Since the DeKalb Animal Services Task Force report was accepted and embraced by the DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis in March of 2012, very little progress has occurred inside the current shelter.  After much research and soul-searching, many DeKalb Animal Advocates are now convinced that outsourcing the animal services operation is the only way to achieve significant meaningful change in a short period of time. 

If Animal Services were to be outsourced to a knowledgeable, not-for-profit whose own mission is lifesaving with documented, successful experience in animal sheltering and home-finding, we stand a far better chance of making the significant shift toward humane care and successful home-based outcomes than if we continue the status quo.  The status quo perpetuates the conditions outlined in the Task Force report that were characterized as a “chamber of horrors” including high euthanasia and low adoption rates, a kennel rife with filth and disease, and ill-equipped and untrained officers and staff.