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.

CARES Clarksdale Animal Rescue Effort and Shelter is aptly named, as it is a shelter that truly cares. When asked what they are doing that is driving their success, tabi and Anita talked about three things. First, transparency about their debt, their intakes, and their problems. “They see what we see,” Gabi told us. The shelter belongs to the community, and they trust that community with the truth about the situation. The second thing they are always be kind and receptive. “People need to be heard. They need to know someone cares.” The staff responds to every request for help, every inquiry, every call. And the third thing is harnessing the power of social media. Anita posts on all the platforms with stories, requests, information, pictures, and videos. This enables them to find help not just in Clarksdale, but beyond.

In Clark County, Arkansas, they have a lot of dogs, but they also have a lot of good people who care. The sheriff and his deputies keep dog food in their cars so they can feed the strays. The Humane Society of Clark County in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, is a nonprofit shelter that has been in their current downtown location since 2005.  The worn-out building has flooded twice. They are currently full with more than 80 dogs in a space that could more comfortably house 30. HSCC is committed to not euthanizing for anything except extreme medical situations, but that creates a catch-22. They can’t bring dogs in because they are overfull, but leaving them to roam will only lead to the dogs multiplying, thus compounding the problem. It’s a familiar scenario all over the south.

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.

This tour will take us to Florida (via NC and GA) for the first time in three years. We are excited to visit the state again and connect with more shelter and rescue advocates. It’s why we travel. While social media is great and websites are informative, the only way to truly understand the situation with any shelter is to go there, meet the people, see the animals, and get a sense of the community.

Better Together Dog Rescue in western Massachusetts is led by a smart group of women who are finding a way to save lives near and far.

We covered a lot of ground on this last shelter tour. We found heartache, but we also found hope. Six states, six shelters, two community meetings, one Stronger Together event in just eight days. Two things were abundantly clear:

First, things are hard everywhere. And second, there are amazing heroes doing remarkable work all over the south.

Animal Farm Foundation is located in the Hudson Valley of New York on 400 beautiful acres. Founded in 1985, its mission has evolved over the years. Originally begun as a horse rescue, the barn now houses pitbull-type dogs (and puppies). Other buildings scattered all over the stunning New Englandy estate are filled with more dogs, and there are play yards everywhere.

Animal Friends, a nonprofit shelter in Pittsburgh, PA, helped 1361 animals find forever homes in 2024, but here are a few even more amazing numbers: They assisted 39,365 pet owners in the Pittsburgh area giving out 203,487 pounds of food, administering 21,055 vaccines, and spaying/neutering 5478 animals.

I’m still processing all that we learned in our four visits. The rescues we visited in the north are doing great work, and most were already helping southern shelters in some ways. Many people we met do not seem to understand just how bad the situation is. Transports are slowing in some areas.

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.

In June, we visited Franklin County Animal Shelter in Louisburg, North Carolina. (This is our third ‘Franklin County’ if you’re keeping score.) The shelter is in a period of transition with an interim director. Jerry Jones has lived his whole life in Franklin County. He’d been on the job for nine months. Prior to taking the shelter position, he had retired after serving as a deputy sheriff.