Animal services seeks code changes to shorten hold times during overcrowding, add enforcement for roadside pet transfers

Steve Hammond, director of Cobb County Animal Services, told the Board the department proposed three amendments to Chapter 10.

The first updates a membership reference after the Atlanta Humane Society absorbed the Cobb County Humane Society, so the code will reflect the new organization name. The second proposal would allow Animal Services to reduce impoundment and confinement hold periods from the current five working days to three working days during board-declared states of emergency or at the director's discretion during periods of overcrowding. Hammond said shelter intake has risen dramatically; the department has taken in more than 6,800 animals year to date and is on track for more than 8,000.

The third amendment would add local ordinance provisions to mirror House Bill 331, which prohibits unregulated transfer of pets in public spaces (roadside sales and transfers). Hammond said the state law did not provide non-sworn animal-control officers with enforcement authority; the county amendment would make the state prohibition a county ordinance violation so Animal Services officers could take enforcement action locally. He said licensed shelters and properly permitted adoption events would remain allowed.

Commissioners asked whether impoundment flexibility could lead to premature returns of animals; Hammond said the change would be limited to declared emergencies or specific overcrowding declarations and that standard procedures remain in place. Commissioners also asked whether the ordinance would penalize sellers or recipients; Hammond said penalties target the person transferring or attempting to transfer the animal in public.

The Board did not take formal action during the work session; staff said the amendments will proceed through the public hearing and adoption process.