Dublin Laurens County Humane Society Takes No-Kill Seriously

At Dublin Laurens County Humane Society they take the words ‘no kill’ seriously. There is no talk of 90%. They simply don’t euthanize any animals except for extreme medical cases. The board and staff are committed to saving every animal that comes to them.

The current shelter is a grouping of small buildings and several runs of outdoor kennels. It is well worn, but does the job. The recent hurricane last November tore down their back fence, so they no longer have a play yard space, which means that the dogs do not get out of their kennels often enough.

DLHS is a nonprofit shelter and is completely dependent on donations for everything, including paying staff, keeping up the buildings, feeding the dogs, and providing medical care. They have a barebones staff, a small core of volunteers and a committed board whose members help in every possible way.

The dogs come to the shelter from their community and beyond. Many of the dogs are surrendered by people who can no longer care for them due to a loss of housing or health issues. If the shelter team can offer help that allows the family to keep their pet, they do, but too often, there is no other choice. People are afraid to take their animals to the municipal shelter, worried they will be euthanized there, and so they come to DLHS.

When they have space, DLHS will also pull dogs from other counties to save them from a euthanasia list. The shelter remains full much of the time. Last year, they adopted out 104 dogs. Currently, they are housing 54 dogs and 9 cats.

Because they are committed to not euthanizing for space, length of stay, or behavioral reasons, some of their dogs remain at the shelter for years. Recently, a woman came to the shelter and asked to adopt the dog who had been there the longest. She took home a dog who was going blind and had lived at the shelter for ten years. The staff says there were few dry eyes that day.

Kim, the director, has been at the shelter for a year and says it’s the most rewarding job she’s ever had. She walked around with us to introduce the dogs, sharing story after story and reaching into kennels to offer a reassuring scratch.

Another board member, Lisa, told us about the prison program that the shelter participates in. Currently, they have 14 dogs living at the prison. They are receiving one-on-one attention and training. Dogs who graduate from their time at the prison come back with excellent basic obedience and often special talents. They are easier to adopt out.

The shelter gets lots of support from the community and participates in holiday parades and events. One of their biggest fundraisers is putting on a local beauty pageant. A nearby restaurant donates their day-old ‘cathead biscuits’ (I had to ask too) – oversized flat biscuits which the dogs love.

Enrichment and exercise are a challenge in their current situation, so we left plenty of toys and shared ideas for other activities for the dogs. KONG, one of our sponsors, sends a box of kongs to each shelter we visit, and DLHS’s Kong box arrived while we were there! It was fun to see their surprise.

There is so much care and dedication evident in the people and the shelter at DLHS, but the work is real, and they could use help. They need long-term solutions, such as funding and a new location, but what would really make a difference, especially for dogs who linger for so long, is to build a new play yard, allowing them to get out and play again. As it is, without enough volunteers to walk all the dogs and a safe place to let them out to run, some of the dogs don’t get out of their kennels every day.

Like every shelter we visit these days DLHS is overfull and their dogs are staying in care much too long. There is a municipal shelter in the county but it functions as a dog pound, so without DLHS, the future would be pretty grim for unwanted dogs here.

We need answers beyond housing homeless dogs indefinitely. But here in Georgia, they are few and far between. The prison program is one innovative program that is making a difference, but it can only help a few dozen a year. For real change to come, this entire community, including their municipal governments, must decide they want different for their animals (and their people) and work together to find real answers. How do we make that happen? That’s a question for the ages, but one we have to keep asking.

If you’d like to support the incredible work of this amazing team, consider shopping their Amazon wishlist for the shelter or the wishlist for the prison program. You can also shop their Chewy wishlist.

Or make a donation: Venmo: @Dlchs618 or Cash app: $dlchs618

Until each one has a home,

Cara

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Who Will Let the Dogs Out: Stories and Solutions for Shelters and Rescues was published in January of 2025. It is filled with stories and ideas to help everyone be part of the solution. You can buy a hardback or paperback copy for yourself and/or buy a copy for a shelter or rescue through our website. It is also available on Amazon in paperback and ebook. We are seeking opportunities to present the ideas from the book and facilitate discussions on how we can collaborate to find solutions for our shelters. If you have a dog-hearted group that would like to connect, contact Cara@wwldo.org.

To see our Emmy-nominated, award-winning short documentary, Amber’s Halfway Home, click here.

Did you know we have a podcast? I’m working at getting regular episodes up, including the audio version of the new book, and interviews with shelter heroes we meet. Find the podcast on Spotify and other podcast services.

For more information on any of our projects, to talk about rescue in your neck of the woods, or partner with us, please email cara@WWLDO.org.

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