Animal Services in Calhoun County

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Impoundment Facilities or Shelters in Calhoun County

Calhoun County Animal Control Center has been operated by Calhoun County Commission since March 2019. The animal control facility serves the unincorporated area of the county and some cities which contribute financial support.

On July 24, 2025, Calhoun County Commission announced plans to acquire the 38-acre OneWorld Pet Resort for $2 million to utilize as a new animal shelter. On Aug. 15, the Commission granted permission for the chairman to move forward in the purchasing process. In late November, ABC3340 reported that the county would take over animal care at OneWorld starting Dec. 1, 2025.

• Stray Hold is 7 days.
• Spay/Neuter is sometimes performed prior to adoption; for other animals an appointment is scheduled at the time of adoption and the adopter is contractually responsible for transporting their new family member to the veterinarian used by the shelter.
• Animal Census Reports are prepared monthly and may be requested from the Commission.

From 2013 through February 2019, Calhoun County’s impoundment facility was operated by Cheaha Regional Humane Society, per reports by TV24 and CBS42. Hillary Simon reported for CBS42 on Jan. 25, 2019 that Calhoun County provided the nonprofit with $200,000 per year in funding, but ended the contract because the humane society was “not taking care of the stray dog problem.”

Jane Cunningham, director of Cheaha Regional Humane Society, told Simon that prior to Cheaha’s contract, “Calhoun County killed over 8,000 animals per year and there were just as many strays when we took over as there was when they started.” Since Calhoun County had no animal control officer at the time, it is unclear why the Commission blamed Cheaha. Cunningham and other advocates expressed concern that the county would resume killing animals, “but the county says that’s not true,” Simon reported. “We’re not going to do that,” Calhoun County Commissioner Eli Henderson told Simon on camera; “We don’t want to put a dog down.”

Upon resuming control of the impoundment facility in 2019, the county installed Christopher Westmoreland as director. Westmoreland had most recently served as assistant director of Cullman County Animal Control and had previously had been a sergeant at Cullman County Sheriff’s Office and an officer at Hanceville Police Department, per the Cullman Daily. Westmoreland and two of his employees resigned in 2022 upon their arrests for felony animal cruelty, as described below.

According to their website, Calhoun County Humane Society is a 501c3 nonprofit animal shelter. Jacksonville Animal Control brings animals to this shelter.

Former Animal Control Director Convicted of Felony Cruelty

Christopher Westmoreland, director of Calhoun County Animal Control from February 2019 until his June 2022 resignation, was arrested in July 2022 and convicted on Apr. 17, 2026 on of all charges:

• Aggravated animal cruelty, a Class C felony
• Unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class D felony
• Forgery in the fourth degree, a Class A misdemeanor
• Unlawfully administering a rabies vaccination, a Class C misdemeanor

Calhoun County Animal Control staff members Alicia Woods and James (Jamie) Thompson were also arrested in July 2022 on aggravated animal cruelty and aiding/obstructing rabies, WBRC amd Calhoun Journal reported. The aggravated animal cruelty charges were for the killing of unanesthetized (alert) animals by intracardiac injection, also known as “heartstick,” which is felony animal cruelty in Alabama.

Redemption author Nathan Winograd described intracardiac heartstick:

[Intracardiac heartstick] involves plunging a syringe through the chest wall and several layers of muscle into a dog’s heart. An animal killed by a heartstick feels extreme, severe pain (due to the amount of nerves) and then suffers a heart attack. To get to the heart, the needle would have to penetrate the skin, body wall with costal musculature, costal pleura, pleural cavity, pericardial pleura, fibrous pericardium, serous pericardium, pericardial cavity, epicardium, myocardium, endocardium, ventricular chamber, and if the lung is penetrated, the needle must pass through the pulmonary pleura and lung tissue itself. It is so painful that Georgia law only allows it to be done when the dog is unconscious. (GA Code § 4-11-5.1(a)(3).)

