Animal Services in Talladega County

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Animal Control in Talladega 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.

Talladega Co. Animal Services At-a-Glance

Report animal concerns or violations 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.

[County population figure includes municipalities. Oxford is partly in Calhoun Co. Vincent is partly in Shelby and St. Clair counties.]

A History of Insufficient Animal Services in Talladega Co.

For decades, residents have appealed to Talladega County and its municipalities to address the lack of animal services, including in August and September 2025. “Concerned residents urged the Talladega County Commission to take action on the county’s growing stray animal problem,” Laci Braswell reported in The Daily Home.

In her comments to the Commission, Rebecca House described daily Facebook posts by good Samaritans seeking assistance with stray dogs. “The question is always ‘Where can I take these dogs?’ The short answer is nowhere,” House said, adding that Talladega County officials resorted to recommending residents to commit animal cruelty: “When we contacted the county, someone told us to shoot the dogs.” Jennifer Lacey of Talladega County Commission told us that residents are instructed to shoot only if they felt the need to defend.

Here’s what county officials have said about the status of animal services:

• Talladega County Commissioner Tony Haynes remarked in August 2025 that the county did not have the money to improve the situation. “We only have x amount of tax dollars to spend and no one wants to pay higher taxes,” Hayes said.
• Jennifer Lacey of Talladega County Commission told us in April 2025 that the Commission was “trying to come up with a solution for the north end of the county,” which has no animal services at all. At their May 21, 2026 council meeting Sylacauga officials again acknowledged the need for county-wide coordination of animal services.

…and in Sylacauga

Sylacauga has technically had an ACO position for years, however there have been significant gaps in coverage. Current ACO Brandon Gerrins began in December 2025. The position was empty for approximately 6-9 months, Mitzi Martin estimated, since the resignation of previous ACO Douglas Nixon. There was another huge gap before the city hired Nixon, Mitzi said. Animal control is currently structured under the shelter; prior to Nixon it was the responsibility of the police department. WBRC reported that the police department transferred animal control responsibilities to the shelter in August 2024.

Is Dog Confinement Required in Talladega 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 adopt or enact a confinement law.

Impoundment Facilities & Shelters

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

Sylacauga Animal Shelter (SAS) is operated by the City of Sylacauga, according to Jennifer Lacey of Talladega County Commission. The shelter has been managed by Stephanie Engle since May 2023. Trish Smith assists Engle in the management of SAS.

Staffing: “Our staff to animal ratio is brutal and despite my effort to change that, it has been denied thus far,” per Stephanie Engle, shelter manager. “We are a total team of five people. Between scheduled time off days, various appointments, or call-offs, we average (3) workers/day.” On Aug. 5, 2026, Engle told the council that SAS had four full time employees including herself and assistant Trish Smith — plus ACO Gerrins.

Impoundment Jurisdiction: SAS accepts animals found within the City of Sylacauga and, per the contract with Talladega Co., dogs and cats delivered to the shelter from “the three-mile unincorporated area immediately adjacent to the City of Sylacauga.”

• Dogs and cats found in Sylacauga can be brought to SAS for impoundment, but will be accepted only on the rare occasion that space is available, according to a shelter representative. (However, SAS data shows a very large number of stray or at-large animals accepted from the public: 294 animals in 2025 and 537 animals in 2024.)
• If the dog or cat was found in the unincorporated area within three miles of Sylacauga, the shelter is contractually obligated to accept.

Also of interest is that Sylacauga City Ordinance § 4-25 states that loose dogs “may” (rather than shall) be impounded. If the city is allowing dogs to run at large and making no attempt to impound them, that is a public safety issue.

Shelter Programs: Sylacauga Animal Shelter welcomes volunteers most Saturdays anytime between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. for dog walking events; dates are posted on Facebook. The shelter has also “increased our rescue network, grown our donor base, and reached out to schools and other interested parties to illuminate the plight of unwanted animals in our county and the associated costs on several levels,” per Stephanie Engle, shelter manager.

History: Prior to Engle’s tenure, SAS was led by Connie Willette. Willette is quoted in media coverage of SAS as early as 2017 and led the shelter until 2022 or 2023, upon her resignation, according to a confidential source. It is our understanding that SAS has been operated directly by the City of Sylacauga since 2015 or 2016.

