‘Cannot solve it quickly.’ With shelter full, Macon tries to reduce number of stray dogs

The Macon-Bibb County Animal Services shelter has reached capacity, but there are still reports of stray dog packs in Macon.

Strays in Macon have been an issue for at least a decade, according to Sonja Adams, the animal services enforcement manager. But the shelter was rarely full until recently. The county shelter receives about 1,500 calls for service per month, which often include animal neglect, strays and safety. But it is “impossible” to save all strays, Adams said. It’s unclear how many strays are in Macon.

“It will take several years to get that stray population down,” Adams said. “You just cannot solve it quickly.”

Adams said every call is taken seriously, but public safety and animal welfare has to be prioritized, Adams said. Dog attacks on humans take priority over attacks on other animals, for example.

A juvenile was reportedly bitten Monday near the intersection of Cherry and Brentwood avenues, Adams said. Her team brought the mother and four puppies to the shelter Monday afternoon.

Would a bigger shelter in Macon help?

The team only responds to reported cases, rather than patrolling in search of strays.

“I wish that we could patrol and be proactive instead of reactive,” Adams said. “That is the goal to get to a point where we can patrol and not just be on the run from emergency to emergency.”

The facility usually houses around 80 dogs and 40 cats, according to animal services Capt. Sean DeFoe. A larger shelter or increase in staff wouldn’t make much of a difference in cutting down the strays, he said.

Animal services now has five officers and three people in training. Last year they only had one officer, DeFoe said.

“It’s a partnership between the community and animal services,” DeFoe said. “It’s more than just taking dogs off the street. It’s a public safety issue.”

Why does Macon have so many strays?

Adams said poverty, unlicensed breeding, and unspayed or unneutered dogs contribute to Macon’s stray dog population.

Most people in Macon do not have a license required to breed.

“I haven’t issued (a breeding license) in 10 years,” Adams said. “Nobody ever qualifies.”

The Georgia Department of Agriculture requires dog breeders to have a license if they birth more than one litter per year. However, Macon requires a breeding license no matter how many litters.

The county also requires most dogs to be spayed or neutered, with some exceptions.

A pet is legally one’s responsibility “once you intentionally take custody of an animal by harboring it, feeding it, taking care of it,” Adams said.

Once a person takes custody of a dog and they don’t have a breeding license, it is their responsibility to ensure they don’t impregnate another dog – even if they say it was an accident.

“People chain up their females in the backyard, and they’re like ‘Well, I got a fence,’” Adams said. “Just because your dog is chained up in your fenced yard and you’re like, ‘I don’t know how she got pregnant.’ Okay, well I do.”

Male dogs can smell a female in heat from over 2 miles away, she said.

“If we see a (dog) pack pop up that we haven’t known about before, it’s generally because there’s a loose female in heat and attracting all the boys to the yard,” Adams said.

She said adoptions are slow and most rescues nationwide are full. Stray pets in Macon are most common during spring and into the fall, according to Adams.

Nearly 200 million stray dogs and even more stray cats are “part of the daily reality on the streets” nationwide, according to a World Health Organization report in 2023.

The last resort

Pets are usually housed at the Macon shelter for 28 days before they are euthanized. The shelter has about seven days to find a pet’s owner before it’s made available for adoption.

During that time, the shelter calls pet rescues, adoption and foster facilities across the country, and posts the pets on social media, in hopes they’ll find homes before the deadline.

While animal services can’t take every stray pet off the streets and into their facility, Adams encouraged people to report all stray animals anyway. Each report could assist another case.

“The other day I was here until 10:30 at night calling people back about their cases,” Adams said while tearing up. “I wish it was as easy as just grabbing dogs and putting them in a home.”

All adoption fees at the shelter are waived until the end of September, which typically costs $100 for dogs and $75 for cats. This includes a spay or neuter, vaccinations and microchip.

This story was originally published August 28, 2024 at 5:00 AM.