Leslie has been the director of Dekalb County-AL Animal Adoption Center in Alabama for seventeen years. She grew up here, and despite her ever-present smile, this is a hard place for someone with a heart for animals.

The municipally funded rural shelter handles over 3,000 animals annually. About 50% of those animals make it out through local rescue organizations, but some through local adoptions.

Teresa began at the shelter, its live-release rate was only 25%. Euthanizing animals was part of her job, but it broke her heart. When the Humane Officer position opened, she jumped at the chance to change the narrative. Committing not to euthanize for space means the shelter often houses dogs for months or even years. It’s a challenging situation that is all too familiar in too many places. Turning away dogs at municipal shelters seems inconsistent with the mission of animal services, yet many shelters still do so.

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.”