Clayton County Animal Control eliminates 'urgent list'

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. - Clayton County animal control officials have decided to eliminate the "urgent list" they previously provided at the request of rescues attempting to remove animals from their facility.

According to Capt. Jodi Turnipseed, the decision was made due to citizen complaints about the list and staffing challenges.

"With our staffing numbers being short the way that we are right now, we don’t have the time to facilitate that," said Capt. Turnipseed.

Clayton County Animal Control is understaffed by almost 50%, and its two locations are over capacity with 118 animals.

"Our ACO’s are pulling in anywhere from six to 20 dogs a day," the captain said.

Their objective is to concentrate on all animals needing homes, not just the 20 featured each week.

"What we’ve done is basically said okay we’re going to do videos on all animals that come in and rescue gets to pick and choose through the videos," Capt. Turnipseed said.

However, Partners for Pets Founder Mariah Dorough is concerned that eliminating the list will make it more difficult for her organization and others to aid in the transfer of these animals to other shelters.

"We have no way of knowing what dogs are urgent, their temperaments, who are we supposed to share with people, how are we supposed to try and find a rescue for a dog when they ask well can you give us any information," said Dorough.

Dorough fears that fewer exposures could result in more euthanasia.

"They have a very hard time getting dogs adopted here because they don’t allow volunteers, they don’t have foster program here, and they don’t have adoption events," said Dorough.

Dorough is in contact with Police Chief Kevin Roberts regarding the possibility of transferring additional staff from the police department, and she hopes that Clayton County Animal Control will reconsider their decision to remove the list or recruit more personnel.

According to Turnipseed, all animals are visible online.