The dogs at Lucky Dog Rescue Ranch, Inc. are indeed just that – lucky. Julie is the director, kennel attendant, intake coordinator, rescue coordinator, vet tech, fundraiser, and pretty much every other position necessary for rescuing 300 dogs each year.

In Georgia, many counties have no animal shelters or animal services. The shelter in Soperton, is a relatively new shelter. It’s simple, no-frills, basically outdoor kennels, but thanks to the efforts of ACOs Michelle, Antwon, and Brandon, it is a true shelter and the dogs who land there are well cared for. Despite the day of our visit being a Sunday, all three made time for us and met us at the shelter.

Driving into the boarding kennel where Diamonds In The Ruff - South GA keeps most of its dogs, it reminded me of a war zone. A hurricane this past November had destroyed the pine forest covering the expansive property. The job of cleaning it up and replanting could take years.

Ten years ago, Candice followed her daughter to the Tift County Animal Control Shelter, in southern Georgia, for a summer project photographing dogs to help them get adopted. She had no idea what she’d unleashed.

At Dublin Laurens County Humane Society they take the words ‘no kill’ seriously. There is no talk of 90%. They simply don’t euthanize any animals except for extreme medical cases. The board and staff are committed to saving every animal that comes to them.

It was like walking through a river of dogs. Every now and again, Heather would scold a dog. Her ability to have ‘eyes in the back of her head’ was truly remarkable. It was even more remarkable that she knew all their names (and that the dogs knew their own names also and seemed to understand what she said to them). Heather called it a perpetual dog park, but it was much better than most of the dog parks I've been to.

On our March tour, when we realized we had a free afternoon and were going right through Nashville, Georgia, we just had to stop to check in on Kayla, the ACO/director/everything else at the City of Nashville GA Animal Shelter. We were last here in 2023 when Kayla had been on the job just a few months.

Lanier County Animal Control & Shelter was started in 2022. Prior to that, there were no real animal services in the county. Jessica took the job at the shelter when it opened and has been the ACO/director/kennel tech and sole employee. I asked, “When do you have a day off?” and she asked, “What’s a day off?” When she had the flu, she still dragged herself to the shelter. “The dogs had to eat.”