Animal Services in St. Clair County

We welcome your updates, additions, corrections, or comments: please email us. Information can be credited to you or kept anonymous, as you prefer.

Animal Control in St. Clair Co.

Alabama requires local governments to pick up and impound loose dogs. Animal Control Officers (ACOs) also respond to reports related to dogs and cats.

Although ACOs may investigate cruelty or address municipal code violations, most Alabama ACOs are civilians who do not have law enforcement authority. The sheriff’s office and local PDs are responsible for the enforcement of cruelty laws.

Shelby Co. Animal Services At-a-Glance

Report animal concerns according to the location, as noted below. For more information about animal control and enforcement of animal laws, or if your concern is not being addressed, see this guidance.

Leeds or Trussville: See Jefferson Co.
[Add’l Notes: County population figure includes municipalities. Argo is partly in Jeffco. Vincent is partly in Shelby and Talladega counties.]

Is Dog Confinement Required in St. Clair Co.?

The applicable law is indicated in the right column of the table above. See Dog Confinement Laws for details.

• Tags required everywhere. All dogs in Alabama must wear a current rabies tag, per § 3-7A.
• Dog confinement is required when § 3-1-5 and/or a municipal ordinance prohibits running-at-large (RAL).

How to get help:

• Report a loose dog or a RAL violation by following the reporting instructions provided in the table above.
• If you choose to assist a lost, stray, or abandoned pet, be aware of your rights and responsibilities.
• If your pet is lost, see these tips.
• Ask your Commission or Council to require dog confinement.

Has St. Clair Co. Commission Adopted Alabama Code § 3-1-5? Our research of whether Alabama’s dog confinement statute is applicable in St. Clair Co. found confusion — and no indication that the confinement statute is applicable in St. Clair Co. Deputy Administrator Susie Washburn told us that loose dogs are a big problem in St. Clair Co.

Impoundment Facilities & Shelters in St. Clair Co.

If your pet is lost, remember to check not only the local shelter or impoundment facility, but also those in neighboring cities and counties.

Pell City Animal Control Center (PCACC) is the impoundment facility for all of St. Clair Co. Operation is contracted to Greater Birmingham Humane Society (GBHS). St. Clair Co. Commission contributes to the facility budget.

Management Contractor: Pell City began contracting the management of the Pell City impoundment center to GBHS on Apr. 1, 2025, as reported by Pell City and WBRC. Wendy Scott is GBHS’s Shelter Operations Manager for Pell City.

Visitors: Per volunteer Susan Staniszewski, visitors are welcome to walk through and see the animals and take dogs to the play yard.

Owner Surrenders: Pell City does accept surrenders, per Susan. Neither public nor private shelters in Alabama are obligated to take owned animals. If they choose to do so, these best practices help shelters and the public alike utilize surrenders to help rather than hurt the public and their pets.

Sterilization of Adopted Animals: Susan reported that every pet is altered before adoption or a sterilization appointment is made within a month. Whether shelter staff ensure adopters follow-through is unclear. All pets are also microchipped, Susan stated.

History: Prior to the GBHS contract, the facility was called Pell City Animal Control Center and was operated directly by Pell City and managed by Whitney Smith.

A January 2025 statement from the City of Pell City (also on Fb) described PCACC as “serving around 275 animals a month.” Staff had worked to responsibly reduce intake and increase adoptions, resulting in a great success: “In 2024, intake reached a historic low, while adoptions reached the highest rate ever at PCACC.”

The statement also acknowledged the key role of rescuers: “Over the past 8 years, more than 5,000 animals have found forever homes thanks to animal rescue organizations that partner with the Center.” Facebook commenters praised Autumn Keenum (now Autumn Kelly) of Second Shots Rescue as Pell City’s key rescue partner.

According to replies to the Facebook post, the city's claim of “misinformation” was questionable, while raising questions of their own:

• Volunteer extraordinaire Autumn Keenum being banned from the shelter upon raising concerns
• The city instructing employees to put the carcasses of euthanized animals into a regular dumpster (a violation of Alabama law),
• A lack of cots in the dog kennels
• No follow-up as to whether adopters have fulfilled their contractual obligation to sterilize the animal.

Before the city took over operations in 2015, the facility was operated by Animal Savers of Pell City Inc., better known as ASPCI.

Animal Census Reports

When GBHS took over operations of the Pell City impoundment center, CEO Allison Black Cornelius claimed that a three-week closure would ensure that the reopened PCACC “reflects our core values of transparency, safety, and humane treatment,” ABC3340 reported.

In direct contradiction to Cornelius’ transparency claim, GBHS has failed to ever provide the state-mandated monthly Animal Census Report, thus leaving constituents and even the city and county in the dark as to the intake and outcomes of animals brought to Pell City Animal Control Center.

Since GBHS refuses to comply with Alabama's requirement that they report specific to the Pell City facility, the data below reflects GBHS’s reporting for their entire system.

Source: GBHS Animal Census Reports for 2024, 2025, 2026.
YTD’26 = January through June. (As of Sept. 19, GBHS has not published a July report.)
Live Release Rate (LRR) = Live Outcomes ÷ Total Outcomes.

A substantial difference between Intake and Outcome totals suggests flawed or missing data and is indicated in Missing Outcomes, Adj. Total Outcomes, and in the LRR — pending accounting from the shelter.

We have been told that PCACC in Cornelius’ hands is an animal disposal facility. At this time we have no evidence to support this information. We also have nothing to dispute it.

Low-Cost Spay & Neuter in St. Clair County

See Low-Cost Spay & Neuter in Alabama for additional resources.

