through eight, and the Explorer Post is for students between the age of 14 and 20. The program runs throughout the school year, according to Cohen, and participants can receive community service hours for participating in the program.

MCPAW is also working on finalizing plans for Purple Care, a program to help place senior animals in homes and to help senior citizens adopt and care for animals.

But the number one focus for the group right now is spaying and neutering.

"From what I understand, a minimum of 70 percent of kittens in the shelter right now are from feral colonies," said Ellie Truman, who is spearheading MCPAW's efforts to spay and neuter feral cats. "The problem is solvable, but it takes money, resources, and people dedicated to it."

Truman said that a trap-neuter-release program is prohibited under Montgomery County regulations, so MCPAW is working with Bethesda-based Alley Cat Allies to come up with a solution. Truman said the group has selected a feral colony to spay and neuter as part of a pilot program, and the cats in that colony will be placed in foster homes until they are ready to be adopted out to families.

"We've proceeded cautiously, because we want to be sure we're in the perimeters," Truman said. "We can make a real difference. We just have to be dedicated and focused."