Elected Official Inaction Causing the Death of Our Furry Friends (but Not in Fayette)

“Fayette County Animal Control takes a proactive approach to our community safety. Stray animals can be injured, cause car accidents, chase and or bite livestock or harm humans. Many times, the animal is simply lost, and the owner can be found. If the owner is not found, they will be placed up for adoption and or marketed to rescue groups.”- TRACY THOMPSON, Animal Control Director for Fayette County

An amazing 77% of Americans own one or more pets, with 60% owning dogs and 45% cats (percentages for birds, fish, reptiles, etc. are much less). Pet owners and local/state legislators say that they care about cats and dogs…but many stick their heads in the sand when issues affecting them require their money or time.

First, let’s look at how pet owners feel about their dogs and cats, using a recent Harris survey as our base (https://theharrispoll.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/2026-The-State-of-Pets-July-2026.pdf ). Surprisingly, over half of women (56%) have given up on finding a partner and instead have decided to rely on their pet for companionship.

For seniors like me, it is odd that younger people (Gen Z / Millennials) appear to be more interested in having pets than children. They say that they are “not in the right part of my life” and that pets are easier and less costly to care for. Nearly a third prioritize their pets over financial stability.  Gen Z / Millennials also spend more on their pets than seniors, although 44% are worried about affording their pet in the coming years. 

So, the Harris poll has established the key role of pets in our lives. Therefore, the question becomes “are pet owners and elected officials putting their money where their mouth is”? The answer in many Georgia counties is a resounding “NO”, although there are exceptions- like here in Fayette County. 

Our shelter provides “assistance for lost, injured, abused, and aggressive animals”( Fayette County, GA ). The Fayette County Animal Shelter is a “no kill’ shelter, broadly defined in the industry as putting down less than 10% of the dogs and cats going into the shelter. In our county, 1610 animals entered and 1538 were adopted (96%). The animals that were put down by the shelter were euthanized due to severe terminal physical disease or mental instability causing extreme aggression. 

Volunteer opportunities at the shelter include dog walking, cat enrichment, assisting with daily tasks such as laundry (this allows the shelter to give each animal a soft place to sleep) and other cleaning duties. 

If you would like to volunteer, you simply fill out an application and are then scheduled for an orientation. For more information either go to their web-site above or contact them at 770-631-7210.

However, only 84 of the 162 shelters in Georgia are classified as “no kill”. Many other county governments do not seem to care that they are euthanizing more than 10% of the dogs and cats entering. They view animal control facilities as prisons for unwanted animals…which is why we had nearly 20,000 dogs and cats euthanized in Georgia last year. I know from personal experience, having been a County Commissioner in a rural Georgia county for 8 years.

Before moving to Peachtree City a decade ago, I lived on a lake in Jasper County where I was Chair of the County Commission. I could see Butts County, the home of Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (and Rep. Mike Collins), from my back door. 

The Butts County Animal Control reported taking in 540 animals last year (https://bestfriends.org/no-kill/animal-shelter-statistics/georgia ). But only 335 were adopted; the rest were killed. Why? County animal control agencies (shelters) are funded by County Commissions. Does the Butts County Commission care that 38% of the dogs and cats going into their shelter are killed? Obviously, they do not.

State funding for shelters is very limited, with small competitive grants going out for sterilization purposes only, not daily operations. Jones is from this very small county and must be aware of the situation.  Why hasn’t Lt. Gov. Jones advocated for state legislation to provide additional state funding for these shelter’s daily operations? 

Many of the best shelters in Georgia are privately run and funded via donations ( for example, Frukids in Cumming which is 100% funded form donations). Burt Jones is worth over $12 million and spent over $10 million on his failed campaign for Governor. So why hasn’t he donated private funds to the Butts County shelter to enable them to become no kill? 

In Georgia, only 52% of our 162 shelters are “no-kill”. This situation will not change unless Georgia voters place pressure on their state and local elected officials.