Animal Services in St. Clair County

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Impoundment Facilities or Shelters in St. Clair County

Pell City Animal Care & Control, is the impoundment facility for all of St. Clair County, according to Wendy. Operation is contracted to Greater Birmingham Humane Society (GBHS). GBHS took control on Apr. 1, 2025, as reported by Pell City and WBRC. St. Clair County Commission contributes to the facility budget, according to Nikki Major.

Prior to the GBHS contract, the facility was called Pell City Animal Control Center and was operated directly by Pell City.

Animal Control in St. Clair County

Animal Control in Unincorporated Areas of St. Clair County: St. Clair County has one ACO, according to Nikki Major. ACO Josh is employed by St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office and covers all of the unincorporated area of the county and some municipalities, according to Operator 12. Call 205-884-3333 for non-emergency, or 911 in an emergency.

On Sept. 21, 2025, Autumn Kelly shared this message from GBHS’s Allison Black Cornelius:

If you’ve had an issue with stray intake or animal control response, please email allisonc@gbhs.org ssalvago@gbhs.org or isullivan@gbhs.org with date/time, location (zip/street), animal description, what you asked for, and any communication you received. Anonymous is OK; details let us fix problems.

Animal Control Within Corporate Limits & Police Jurisdiction:

• Animal control in Argo, Ashville, Margaret, Odenville, and Steele is handled by the St. Clair County ACO (see above). For neglect or abuse concerns, residents can also contact the local police department. The arrangement is likely the same in Riverside and Vincent.
• Moody: An ACO is employed by the Moody Police Department.
• Pell City: See Animal Control Services. Pell City has one ACO.
• Springville: In municipal Springville, animal control is handled by the Public Works Department, 205-467-2704. Impounded dogs are brought to Pell City. Reports of cruelty or neglect are also handled by the Public Works Department, with the collaboration of Springville Police Department for more complex or severe issues. Report to 205-467-2704.
• Leeds and Trussville: See Animal Services in Jefferson County.

Dog Confinement Requirements in St. Clair County

County Adoption of Alabama’s Dog Confinement Statute: St. Clair County officials stated that they enforce Alabama Code § 3-1-5 and believed it to be applicable, but had no record of statute adoption and expressed misconceptions over statute applicability, as detailed below.

Our Recommendation for those in the unincorporated area or in a municipality with unclear statutory authority is to proceed as if the statute or an ordinance is applicable, by keeping their own dogs confined or in their charge and by reporting owners who allow their dog to run loose, for the safety of people and animals alike.

Dog Confinement Requirements Within Corporate Limits & Police Jurisdiction:

• Dog confinement is required by ordinance in Argo (2019-03-25), Margaret (05-719), Moody (§ 6-1, § 6-11), and Pell City (§ 4-30).
• For requirements in Leeds or Trussville, see Animal Services in Jefferson County.
• In other municipalities, see our recommendation above. This includes Ashville, Odenville, Ragland, Riverside, Springville (report to 205-467-2704), and Vincent. A Steele official said the city has no dog confinement ordinance; residents can still follow the recommendation to test whether the statute will be enforced.

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

Low-Cost Spay & Neuter in St. Clair County

Additional Options: See Low-Cost Spay/Neuter in Alabama, Jefferson County and Blount County.

Cat TNR & Fostering: Animal Shelter Veterinarians (ASV), also referred to as GBHS Spay/Neuter & Critical Care Clinic, provides free sterilization of community cats. Call 205-898-7812 or 205-982-6801. The clinic is located at 5220 Princeton Way in Hoover. The 501c3 nonprofit Country Cattery assists with TNR (trap, neuter, return), vet care, foster programs, and adoption of feral and friendly community cats in Jefferson, Chilton, Shelby, and St. Clair counties. TNR ensures the health and stability of the colony by trapping the cats so they can be sterilized, ear-tipped (for identification), vaccinated, and have any health needs attended to prior to returning to their home. If you have noticed a cat colony in your area, contact the Country Cattery via email or through Facebook right away.

