Animal Services in Geneva County

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Impoundment Facilities or Shelters in Geneva County

With no impoundment facility and no animal control, Geneva County is failing to fulfill the statutory mandate of Alabama Code § 3-7A-7 that “Each county within the state shall provide a suitable county pound and impounding officer.”

Geneva County could meet the state requirement by contracting with the City of Geneva or a nonprofit organization for sheltering, boarding impounded animals with a vet or animal hospital, or operating their own shelter, as is done in many counties throughout Alabama. The founding and operation of an impoundment facility is possible even on the limited budgets of Alabama’s rural counties. See the example at An Affordable & Effective Shelter Facility.

The City of Geneva’s impoundment facility serves the city only. It is operated by the Geneva Police Department and is reportedly located near the EMA facility. We found no web presence for the facility and no notices of impounded pets.

The facility includes about 12 kennels, according to Becky at the Geneva Police Department. The facility is primarily used for dogs. A small number of cats are also impounded, typically via trapping, Becky said, and the city works with a rescue group that accepts the cats.

Titan’s Legacy is a private 501c3 nonprofit rescue group and animal adoption agency. This organization is not contracted by any government and does not impound loose animals.

Animal Control in Geneva County

Animal Control in Unincorporated Areas of Geneva County: Geneva County employs no animal control officers. For assistance, contact the Geneva County Sheriff’s Office or the Geneva County Commission.

Animal Control Within Corporate Limits & Police Jurisdiction:

• ACO Kevin Carroll of the City of Geneva Police Department provides animal control services within the City of Geneva. To request assistance, call the Police Department at 334-684-6496.
• The Animal Control Ordinance of Hartford tasks the Hartford Police Department with animal control responsibilities. Call 334-588-2222.
• Taylor’s Animal Control Ordinance refers to an animal control officer or enforcement officer. Ask for assistance by calling City Hall at 334-677-5079.
• For help in Samson, Slocomb, Black, Coffee Springs, or Malvern, contact your police department or city hall.

If your ACO is unable to help or if your area has no animal services, see this guidance.

Dog Confinement Requirements in Geneva County

County Adoption of Alabama’s Dog Confinement Statute: Dog confinement is not required in unincorporated Geneva County because the Geneva County Commission has not adopted Alabama Code § 3-1-5, which would require that dogs be confined to the owner’s premises or kept in the charge of a responsible person if off-premises. There are still steps you can take to address issues or to encourage the county to require confinement.

Dog Confinement Requirements Within Corporate Limits & Police Jurisdiction:

• Dog confinement is required by ordinance in City of Geneva (§ 6-66), Hartford (§ 1-13), and Taylor (§ 6).
• Samson appears to have no general animal ordinance. The only dog-related ordinance posted on the city website requires the confinement of pit bull-type dogs only.
• There may be no requirement in Slocomb, Black, Coffee Springs, or Malvern. We have not confirmed whether a running at large law is in effect. Please email us if you can share information.

How to Report: See How to Report an At-Large Violation.

Dog Bites

One woman was hospitalized and another arrested after a March 2026 dog attack in Geneva, Alabama. “I started backing up, and [the three dogs] started charging me,” Sheila Pate told Beyla Walker of WTVY on Mar. 13. The attack occurred approximately 20 feet from Sheila Pate’s home while she was on her way to work, a route Pate had walked for seven years.

Geneva Police arrested Kenyatta Thompson on Apr. 12 for two misdemeanor violations of Emily’s Law [Alabama Code § 3-6A-5], according to an Apr. 13 WTVY staff report. The pertinent section of the statute states:

(d) If a dog that has not been declared by a court to be dangerous, when unjustified, attacks and causes physical injury to a person, and the owner of the dog had prior knowledge of the dangerous propensities of the dog, yet demonstrated a reckless disregard of the propensities under the circumstances, the owner of the dog shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.

If the severity of the attack rises to the level of “serious physical injury or death,” Emily’s Law provides for a Class C felony charge [§ 3-6A-5(b)]. Geneva Police Chief Pepper Mock said investigators were limited to a misdemeanor charge “because the injuries did not rise to the level considered serious,” according to the Apr. 13 WTVY report.

“Serious physical injury” is defined by Alabama Code § 13A-1-2:

(14) SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY. Physical injury which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes serious and protracted disfigurement, protracted impairment of health, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ…

Conviction of either Emily’s Law charge would require that Thompson was aware of “dangerous propensities” and failed to take appropriate precautions. Chief Mock stated that “Thompson made comments indicating that she was aware her dogs posed a threat.”

The City of Geneva Dogs & Cats Ordinance requires that dogs be kept on the owner’s property, and also requires secure confinement or dogs considered “vicious.” It is unclear, though, whether the dog owner was charged for any violation of the city code.

At the Apr. 6 Geneva City Council meeting, residents aired frustrations about impoundment of loose dogs and responsibility for dog attacks, as reported by Katie Ring for WTVY on Apr. 8. “I believe if we impose a stiff enough fine, we can stop some of it,” Geneva Mayor David Hayes said after the discussion.

The sister of a March 2021 Geneva dog attack victim also spoke about the continued issues: “I believe, and my family believes, that the City of Geneva did not do all that they possibly could do… and it shows… that people in the local community are still being attacked,” Renee Watkins told Ring.

Watkins’ brother Daniel Cade Jr., 39, died in March 2021, three weeks after he was attacked by a pack of dogs while walking down a road in Geneva, according to a 2021 WDHN report. The City of Geneva adopted the Dogs and Cats Ordinance two months later.

A young girl was killed south of Slocomb in Geneva County some years prior to Cade’s death, per Sheriff Tony Helms.

City of Geneva dog owners are required by ordinance to keep their dogs on their own premises. There is no such requirement in the incorporated area of Geneva County, Alabama, because the Geneva County Commission has not adopted Alabama Code § 3-1-5 to prohibit owners from allowing dogs to run at large. Neighboring counties have not adopted the statute either, compounding the problem. Geneva County also has no animal control officers and no impoundment facility, in violation of Ala. Code § 3-7A-7’s mandate that “Each county within the state shall provide a suitable county pound and impounding officer.”

Low-Cost Spay & Neuter in Geneva County

Please see Low-Cost Spay & Neuter in Houston County for resources in Dothan, and Low-Cost Spay & Neuter in Alabama for other options and assistance programs that may be available to Geneva County residents. Can you can provide spay/neuter information? Please email us.

Geneva County Documents

• Geneva County Commission Public Records Request Form
• City of Geneva Public Records Request Form

Sources

• ACO Kevin Carroll, City of Geneva Police Department, 334-684-6496, spoke with Aubrie Kavanaugh on May 6, 2025 about animal control and the impoundment facility.
• Cindy Williams, Geneva County Administrator, stated on a Mar. 27, 2025 phone call with Kristin Yarbrough that Geneva County Commission has not adopted Alabama Code § 3-1-5.
• Becky, Geneva Police Department, spoke to Kristin Yarbrough on Apr. 7, 2026 about animal control and the kennels in the City of Geneva, and then left a message for City of Geneva ACO Kevin Carroll to provide further information (I did not hear back from ACO Carroll).

Do You Have a Correction, Addition, or Comment?

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