The same is true in Alabama: Intracardiac injections may be utilized in Alabama only when the animal is unconscious, per Rule 930-X-1-.35(11)(d)(3) of the Alabama Veterinary Medicine Code.

Tina Absher, who was familiar with Calhoun County Animal Control staff through her nonprofit Rottie Empire Rescue which operated out of Anniston at the time, brought the cruelty to light in June 2022. Tina carefully gathered evidence, including information shared by Alicia Woods, who had participated in the killings despite not even having been certified to administer euthanasia. Woods described her experience in writing at Absher’s urging and the two planned to bring the information to the Commission, Absher said, but then Woods backed out when Westmoreland promoted her.

Absher then sent certified letters to each Calhoun County commissioner, the county attorney, the county administrator, the Alabama State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (ASBVME), and the president of the Alabama Animal Control Association “so they couldn't sweep it under the rug,” Absher said. Absher acknowledged the Commission for their swift action. The certified letters were delivered on June 22, 2022. Westmoreland resigned the next day; Woods resigned upon returning from vacation on June 27, 2022. Westmoreland, Woods, and Thompson were arrested in July 2022 following an investigation initiated by Assistant District Attorney Alan Dees with “a joint task force through the 7th District Major Crimes Unit,” Jim Evancho reported in the Calhoun Journal.

Westmoreland’s trial began on April 13, 2026. After four days of jury selection and testimony, former Calhoun County Animal Control Director Christopher Westmoreland was convicted of all counts. Alicia Woods testified that she had witnessed over 200 heart stick killings of alert animals, Evancho wrote. Jane Cunningham, who had directed the facility while it was operated by Cheaha Regional Humane Society, spoke of testimony that witnesses “never saw [Westmoreland] use a vein, they never saw a vet there, they only saw the heartsticks.” A witness also described Westmoreland ordering that kittens be killed out of his anger that they had played in their litterbox, scattering litter after their housing had been cleaned. The kittens had no medical issues and had already been committed to a rescue organization.

Following the verdict, Judge Weems revoked Westmoreland’s bond and he was taken into custody, Cunningham stated. Sentencing is scheduled for May 8. The aggravated animal cruelty charge carries a fine up to $15,000 and prison term between 1 and 10 years.

Dr. Roy Morring of Animal Medical Hospital in Hanceville, the Cullman County veterinarian who allegedly supplied vials of regulated substances to Westmoreland, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, Ashley Morrison reported in the Anniston Star. It is unclear whether Morring has been or will be investigated by the ABSVME or any other entity. “To my knowledge nothing has been filed YET against Dr. Morring,” Jane Cunningham stated. “He took the fifth on a lot of the questions, especially on the control substance issue. His testimony on the items that he didn’t take the fifth WAS in my opinion very damaging to him. He was a hostile witness toward the District Attorney.”

Calhoun County Animal Control staff members Alicia Woods and Jamie Thompson await trial, according to Jane Cunningham.

All the more harrowing is that this was not the first time that Calhoun County Animal Control Center killed alert animals via heart stick. In 2011, Millie Harris addressed the Calhoun County Commission with witness testimony of the use of heartstick without sedation, dogs being bagged alive after botched heartsticks and chewing their way through garbage bags, pets being beaten to death, an extremely high kill rate, and other violations at the Calhoun County Animal Shelter while it was operated by the Commission under director William (Billy) Chatman, years prior to the involvement of Cheaha Regional Humane Society and then Christopher Westmoreland. “Our tax dollars are funding this horror,” Harris said. Harris’ powerful address can be viewed in this recording of the 2011 Calhoun County Commission meeting.

“The County does not tolerate animal cruelty in any situation," Calhoun County Commissioner Eli Henderson said, as reported by ABC40. In a later call with Shirley Marsh of Yes Biscuit, Henderson dismissed two of the individuals making allegations as “disgruntled former employees,” adding that “none of the stories have turned out to tbe true.”