Community Cat TNR & Fostering Programs

• For snip, tip, and vaccination of community cats, see ASN or ASV Hoover in the table above.
• The nonprofit Country Cattery assists with feral and friendly community cats — including TNR, vet care, foster programs, and adoption — 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, contact the Country Cattery via email or through Facebook.

Dog Bites & Attacks in St. Clair Co.

To have knowledge of a bite or scratch and fail to report it is a crime (§ 3-7A-9). First seek medical attention; then report as soon as possible to:

• St. Clair Co. Health Department at 659-500-4490, and
• Law Enforcement: St. Clair Co. Sheriff’s Office at 205-884-3333, or your police department.

See Dog Bites & Attacks for more information on reporting, quarantine, criminal charging, and legal implications.

Documents, Sources, Details

Has St. Clair County Commission Adopted Alabama Code § 3-1-5? 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 the question of the statute’s applicability:

• May 2024: Kendra Burnett, in consultation with ACO Josh, said the county adopted the statute in 1975.
• Apr. 2025: On Apr. 11, 2025, I submitted a public records request for a resolution or other record of § 3-1-5 adoption. On Apr. 29, Trisha transferred me to Asstistant Deputy Administrator Corey Phillips, I left a voicemail but did not hear back.
• Apr. 30, 2025: Deputy Administrator Susie Washburn was not aware of 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; I did not hear back.
• May 13, 2025: 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.
• Aug. 7, 2026: Fae Fox reported on ABC 33/40 that a Margaret resident was charged with a § 3-1-5 violation. If the case reaches trial, will or did anyone raise the question of whether the statute is applicable in St. Clair Co.?

St. Clair County Documents:

• Animal Census Reports for GBHS Pell City Animal Control Center — The City of Pell City acknowledged our request for Animal Census Reports on Sept. 22, 2025, but did not fulfill the request. A second request to Pell City and a first request to St. Clair County were sent May 17, 2026, neither of which were fulfilled.
• St. Clair 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 City Clerk Sheree Pruitt at spruitt@cityofpellcity.net.

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

• Sept. 23, 2026: Operator 27 at St. Clair Co. Sheriff’s Office confirmed that animal control is still provided by civilian ACO Josh Wyatt.
• May 17, 2026: Unidentified St. Clair Co. Commission sender of info@stclairco.com replied to a May 17, 2026 public records request stating that St. Clair County does “not keep records for the Animal Control Center” — it is concerning that St. Clair County officials do not review animal census data for their contracted impoundment facility.
• Apr. 29, 2025: Nikki Major, AP/AR accounting, provided information about animal services and financial contributions in St. Clair County and Pell City on Apr. 29, 2025.
• May 2024: Susie Washburn, deputy administrator, x7, spoke about the dog confinement statute in May 2024.
• May 2024: Kendra Burnett spoke about the dog confinement statute in May 2024.

Municipalities:

• Sept. 2026: Pell City, 205-338-2244 — Janet provided the email address for public records requests on Sept. 22, 2025. Receipt of the public records request was confirmed the same day; however, the request was not fulfilled. A second request was emailed May 17, 2026. Jeff Thompson, Community Engagement, took a message on May 19 to ask City Clerk Sheree Pruitt to confirm receipt of the request; she did so the same day and followed up the next morning with a friendly reply stating that Pell City has only pre-GBHS records. Animal control information is from Nikki Major, St. Clair County Commission, as noted above. Sheree and Kristin continued occasional correspondence about animal concerns.
• Sept. 23, 2026: Margaret provides an archive of ordinances on the city website in the form of large PDFs. A previous dog control ordinance (Ordinance Book 1 pp. 156-158) was repealed in 2005 and replaced with Ordinance 05-719 (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 — Chief Anthony Fields spoke about animal control and the dog confinement ordinance on Oct. 6, 2025. A replacement ordinance was adopted in 2026.
• May 22, 2026: 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; on Sept. 22, 2025, I emailed Katherine a link to this page for any corrections, additions, etc. On May 22, 2026, Katherine provided the ACO’s name and confirmed that Animal Control had been moved to the Police Department around the beginning of 2026 to streamline operations, stating that an officer was often involved anyway while Public Works was handling AC. Oct. 6, 2025: Argo, 205-352-2120 — Amanda provided AC info on Oct. 6, 2025.
• 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; Kristin 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.
• Oct. 6, 2025: Karen at Odenville said 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 statute adoption. The Odenville Animal Control page also states that dog confinement is required without citing a statutory authority. Odenville Police Department Operator 12 spoke about animal control and dog confinement on Sept. 23, 2025.
• Oct. 6, 2026: Steele, 256-538-8145 — Donna shared information about animal control on Oct. 6, 2025. She said that dog confinement is not required by ordinance.
• Aug. 21, 2026: Kristin emailed Pell City ACO Tara Hazelwood (205-884-3334, thazelwood@cityofpellcity.net) about concerns related to GBHS Census Reports. Tara shared information about animal control on Sept. 22, 2025. I also emailed Tara a link to this page for any corrections, additions, etc.

GBHS & the Country Cattery:

• Sept. 24, 2026: Susan Staniszewski, volunteer at PCACC, shared information via Facebook.
• Apr. 22, 2026: Rachel Cochran, VP of the Country Cattery, messaged with Kristin Yarbrough on Apr. 22, 2026.
• Sept. 22, 2025: Wendy Scott, GBHS Director of Pell City, 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.

Do You Have a Correction, Addition, or Comment?

Please see the note at the top of this page.