Six weeks after the groundbreaking ceremony for a project that has already been delayed for more than a year, DeKalb County last week finally applied for a permit to build an overflow addition to its overcrowded animal shelter in Chamblee.
Animal advocates have vacillated between cheering any kind of progress, criticizing the glacial pace of what was billed as a short-term emergency measure and stressing that a more comprehensive strategy is needed to fix inhumane conditions at the overwhelmed shelter.
“I’m very happy that we’re thinking creatively of how to take care of our county’s animals, but it is not a solution,” said County Commissioner Michelle Long Spears, who is leading the commission’s efforts to address the animal shelter’s troubles.
Repeat issues prompt external audit of DeKalb County Animal Shelter
The DeKalb County Animal Services shelter was designed to hold 221 dogs but usually crams in more than double that number. Last year through October, according to the most recent data available, 670 animals were euthanized, or 9.2% of the population — just below the 10% rate at which the shelter ceases to be a “no kill” facility.