Harris accompanied three eye-witnesses to the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office to file complaints, she wrote in a Dec. 13, 2011 comment posted to Yes Biscuit’s coverage, and planned to accompany four more witnesses later that week. “It is somewhat disturbing that the sheriff’s department falls under the umbrella of the Calhoun County Commission, but the investigator seemed thorough and sincere,” Harris wrote. However, those “who engaged in the horror that time around,” Harris wrote, “were never brought to justice.”

When Calhoun County Commission ended their contract with Cheaha Regional Humane Society in 2019, Cheaha director Jane Cunningham and other advocates feared that the county would resume killing large numbers of animals. Commissioner Eli Henderson again offered assurances: “We’re not going to do that,” Henderson told CBS42 reporter Hillary Simon on camera; “We don’t want to put a dog down.” Not only did Calhoun County Commission’s employees resume killing animals, they did it with a needle straight to the heart while the animal was still conscious. To revisit Harris’ 2011 outrage, “Our tax dollars are funding this horror," indeed.

Thank you to Tina Absher for sharing information about coming forward with evidence and to Sandra S Nathan for providing the Yes Biscuit link.

Animal Control in Calhoun County

Animal Control in Unincorporated Areas of Calhoun County: Calhoun County Animal Control is part of Calhoun County Commission and employs two ACOs, including AC Director Naomi Richards. For assistance, call 256-241-2929.

Animal law enforcement is in collaboration with local deputies and police officers. In Jan. 2026, the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office offered a textbook example of how to address abandonment, which is criminal animal cruelty in Alabama, when a man who abandoned his seven dogs inside and outside of the home upon his eviction. He was charged with seven counts of cruelty and held on a $21,000 bond.

Animal Control Within Corporate Limits & Police Jurisdiction:

• Animal control in Anniston is coordinated by the Police Department. Call 256-238-1800.
• For assistance in Glencoe, call ACO Stanley Trimm at the Police Department at 256-492-1425 x4.
• Jacksonville ACO Karon Johnston can be reached through City Hall at 256-435-7611. Retrieved animals are taken to Calhoun County Humane Society and are posted on Facebook.
• In Hobson City or Ohatchee, contact Calhoun County Animal Control.
• Animal control in Oxford appears to be the responsibility of the Police Department. Call 256-831-3121.
• In Piedmont, call ACO Christian Crider at 256-447-3586 or 256-452-5225.
• Southside’s ACO is Victoria Cranford. Victoria is a civilian ACO who works in the Police Department. For assistance, call 256-442-9775 x129. Impounded animals are brought to Rainbow City Animal Shelter and posted on Facebook.
• Weaver coordinates animal control through the Police Department. Call 256-820-0530.

If your ACO is unable to help or if your area has no animal services, see this guidance.

Dog Confinement Requirements in Calhoun County

County Adoption of Alabama’s Dog Confinement Statute: Dog confinement is required in Calhoun County because the Calhoun County Commission adopted Alabama Code § 3-1-5, which requires that dogs be confined to the owner’s premises or kept in the charge of a responsible person if off-premises.

Calhoun County adopted Alabama Code § 3-1-5 in 1984 via Resolution.

Dog Confinement Requirements Within Corporate Limits & Police Jurisdiction:

• Dog confinement is required by ordinance in Anniston (§ 4.36), Glencoe (§ 6-96), Jacksonville (§ 5-59), Oxford (§ 6-70), Piedmont (§ 4-19), Southside (§ 6-55), Weaver (§ 8-28).
• We have requested information from Hobson City; requirements will be added here if received. (It is likely that confinement is required, whether by statute and/or ordinance.)
• We do not know requirements in Ohatchee. The town required a $20 payment to view or receive the ordinance, an unreasonable fee which we did not pay.

How to Report: See How to Report an At-Large Violation.

Low-Cost Spay & Neuter in Calhoun County

• Calhoun County Snip-It Ticket offers reduced-price vouchers to all Calhoun County residents (unincorporated and municipal) for surgery at Alabama Spay Neuter.
• Alabama Spay Neuter, a non-profit clinic specializing in sterilization, offers everyday low prices, aid programs, and pet transportation from Calhoun County and Etowah County.
• If Pell City is convenient to you, the ASPCI Spay/Neuter Assistance Program offers discounted sterilization to anyone with a household income below $49,000/year. See details at Low-Cost Spay & Neuter in St. Clair County.
• See Low-Cost Spay/Neuter in Alabama for additional resources.

