DeKalb County elected officials, volunteers, and animal lovers met on Friday, May 16 for the second State-of-DeKalb-Animals address at Emory Conference Center.
Hosted by District 2 Commissioner Michelle Long Spears, speakers delivered statistics, personal stories, and the realities of people and their pets in DeKalb.
“Caring for our companion animals is not just a matter of kindness, it’s a matter of public health, of safety, of equity and of compassion. It affects the lives of our residents and the soul of our neighborhoods,” said Long Spears.
Keynote speaker Cole Thaler, program manager for the Pets In Crisis Support Program at the Atlanta Humane Society, delivered a sobering look at how evictions displace pets.
Pets who arrive at shelters had a person or family who loved them “but then something happened – or a bunch of things happened – and that bond was severed,” Thaler said.
Based upon Thaler’s research and experience, eviction filings in Georgia are “cheap and easy.” To start the eviction process, a landlord pays a $54 fee to DeKalb County magistrate court and files a one-page form. In turn, tenants have three business days to catch up on rent before being served with a dispossessory warrant, and seven days to file a response in court.
“Poverty is not a defense to an eviction,” Thaler said about Georgia law.
Displaced tenants may find a new lease, double up with family or friends, move into extended stay motel rooms, homeless shelters, their car, an abandoned house, a rented storage unit, or sleep on MARTA.
“If those are your options, where does your pet go?” Thaler asked.
Rebecca Guinn, Lifeline CEO, echoed Thaler’s observations. A record 9,000 animals entered the DeKalb County Animal Shelter in 2024, she said.
“Every one of these 8,954 animals came into our care because some sort of human struggle or human failure, and we need holistic solutions that support the community, support pets as family members, and support families,” Guinn said.
Lifeline has made investments to support their operations by hiring a director of shelter medicine, a specialized medical trainer, IT staff, a special projects manager, and a chief people officer, among others. The organization is focused on training, increasing free veterinary care, the launch of a pet food bank, and continuing spay and neutering programs.
DeKalb County has focused its efforts on funding innovative shelter spaces, limiting pets per household, creating an animal litter registry, and supporting the passage of Georgia laws HB 331 and HB 177.
Long Spears summarized the meeting by reflecting on her constituents.
“When I first took office, I heard from so many of you that I see here today: advocates, rescues, shelter staff, veterinarians, department heads, volunteers and the list goes on. You all shared your deep concerns about the state of animal welfare in DeKalb. What I heard moved me. What I saw I could not ignore. Out of that urgency, we launched the Save Our DeKalb Animal initiative,” she said.
“Today is a moment to reflect, to recognize, and to recommit for our county’s animals … to ensure that every companion animal in DeKalb County is treated with the care, dignity, love and protection they deserve,” Long Spears said.
