DeKalb District 2
Animals
Animals
The animal shelter in DeKalb County has experienced a pet overpopulation crisis due to high intake of stray animals, space limitations of the building, and a decline in adoption rates following the end of the pandemic.
Since 2022, the average population of dogs in the shelter has been on average two to three times the number of spaces designed for dogs. There was a sharp decrease in the number of adoptions between 2021 and 2022. Backyard breeding has led to a consistently high population of dogs that often end up as strays.
How We've Addressed This Crisis
The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners, in partnership with the CEO’s office, has addressed this crisis in the following ways:
Commissioner Spears and the District 2 office sponsored all four of the above legislative initiatives.
- Legislation resolving to support DeKalb Citizens and their Pets, Facility and Service Expansion, and Prevention of More Homeless Pets passed in 2023
- Legislation resolving to support and implement the DeKalb County Animal Services Advisory Board’s Five-Year Plan (2023-2028) Common Sense Solutions: Plan for a Better Tomorrow passed in 2023
- Legislation creating an ordinance prohibiting the outdoor and transient sale of cats, dogs, and rabbits in 2024
- Legislation creating a Pet Litter Registry ordinance requiring pet owners to register litters produced by their pets passed in 2025
- Allocating SPLOST funding to build modular kennels with a capacity for 120 dogs in a landscaped "Pet Neighborhood"
- Advocating to move court cases quickly where dogs are held as evidence, resulting in a lower number of dogs staying long-term in the shelter
Our network of partnerships with animal welfare and advocacy organizations provides valuable research and support that has helped move legislation forward to improve the lives of animals under the care of DeKalb County.
The success of these initiatives will be measured by a reduction in the number of litters produced each year, a shelter that continues to save lives of animals while providing less crowded, more humane conditions, and a robust adoption program that finds homes for the animals brought to the shelter.
DeKalb County Animal Services Advisory Board's Five-Year Plan
Common Sense Solutions: Plan for a Better Tomorrow
On December 12, 2023, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution introduced by Commissioner Spears to commit to supporting and implementing the DeKalb County Animal Services Advisory Board’s Five-Year Plan (2023-2028). The Five-Year Plan is composed of common sense solutions to achieve five goals: Create More Space to Meet DeKalb Needs, Staffing for Excellence, Support for People and Families with Pets, Prevent More Homeless Pets, and Address Lengthy Shelter Stays of Court-Held Dogs.
Key Components of The Five-Year Plan
- More Space: Increasing the space to accommodate larger numbers of animals safely and humanely.
- More Trained Staff with Better Pay: Providing training to animal enforcement staff to ensure that animals are treated humanely and providing better pay to staff who have been trained.
- More Resources and Support for Pet Families: Providing pet food and low-cost or free veterinary services to low-income families.
- New and Enforced Legislation: Passing ordinances and resolutions to guide and support the management of the pet population in DeKalb County.
- Reduce Court-Held Animal Delays: Monitoring and advocating for resolution of court cases so that animals held by the shelter can be released.
Prohibition of Transient Sales of Animals
On October 8, 2024, The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners passed an ordinance sponsored by Commissioner Spears prohibiting the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits in transient outdoor locations such as roadsides and parking lots in unincorporated DeKalb County.
This ordinance seeks to eliminate irresponsible breeding practices and reduce overcrowding in shelters, which currently operate beyond capacity, forcing the need for euthanasia to manage space.
Unregulated pet sales have long posed a problem in DeKalb County. These transactions often lack oversight, leading to unhealthy animals being sold without health records. By banning these sales, the ordinance will ease the burden on shelters, protect consumers from sick animals, and alleviate the financial strain on nonprofits and taxpayers.
The Board’s action was later echoed by the Georgia State legislature in May 2025, when H.B.331 was passed prohibiting the transfer of dogs, cats, and rabbits at roadsides, parking lots, flea markets, and other locations and providing for penalties for selling animals at these locations.
Pet Litter Registry
On May 13, 2025, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners passed Georgia’s first-ever Pet Litter Registry Ordinance, sponsored by Commissioner Spears. This ordinance is a transformative measure aimed at curbing illegal breeding, reducing pet overpopulation, and strengthening the community’s connection with DeKalb County Animal Services.
