Hundreds of dogs find their forever homes after DeKalb shelter's urgent plea

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Workers at a DeKalb County animal shelter have good news after they asked for help from the community with an urgent need for more dog adoptions. 

In January, LifeLine Animal Project, the organization that manages the shelter, said they urgently needed adopters and fosters for at least 150 dogs by the end of the month. If more of the dogs didn't leave the facility, officials say they will have to euthanize some of the animals to make space for those in need.

The shelter was built to house around 450 dogs at full capacity, but officials say there are nearly 600 dogs currently at the shelter, leaving it operating at critical capacity for more than a year.

"This is the most dire situation that we've ever been in," said Lane Johnson, the placement manager at DeKalb County Animal Services.

(LifeLine Animal Project)

Further complicating the matter, a recent outbreak of canine flu affected all three LifeLine shelters in DeKalb and Fulton Counties.  A temporary shelter, LifeLine Midtown, has been opened to divert some dog intake from LifeLine’s primary shelters during the outbreak.

"We've been working at well over capacity for over a year," Johnson said. "That's a huge strain on our staff. That's a huge strain on the building and also on the animals. It's very difficult to live in a place with that many animals."

At the end of the month, the shelter had good news - they more than doubled the number of adoptions they needed to reach.

The shelter says 373 dogs were adopted - much more than they needed to fix the crisis at this time.

There are still more than 300 animals in the shelter, so if you want to adopt, LifeLine Animal Project is offering free adoptions all month long.