Also, the nonprofit Animal Advocates for Calhoun County assists pet owners with free microchipping events, food and vet assistance, and sturdy, weather-resident dog houses.

Access to Information & Public Records in Calhoun County

Commission: In violation of Alabama’s Open Records Act, Calhoun County Commission did not fulfill a public records request for the county's Ala. Code § 3-1-5 adoption resolution. There was no response to the Mar. 29, 2025 request within the Open Records Act’s 10-business day acknowledgement window. Upon an Apr. 15 follow-up, Christi Ford, administrative secretary, had me send the request directly to her and confirmed receipt. On Apr. 29, Christi stated that requests are forwarded to the county attorney.

County Attorney’s Office, 256-241-2937: On Apr. 29, Heather Turner, legal administrative assistant, said the Commission had in Nov. 2024 adopted a new in-person policy, citing “cybersecurity risk.” I spoke this policy violating the Act for the reasons stated at Open Records Access. Heather then asked me to provide her that same information in writing so that she could check with the county attorney the next day; Heather did not call nor was there any response during two weeks of follow-up via email and voicemail.

Sheriff’s Office: I contacted the Sheriff’s Office (256-236-6600) upon finding a 2016 Calhoun County SO Facebook post [jpg] stating that the statute had been adopted in the mid-’80s. On May 9, 2025, I spoke with Lt. Doggrell (256-241-8055). He recalled “the flier that we put out since we get such a large number of complaints about dogs,” thinking it may mention § 3-1-5; the code reference was actually to the county responsibility to provide a pound and AC in § 3-7a-7. Then he turned to the SO SO for a resolution about implementation of § 3-1-5, but it did not include a year or details. After continued research, Lt. Doggrell provided the Resolution on May 13.

Municipalities:

• Karin Cooper, Ohatchee town clerk, emailed the town’s records request form immediately after our phone call; when I returned the form, she wrote that there would be a $20 fee for her to email, to mail, or even to get out the binder of ordinances for in-person viewing. Mayor Steven E. Baswell said the fee was justified because the the ordinance would have to be scanned. I offered to scan it for them for free and provide a digital file if they could mail me a paper copy. He chuckled and said that I could come in to view the ordinance for free; he was not aware that the town clerk was charging $20 for that also and replied “If that's what she said, we’ll stick to it.” A Police Department representative said that the PD enforces the state law which he said the town had adopted via ordinance.
• In Piedmont, Ben Singleton of the building and zoning department emailed Piedmont’s ordinance just 25 minutes after I emailed an informal request.
• I emailed Hobson City at Hobsoncityclerk@bellsouth.net on Jan. 9, 2026 to confirm that AC is indeed provided by the county and to ask whether the city requires confinement by ordinance. I called on Jan. 13 to follow up; there was no answer and no voicemail option.

Calhoun County Documents

• Calhoun County Resolution to Adopt Alabama Code § 3-1-5 (1984)
• Calhoun County Commission Public Records Request Form: None or not available. Prepare according to the Open Records Act template or fill out in person. If your request is denied on the basis of a Calhoun County Commission in-person requirement, see this information.

Sources

• Naomi Richards, Director, Calhoun County Animal Control, spoke with Aubrie Kavanaugh about animal control and the county AC facility on May 2, 2025.
• Lt. Josh Doggrell, Calhoun County Sheriff's Office, provided Calhoun County Resolution to Adopt Alabama Code § 3-1-5 to Kristin Yarbrough on May 13, 2025.
• Tina Absher shared information with Kristin Yarbrough in April 2026 about her experience with Calhoun County Animal Control through which felony animal cruelty charges were brought against three employees, as described above.
• See also municipal contacts, listed above.

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