Weaving a Grassroots Safety Net for Homeless Animals

Reader Contribution by Staff
Published on December 21, 2011
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The term “homeless pets” brings to mind ragged kittens and soulful puppies huddled against the cold, but in rural counties it’s just as likely to mean packs of large dogs roaming the countryside terrorizing residents, killing livestock, and attacking pets. It also means picturesque country roads blighted with the bodies of companion animals — victims of gunshots, traffic, disease and starvation. It means that families enjoying a swim in a creek may stumble upon entire litters that were thrown off the nearest bridge. It means the staff at the county dump dreads Mondays, wondering how many bags squirming with life were tossed over the fence during the weekend. It means any resident can wake up to find one or more animals have been dumped at the end of their driveway. In Pike County, GA, it means all of that and more.

In 2007, Mrs. Deloros Smith was attacked on three occasions by roaming dogs inside her own gated and fenced yard. Her neighbor Don Bailey recalls the incidents leading up to her death. 

“She had called the sheriff’s office after the initial attack, only to be told that deputies could do nothing unless they actually witnessed the attack. On the second attack, the sheriff’s deputy maced a dog that was acting aggressive, and the dog retreated. Upon the third attack, a deputy wounded the dog, and it was captured several days later. Mrs. Smith was hospitalized after the third attack and died from her injuries.”

Despite the outrage following her death, deputies were acting according to the law in a county without animal control ordinances. Even if they had picked up the dogs when she reported the first attack, there was nowhere to house them because Pike doesn’t have a county shelter for lost or homeless pets. Neighboring counties with their own tax-supported shelters will not take Pike County animals. 

After the initial uproar, her death faded into old news. Except for Don Bailey.Don founded Friends of Pike County Animals in her memory to work toward animal control and a shelter in Pike County. He became a familiar face at public events — handing out fliers, setting up a booth displaying newspaper clippings telling her tragic story. Passersby could put money in his donation jars dedicated to building a shelter someday. The sheriff’s office gladly shared with him their mounting statistics about aggressive animal reports. The Pike County Journal Reporter covered abandoned pet stories and dog attacks on the front page.

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