Cobb County Animal Services was established in 1971. As part of Cobb's Department of Public Safety, we serve the entire county, protecting the residents and animals of Cobb.

The mission of the Cobb County Animal Services Unit is to enforce state laws and county ordinances pertaining to animal control and management; educate the community on responsible pet ownership and wildlife care and provide housing and care for homeless animals, while coordinating their adoptions when possible and humane euthanization when adoptions are not possible.

Animal Services operates under the Department of Public Safety. The department is under the direction of the Division Director. There is also one Animal Cruelty Investigator. These are the only two sworn officers in the department.

The field operation is lead by an Operations Manager and has two crews. Each crew has a supervisor and officers. One officer is assigned to morning watch. One officer is assigned to the evening shift to help with the overlap at shift change. The other officers are assigned to day shift. There is one full time dispatcher.

The kennel operation is lead by the other Operations Manager. There are two crews that are lead by a supervisor. There is also an Animal Care Specialist and six officers. There are also five officers on each crew.

The vet staff is under the direction of a veterinarian. There is one vet tech and two officers.

The administrative staff consists of two full time and two part time employees to assist in adoptions and reclaims. There is also a part time volunteer coordinator and rescue coordinator. The Captain also has an administrative assistant.

The Veterinary Services Department includes Dr. Amy Belew, the staff veterinarian, Michelle Hartline, the certified veterinary technician, and two Animal Services Officers permanently assigned to Vet Services. The primary objective of Vet Services is the spay or neuter of the majority of animals that are adopted or rescued from CCAS with the ultimate goal to be fewer unwanted or unplanned litters of puppies and kittens and therefore a reduction of homeless pets within the county. Vet Services also provides medical care for the animals that are housed at the shelter, within the limits of the resources available to the staff. Vet Services does not provide care to any privately owned animals, which include those that have been adopted from the shelter.

What do I do if the pet I have adopted is sick?

If your pet has an illness that was not disclosed to you at the time of adoption AND it has been five days or less, you may return your adopted pet for a refund. If it has been longer than five days or if the illness is one that you knew about at the time of adoption, it is your responsibility to take your pet to a regular veterinarian for care. The Veterinary Services Department of Cobb County Animal Services does not provide care to any privately owned animals including those adopted from the CCAS shelter.

The veterinary operation is under the direction of Dr. Amy Belew.

The vet and her staff serve two main purposes. The first is to spay and neuter a majority of the animals that are adopted from Cobb County Animal Services. The second purpose is to care for the sick or injured animals that are brought to the shelter.

The kennel operation is under the direction of Jake Arnold, Kennel Operations Manager, and two kennel supervisors.

There are two crews. One crew works the first part of the week and the other crew works the second half of the week. The officers assigned to the kennel have the responsibility of taking care of the animals that are housed at the Cobb County Animal Shelter. The duties of these officers include:

• Thoroughly cleaning the animal cages
• Feeding the animals
• Intake of animals
• Educating potential adopters
• Assisting owners in finding lost pets

There are also administrative employees that fall under the kennel operations. Animal Services also has employees that assist in adoptions and reclaims. There is also a rabies coordinator. This person handles all of the animal bite cases that come into the shelter. The main job of this person is to make sure that animals are quarantined for rabies observation after a person is bitten.

The shelter’s hours of operations are:

(Closed on Mondays and Holidays)
Tuesday - Sunday: 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Animal intake stops at 4 p.m. daily. If you need assistance after hours, call the Police Department’s Non-Emergency number at (770)-499-3911.

The field operation is under the direction of the Field Operations Manager and two road supervisors.

The field operation is a 24 hour a day operation. There is an officer always available to handle animal related complaints. There are two crews. One crew works the first part of the week and the other crew works the second half of the week. Each crew has a day shift and morning shift.

The day shift is divided up geographically to cover the county in the most efficient way. The two morning watch officers cover the entire county.

The officers assigned to the field have the responsibility of keeping the public and the animals safe. The officers respond to a multitude of calls such as: cruelty, barking, animal attacks, animals running loose, injured animals, and barking animals.

Animal Services generally does not respond to complaints about wildlife. Animal Services will however respond if the wild animal is injured or has bitten someone. There are things that a homeowner can do to deter wild animals from coming around their property.