On Friday, February 7th, Maria Mobley was given a separation notice after her shift at Dekalb County Animal Services, which is managed by Lifeline Animal Project. She had missed two days of work after coming down with the flu and had called out to let her supervisor know. She was not able to afford to go to the doctor to get a doctor’s note. Lifeline recently started requiring a hard copy of a doctor’s note to excuse sick time. 

Maria has been a faithful, hardworking employee of Lifeline since March 2023. She started as a kennel tech and became the foster coordinator for the hundreds of dogs that are in foster homes. She often stays after her shift ends to help get dogs out the door with foster or adopters, who would be euthanized otherwise, due to the shelter being overcrowded. She is active on the volunteer and foster parent Facebook pages, coordinating medical treatment and check-ups on her time off, that would otherwise sometimes take weeks to be done. She even adopted one of the dogs that was scheduled for euthanasia, Mr. Easterling, and has fostered others to save their lives. 

Because the shelter is housing more than 500 dogs, wait times can be long and workers are taxed. Due to the stress that a job in animal welfare takes on individuals and the sheer number of dogs in the shelter, Dekalb County Animal Services is understaffed. Some fosters have reported having to wait over an hour to pick up a rabies collar tag for their dogs without Maria there.

Without Maria, the animals in the shelter will ultimately suffer. With more than 500 dogs in a shelter built to humanely house 300, Lifeline needs additional employees, and they have one in Maria Mobley. As of February 11, 2025, Dekalb County Animal Services is currently housing 550 dogs and they are aiming to bring the shelter population to 495. If still employed, Maria would be working alongside adopters and fosters to move dogs out of the shelter and into homes. We are asking Lifeline Animal Project to re-hire Maria. 

“It’s not just a job to me. The dogs and that job mean everything to me and are my purpose.” - Maria