DeKalb County Animal Services and Enforcement has two divisions: Shelter Services and Enforcement Services.
The Shelter Services Division is managed by LifeLine Animal Project, a non-profit organization whose programs strengthen the entire animal welfare community by promoting homeless pet adoption, providing affordable spay/neuter services, increasing public awareness, and advocating for lifesaving public policy. The animal services division provides humane care for the animals at the shelter, veterinary care including spay/neuters, pet adoptions, animal reclaims, volunteers, foster homes and rescue group coordination. Since taking over management of DeKalb County Animal Services (DCAS) and Fulton County Animal Services in 2013, thousands of lives have been saved and adoptions have been increased by 300% at DCAS alone. Read more about how we’re transforming Atlanta into a no-kill community here.
The Enforcement Services Division remains county-operated under the DeKalb County Public Safety umbrella. This division enforces local and state laws regarding animals including handling complaints about animals and their care, rabies control, vicious and dangerous animals and cruelty or neglect of animals. Animal Enforcement Officers regularly participate in community outreach and public education initiatives by participating in neighborhood meetings, school events, and various county-wide events.
If you are looking to adopt a dog, cat, puppy or kitten in the Atlanta area, please visit our shelter to see our wonderful pets for adoption!
Field Services
Update to Field Services due to COVID-19
DeKalb County Animal Enforcement Services is following the recommendations of the National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA). For the safety of our officers and the public we serve, NACA is advising all officers to take extra measures to mitigate the short and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures include protecting officers to reduce risk of spreading the virus, as well as working to manage and minimize the number of new animals entering our shelter. DeKalb County Animal Enforcement Officers are continuing to respond to high priority/emergency calls and have suspended all non-emergency calls.
High priority/emergency calls include:
Law enforcement assistance
Injured or sick stray animals
Cruelty and neglect complaints
Bite complaints
Dangerous and aggressive dogs
Non-emergency calls and activities include:
Non-aggressive stray animal pick-up
Leash law and licensing complaints
Barking and nuisance complaints
Trapping and transport of community cats
Conflict mitigation scenarios
Register Your Pet
Registering your pet is a way to insure that Animal Control Officers contact you if your pet becomes lost. Additionally, your pet's license fee helps the lost pets within out care receive shelter and medical care while waiting to be reunited with their owners.
SNIP DeKalb Free Spay/Neuter Program
LifeLine Animal Project announces SNIP DeKalb (Spay Neuter Impact Program), which provides free spay/neuters to cats or medium-large breed dogs, including vaccinations, for DeKalb County pet owners in need of help!
Finding Lost Pets
If you have lost a pet in DeKalb County, please visit us as soon as possible to see if we have your pet. Due to the large number of impounded animals, we are not able to confirm if we have your pet via phone or email.
Revised Animal Ordinances
Several ordinances have been revised in order to help improve animal welfare in DeKalb County. This Public Service Announcement gives details about the major changes which took effect in 2016. You can watch a video about those changes here.
You can also read more about the current ordinances under our Field Enforcement section of our website.