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.

Every shelter tour is a little bit different. I am always inspired by the people we meet and while we can’t pull dogs, I do carry many of them home in my heart. I’m still thinking about the Rottie mix at Tift County Shelter who leaned into his kennel fence begging for my touch, and the super-smart border collie mix we met at Lucky Dog Rescue Ranch, who is my dream dog (although my current pack does not have any openings).

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.”