On the morning of New Year’s Day I was out on a run with my own fur-covered ball of canine energy when I spotted these two dogs sitting near the bridge between Poplar Circle and Shadowmoor. They were leashless and collarless, but I thought that since they were so well behaved their owner must be nearby. I began to wonder, however, when I ran by again a half-hour later, and the dogs were still there. So I took my dog home and went back to investigate later.

It turned out that several neighbors had noticed them. Someone contacted DeKalb Animal Control, who came by and picked them up. But Winnona Park resident Erin Johnson and a few others were already on the case, contacting rescue organizations and trying to find a foster home for these sweet, slightly shy but very polite pups, a male (the black one) and a female.

It took some doing, but in less than a week the dogs have found salvation . . . temporarily. They have been taken out of Animal Control. The white one is going to Friends of DeKalb Animals and the son of Winnona Park resident Wardell Castles has agreed to foster the black one. The dogs still need permanent homes.

To sweeten the pot, neighborhood residents have pledged generously toward their care — funds to help with vet bills, spaying and neutering, etc. All of this was coordinated straight out of the grassroots, over the Winnona Park listserv.

Animal rescuers are angels on earth.

Can you open your home and heart to one or a couple of sweethearts? Or could you contribute to their care fund?

To inquire about adopting the white female dog, please contact Friends of DeKalb Animals ().  PLEASE NOTE: it has been reported that the white female has some aggression issues, so any home accepting her should be equipped and prepared to support a dog that will need some extra love and training.

To inquire about adopting the black male dog, please contact Wardell Castles at .

And please remember to support our wonderful local rescue organizations, such as Ruffus Rescue, PAWS, the Lifeline Animal Project, Friends of DeKalb Animals, Animal Action Rescue, and others. There is a great list of worthy, hardworking groups here!

 

Ashley writes in…

You may or may not know that Dekalb Animal Control is bursting at the seams right now with over 400 dogs and cats in the shelter. Many of them (over 60%) will be euthanized because there are just not enough people adopting pets. There is a serious issue in Dekalb County with the number of strays and neglected animals (of all shapes and sizes) who are not spayed or neutered – and so many end up dying.

A group has been started by individuals called Friends of Dekalb Animals. This group goes in and tries to save as many dogs and cats as it can and send them on transport up north to be adopted (the northern states don’t have this serious overpopulation problem the southern states are dealing with – but that is another issue. )

Regardless, we are trying to raise money to get 37 dogs out of Dekalb by early September and need some funding help to do so. If you could pass around to your friends and families, I’d be grateful.. even a couple of bucks will help save a dog from Dekalb. The website is http://www.friendsofdekalbanimals.org/ and you can donate there.

Maybe I’m just being dense, but why is the problem so much worse in the South?

Some months the Oakhurst Message Board sits dormant, with only an inquiry or two about babysitting services or roof repair.   But every once in a while a post can light that place up like its soaked in kerosene.

Yesterday morning a poster named “smodan” wrote this on the site…

Early this AM, our cat was attacked by two roaming dogs (he was sleeping on our front porch on McKoy). One was a brownish pit bull and the other a black lab mix. We scared them away but our cat is in terrible shape and in emergency surgery. Be careful, as we suspect these are the same dogs that killed a cat about a week ago on McKoy. If anyone has an idea who these dogs could belong to, please let us know.

This post quickly led to a cascade of comments detailing other recent attacks and a vocal dissatisfaction with Decatur PD’s animal control unit.  This reaction and organized effort to email the Chief of Police was followed with a email sent by PD spokesperson Juanchella Francis to Oakhurst residents yesterday evening…

Thanks for sending us the complaints about dangerous dogs in Oakhurst as we were unaware of the situation until now. We are actively working on addressing this issue and our Animal Control Officer (Officer Cantrell) has been made aware of these complaints and the subsequent loss of pets. He is meeting with Capt. Boyett in the morning to finalize our plan of action regarding these complaints.

Our part-time Animal Control Officer (Officer Cantrell) was on medical leave from 4/13/09 until 8/18/09. During that time period, all calls in reference to dangerous animals were referred to DeKalb County Animal Control. DeKalb County does impose a $20.00 deposit to set traps. Decatur Police does not.

We are concerned about your safety and the safety of your pets and are working diligently to resolve the problem.

Also, according to a report from last night’s ONA meeting, Francis explained to residents that the city’s part-time officer actually works for the county and when he is off-duty all calls are redirected there.  Knowing the County’s response time to crimes involving humans, let alone animals, it doesn’t take much to understand why some residents are experiencing that odd feeling of dissatisfaction with law enforcement inside the Decatur city limits.

So, hopefully having our part-time officer back on duty will help resolve the current situation.  However, if folks are really that dissatisfied with animal control as this recent thread of activity leads us to believe, then it seems like the most obvious solution would be to bring the position in-house.  However that would obviously require money.

So, here’s the question posed to the community:  are you willing to pay more to employ a full-time animal control division that is on call 24 hours a day?  I’m no Andrea Arnold, but I can pretty much guarantee you it won’t be cheap.