The ordinance takes full effect on January 1, 2026.
The Pet Litter Registry
- Owners of dogs, cats, and rabbits must register litters within 21 days of birth
- Animal Enforcement Services will develop educational and outreach materials along with staff training to facilitate registration of pets.
- Pet owners may qualify for free vaccines and/or microchipping for their pets.
Companion animal overpopulation has cost DeKalb County taxpayers over $11 million annually in animal impoundment, care, transport, and euthanasia, with private rescues and donors spending millions more to address the crisis. By curbing illegal breeding, the ordinance will ease the burden on shelters and free resources for pet retention programs, veterinary care, and affordable spay/neuter services.
Enforcement will include issuing a warning to pet owners who fail to register an unplanned litter for the first time. Pet owners who do register unplanned litters will gain access to essential support services, including animal care resources and affordable spay/neuter programs to prevent future unplanned births.
Infrastructure and Future Advocacy
DeKalb County has made investments in infrastructure to improve the lives of animals in its care. This is a good beginning, but there is much more work to be done to achieve a humane world for animals in DeKalb County.
The signature event of the Save our DeKalb Animals (SoDA) Initiative is the annual State of DeKalb Animals Address and Luncheon, held each year in the spring. 2025 was a great year for the SoDA Initiative, and we expect that the next year will bring more solutions for a better existence for animals in DeKalb County. We will continue advocacy with the Georgia State Legislature and with DeKalb County to create more legislation improving the lives of animals, and we will continue to work with our partners to create lasting solutions for animals in our care.
Infrastructure Investments
Each building provides indoor and outdoor access, improving animal health, safety, and overall quality of care. The DeKalb Animal Shelter Expansion directly addresses overcrowding at the County’s main animal shelter, which has been operating beyond its intended capacity since the COVID-19 pandemic. The expansion improves the County’s ability to care for animals while supporting staff operations and adoption outcomes safely and humanely.
The Animal Shelter Expansion has an estimated cost of $4 million and was funded through DeKalb County’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) as part of the County’s Capital Improvement Program. SPLOST is a voter-approved funding mechanism that allows DeKalb County to invest in essential infrastructure and quality-of-life projects without increasing property taxes.
Save our DeKalb Animals Initiative
The Save our DeKalb Animals (SoDA) Initiative, launched in 2024, envisions a compassionate community in which every animal is valued, protected, and loved by fostering collaboration, innovative programming, and practical solutions.
We partner with established organizations and programs to boost and expand the work they are doing.
We work closely with shelters, rescues, advocates, and partners to promote responsible pet ownership through their educational and innovative programs.
Together, we’re advocating for animal protection and implementing practical solutions by following the DeKalb County’s Animal Advisory Board’s 5 Point Plan: Common Sense Solutions for DeKalb Animal Services and creating a compassionate community where every animal is valued and loved.
In 2024 and 2025, the District 2 office hosted the first and second annual State of DeKalb Animals Address and Luncheon to bring together government officials and animal advocates for education and team building to help resolve the issues that have led to shelter overcrowding.
In addition to these events, the District 2 office has created displays for events such as Paws, Policy and Protection Day at the Georgia State Capitol, Compassion Con, and Healthy Pets DeKalb. We have promoted adoption of pets by hosting puppy and kitten cuddle parties at local senior living communities. Our office has sponsored free vaccines and microchips for pets as well as free health screenings and free spay and neuter services for companion animals.
Commissioner Spears has participated in animal advocacy conferences and was interviewed as part of a video series entitled “Beyond Sheltering” produced by the University of Georgia to inform the public about new ways that counties and municipalities are addressing the companion animal overpopulation crisis.
Beyond Sheltering
Commissioner Spears was interviewed for the video series, “Beyond Sheltering,” produced by the University of Georgia School of Law, to outline solutions to the crisis of pet overpopulation and animal cruelty in Georgia and beyond.
The video, “How to Fix Government-Run Animal Shelters,” presents the challenges faced by counties and municipalities and innovative solutions that promote animal health and safety to improve the quality of life for both animals and people.
Partner Organizations