Access to Information & Public Records in St. Clair County

St. Clair County Commission officials attempted to provide information regarding whether the county had adopted Alabama Code § 3-1-5, but expressed confusion, had no practical way of searching county records, and ultimately did not address their misconception about the statute’s applicability:

• On my first inquiry, in May 2024, Kendra Burnett, who also consulted with AC (Josh), said the county adopted in 1975.
• On Apr. 11, 2025, I submitted a public records request for record of § 3-1-5 adoption. On two Apr. 28 followup attempts, no one answered at the Commission and there was no vm option. On Apr. 29, Trisha at the Commission transferred me to Corey Phillips, asst. deputy administrator; I left a vm.
• On Apr. 30, Susie Washburn did not know anything about the statute or why Kendra said it was adopted in 1975. We speculated that it may have been a misunderstanding since state laws are often listed as Code of Alabama 1975. If the Commission did adopt in 1975, the “records are upstairs in our attic and they are paper,” Susie said, and would require days of searching. Susie said loose dogs are a big problem and we talked about how the law is usually enforced and the option available to the Commission to simply adopt now to formalize, whether or not the statute was adopted previously. She said she would look around and call me back; I did not hear back.
• The last word from the Commission arrived in an unsigned May 13, 2025 email from info@stclairco.com in reply to my Apr. 11, 2025 request for record of § 3-1-5 adoption. The email expressed a common misconception: “The county never adopted this because it is a State law and we must enforce State law we have no need to adopt it.” In my reply, I cited the second paragraph of the statute and my contact info, should the County wish to clarify the situation; I did not hear back.

Pell City Animal Control Center: In multiple calls in 2024–2025, I could not reach anyone at PCACC. On Sept. 22, 2025, Wendy answered right away, as documented below.

St. Clair County Documents

• Commission Public Records Request Form & Policy
• Pell City Public Records Request Form, also accessible from the Pell City website: click Government, then City Clerk, then Public Records. Requests may be emailed to receptionist@cityofpellcity.net, per Janet.

Sources

Greater Birmingham Humane Society (GBHS) (contracted operator of Pell City Animal Control Center) and the Country Cattery:

• Wendy, GBHS, 205-814-1567 x1, confirmed that PCACC is the impoundment facility for all of St. Clair County, that the animalcenter@cityofpellcity.net email address (which is listed on the Pell City website) is no longer operational, and that it is no longer possible to email PCACC directly (inquiries must go through GBHS corporate). We spoke Sept. 22, 2025.
• Stephanie Salvago, GBHS Director of Development & Marketing, 205-937-3042, SSalvago@gbhs.org.
• Rachel Cochran, VP of the Country Cattery, messaged with Kristin Yarbrough on Apr. 22, 2026.

St. Clair County Commission: 205-594-2100, info@stclaircounty.com.

• Nikki Major, AP/AR accounting. We spoke on Apr. 29, 2025.
• Kendra Burnett. We spoke in May 2024 regarding the dog confinement statute.
• Susie Washburn, deputy administrator, x7.

Municipalities:

• Argo: 205-352-2120. Amanda provided AC info on Oct. 6, 2025.
• Ashville: 205-594-4151 x4. Chrystal St. John, city clerk, provided AC info on Oct. 6, 2025. Chrystal said that dog confinement is required by state law; I advised that St. Clair County Commission had no record of adopting the state dog confinement law, so the council may wish to adopt their own ordinance.
• Margaret: An archive of ordinances is posted on the city website in the form of large PDFs. I found a previous dog control ordinance in Ordinance Book 1 pp. 156-158; it was repealed in 2005 and replaced with Ordinance 05-719 in Ordinance Book 3, pp. 164–166, which was repealed in 2007 and replaced with the most recent dog ordinance I found on the city website, Ordinance 06-113, Ordinance Book 4, pp. 23–26.
• Margaret Police Department: 205-529-2249. I spoke with Chief Anthony Fields about animal control and the dog confinement ordinance on Oct. 6, 2026.
• Odenville: On Oct. 6, 2025, Karen that she was not aware of any animal control ordinance and that she believed dog confinement was required by statute. We spoke about St. Clair County’s lack of any record of adoption. The Animal Control page also states that dog confinement is required without citing a statutory authority.
• Odenville Police Department: I spoke with Operator 12 on Sept. 23, 2025.
• Pell City Animal Control: On Sept. 22, 2025, I spoke with ACO Tara Hazelwood, 205-884-3334, thazelwood@cityofpellcity.net. I also emailed Tara a link to this page for any corrections, additions, etc.
• Pell City: 205-338-2244. Janet provided the email address for public records requests on Sept. 22, 2025. Nikki Major, St. Clair County Commission, said that the city has one ACO.
• Springville: Animal control and confinement law information is from Katherine Colley, clerk, City of Springville Public Works, 205-467-2704. Katherine said the city mails a notice of a dog confinement complaint, which usually resolves the issue. We spoke on Aug. 25, 2025, and on Sept. 22, 2025, I emailed Katherine a link to this page for any corrections, additions, etc.
• Steele: 256-538-8145. Donna and I spoke about animal control on Oct. 6, 2025. She said that dog confinement is not required by ordinance.

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