“For decades” leading up to 2015 or 2016, sheltering was contracted to the nonprofit Sylacauga Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF), according to CBS42. This arrangement ended in October 2015 when ARF stopped operating the shelter. SAS reopened in February 2016 with temporary employees, CBS42 reported.

We have been told that some time during or prior to ARF’s operation, the shelter was operated by Talladega County Commission; however, we have not found any information as to when or why Sylacauga took over its operation, and another source stated that Talladega County did not ever operate the shelter.

SAS Animal Census Data

Sylacauga Animal Shelter animal census data for 2025 indicates:

Source: SAS Animal Census Reports.
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.

What Happened, SAS?

SAS’s data illustrates a substantial shift from just a few years prior, when the choices made at SAS maximized positive outcomes and minimized non-live outcomes. For example:

• Adoption: In 2016, SAS adopted over 500 animals.
• Collaboration: “The shelter and the rescue worked hand in hand as a team for the animals. LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS were networked out and transported mainly up north… Volunteers jumped in short staffed and it was a huge team effort with a lot of success and hard work.”
• Euthanasia: We have been informed confidentially that under Connie Willette’s leadership, the shelter euthanized only when an animal “was sick sick, beyond vet help, or extremely feral.”

According to this source, upon the change in leadership in 2023, collaboration with volunteers and rescue seen as a “nuisance.” Offers to pull animals were declined. “We were basically shut out,” she said.

To be clear, Alabama law is silent as to whether the animals in the care of its pounds live or die. The state began requiring counties and cities to pick up loose dogs out of fears of rabies. There is no requirement that animals even be offered for adoption — Alabama law is fine with shelters ending every life once stray hold is up, and some facilities do exactly that.

Whether such practices continue or change is determined by the local culture and the community's awareness of what is happening on their behalf. It is the responsibility of local governments to operate a shelter consistent with the values of the people who fund that shelter.

Considerations for Sylacauga & SAS

Unlike many cities in Alabama, the City of Sylacauga does not lack resources, as is shown by the half million-dollar budget. This begs the question of how that money is being spent. The solution to any shelter balancing public safety with animal welfare is two-fold:

1. Change the culture in which ending the lives of healthy and treatable animals is not only accepted but excused; and
2. Adopt proven programs that reduce shelter intake (while still providing services), shorten length of stay, and help the public by creating relationships with the people being served.

Many of these programs cost nothing at all and those that would have a cost (like spay/neuter support for low-income residents) surely could be funded with part of that half a million.

It is time for the City of Sylacauga to make the highest and best use of tax dollars, so it is not carrying the county and is operating a shelter consistent with the values of the people who fund that shelter. Any city official interested in learning about these progressive programs is encouraged to contact Aubrie Kavanaugh of Paws4Change who led No Kill Huntsville for 14 years and who often helps city officials understand how to change the culture for their shelter.

Too Many Animals at the Shelter: SAS is also overwhelming themselves by having way too many animals in the shelter at any one time. For Sylacauga's population, we would expect something like 10-15 animals at any one time, as compared to the 152 animals that Stephanie Engle said were currently in the shelter early August 2026. That is warehousing.

Very Low Reclaim Rate: Of 733 animals taken in as strays in 2025, 6 (less than 1%) were returned to their owner. Other areas reunite greater than 65%. If Sylacauga desires to increase the number of reclaimed animals, they may consider these possibilities:

• Engaging with local vets to do a month-long chipping event (with chips bought by the city so it is free).
• Collecting donated collars and writing a phone number on the collar with a Sharpie.
• Ensuring that all animals are scanned for a microchip and owners sought in nearby hours prior to the animal being imounded.

Perilously High Reliance on Rescue: Most of the positive dog outcomes were from transfers to other agencies (76%) compared to adoptions (23%), representing what we consider an unsustainably heavy reliance on outside groups.

SAS Budget

The City of Sylacauga allocates “close to half a million dollars per year” to SAS, which may or may not include $20,000/yr from Talladega Co. The SAS budget has since 2024 included the ACO. This represents an approximately $38/year per capita allocation (Sylacauga’s population is stated to be 12,578), or about $592 per animal based on the 2025 intake numbers. This is a very large budget, especially considering the poor outcomes such as a 59% live release rate in 2025. As a comparison, Huntsville Animal Services serves 369,000 people on a 2026 budget of $3.9 million, or about $10.60/year per capita, and reported a 93.8% live release rate in 2025.

Additionally, this budget does not include dog or cat food, treats, cleaning supplies, or litter. The city buys none, according to Mayor Matt Hubbard’s boasts at council meetings as well as a confidential source. SAS regularly asks for and thanks the community, which is already funding the shelter's substantial budget, for supplying these basic needs.

Low-Cost Spay & Neuter in Talladega County

• Sylacauga “has started a spay/neuter clinic for residents,” per Mayor Matt Hubbard via WVTM on May 12, 2026. Please email us if you can share information.
• In 2025, Talladega County supported The Feral Dogs of Avondale Mill with a $25,000 grant which enables the organization to hold $30 sterilization voucher sales and to sterilize strays at no cost to the neighborhood, according to board member Mitzi Martin. Martin hopes the grant will be awarded again and added that with more funding, the organization would be able to sterilize more strays.
• Pet transportation is available from Sylacauga to Alabama Spay Neuter in Irondale. Financial assistance is also available.
• See Low-Cost Spay/Neuter in Alabama and Low-Cost Spay/Neuter in St. Clair County for additional resources.

The availability of veterinary care has been declining in recent years as vets retire, according to Mitzi Martin of the Feral Dogs of Avondale Mill. “We are down to 5 vet clinics in the whole county,” Mitzi wrote in July 2026.

City-County Sheltering Contract

As of this Sept. 23, 2026 update, the status of the City-County sheltering contract is unknown. The last we heard was that the City planned to end the auto-renewal, but no official responded to our question as to whether that had been done in writing prior to the deadline. Nor has any official clarified whether Talladega County was up-to-date on payments (there was a question of whether the payment due December 2025 had been received by the City). Councilmember Laura Barlow Heath confirmed on Sept. 22, 2025 to resident Rhonda Housand that no update had been shared with her.

Any city is responsible only for its jurisdiction and tax dollars should be spent for the benefit of the city. All cities have what is called a police jurisdiction (“the PJ”) for purposes of law enforcement. No city voluntarily takes animals from the PJ or any other area outside the city absent a written contract. The city entered into such a contract with Talladega County in 2024 and receives $20,000 for that contract.

Only city officials can explain why that happened since it is to the city’s detriment. It created a burden on the city with very little gain while allowing Talladega County officials to absolve themselves of their responsibilities to comply with the state law to have a “pound.” It does not help that Talladega County has not even adopted the state dog confinement law or made any effort to have any animal control at all. City officials are enabling that behavior.

The $20,000/year paid by Talladega County is about 4% of Sylacauga Animal Shelter’s budget, and Sylacauga is thus obliged to accept cats and dogs delivered to the shelter from “the three-mile unincorporated area immediately adjacent to the City of Sylacauga.” This is the only animal service currently provided in unincorporated Talladega County.

The contract does not include the pickup of animals. Yet Sylacauga Mayor Matt Hubbard stated at the May 21, 2026 Sylacauga council meeting (at 1h19m) that 70% of the dogs brought to SAS by the Sylacauga ACO are from the county (that is, outside of the City of Sylacauga).

Dogs found even in Coosa County are impounded by Sylacauga, Mayor Hubbard said, while expressing a misconception that Sylacauga could not limit its impoundment jurisdiction. Under no circumstances is it appropriate for the city to pickup or accept animals from other counties.

For nearly a century the state has required each county (and city over 5k population) to provide an animal shelter and an ACO to pickup untagged animals, yet Talladega County and neighboring Coosa County, Clay County, and Cleburne County continue to violate one or both parts of this mandate. Sylacauga taxpayers foot the bill while Sylacauga’s neighbors contribute to the challenges SAS faces and the challenges Sylacauga creates for itself.

Sylacauga offiicials may also wish to be aware that the contract does not limit the accepted animals to stray or loose animals. If the city renews the contract, officials might consider amending it to exclude owned animals from outside of city limits or to allow SAS staff the more intentional option of considering surrender requests on a managed basis, with mandatory counseling.

This contract was mentioned at the May 6, 2026 Sylacauga council meeting (at 1h18m) and in Talladega County Commission meeting minutes.

Dog Bites & Attacks in Talladega 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:

• Talladega Co. Health Department at 256-362-2593, and
• Law Enforcement: Talladega County Sheriff’s Office at 256-362-2748 (Talladega) or 256-245-5121 (Sylacauga), or your police department.

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

Sources, Documents, Details

Documents:

• Animal Census Reports for Sylacauga Animal Shelter: 2025 and 2024, transferred to NFHS forms by AlabamaAnimalAdvocates.com from Excel data provided by SAS Manager Stephanie Engle.
• Contract for Animal Sheltering — see also the details and discussion about this contract.

Public Records Requests:

• Talladega County Commission Public Records Request Form: Talladega County does not appear to have a Public Records Request form on their website. Call the Commission to request or submit according to the Open Records Act template.
• City of Talladega Public Records Request Form
• Sylacauga Public Record Requests must utilize this form (which is not currently posted on the Sylacauga website). Requests can be emailed to Interim City Clerk Kassey Epperson at cityclerk@sylacaugaal.gov. City documentation states a $20 minimum charge; we appreciate that Epperson emailed the 2-page document without asking any fee; however Epperson insisted on a $20 fee on Aug. 18, 2026 to provide the 2026 Sylacauga city budget to resident Rhonda Johnston Housand via email. We requested the contract (linked above) from Shelter Manager Stephanie Engle on May 26, 2026 and from City Clerk Kassey Epperson on July 1 and received the document from Epperson on July 27.

Sources:

• Sept. 2026: Sylacauga Councilmember Laura Barlow Heath conversed via Messenger beginning on May 7, 2026 and via several calls and emails since then.
• Sept. 2026: Winston Randle, Wayward Hounds, volunteer trapper and rescuer, spoke about trapping, and the dogs on the 280 corridor via many phone calls beginning on June 1.
• Aug. 29, 2026: Mitzi Martin, Feral Dogs of Avondale Mill board member, has been instrumental in keeping us updated about animal resources in Sylacauga and in Talladega County. In May 2026, Martin provided the history of Sylacauga animal control information recorded just above. We also conversed at length about the city council’s consideration of the Green Landscaping proposal. Mitzi shared information on Facebook on Aug. 28, 2025 about the Sylacauga Animal Shelter’s impoundment zone, as noted above. We thank Martin also for advising in Jan. 2026 that Sylacauga had hired an ACO in Dec. 2025.
• Aug. 15, 2026: A Sylacauga Animal Shelter representative stated via Facebook Messenger on Aug. 15, 2025 that “Our animal control services Talladega county up to 5 miles outside our city limit. We take strays when we have available space.” A question about funding sources was not answered.
• July 2026: Stephanie Engle, Manager, Sylacauga Animal Shelter, 256-391-4142, sengle@sylacaugaal.gov, provided staffing information, programs, and shelter data via email to Kristin Yarbrough starting on May 28, 2026 and continuing into July.
• July 1, 2026: Madison, City Clerk's Office, City of Sylacauga, provided the cityclerk@sylacaugaal.gov email address for submitting a public records request to Interim City Clerk Kassey Epperson, via a July 1, 2026 phone call.
• July 27, 2026: Kassey Epperson, Sylacauga City Clerk, provided the city-county contract on July 27, 2026, in response to our records request which was submitted on May 26 to Stephanie Engle and on July 1 to Epperson.
• May 12, 2026: Sylacauga Mayor Matt Hubbard was contacted through the City of Sylacauga website on May 12 with a request for clarification of the status of the animal services contract between Sylacauga and Talladega County. Stephanie Engle, shelter manager, requested via a June 1 email that Hubbard provide the contract, but we did not receive any communication from Hubbard, and thus sent a request sent to City Clerk Kassey Epperson, per Madison's instructions, on July 1.
• May 7, 2026: Steven Tears, Director of Montgomery Humane Society, on a May 7 phone call confirmed his offer of guidance to Sylacauga.
• Aug. 28, 2025: Jennifer Lacey, Commission secretary, 256-362-1357, stated on Mar. 25, 2025 that the Commission has not adopted Alabama Code § 3-1-5. On Apr. 29, 2025, Lacey offered information about Talladega County’s contract with Sylacauga and the lack of animal control. We spoke again on Aug. 28, 2025 regarding the impoundment range.
• Aug. 2025: An unidentified representative stated Talladega Animal Control is a private company handles animal control for the City of Talladega. The company also provided animal control for Talladega County until the contract ended in August 2024 and the Talladega County Commission did not renew.

Other information was sourced from websites, as linked.

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