Animal Services in St. Clair County

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Impoundment Facilities or Shelters in St. Clair County

Pell City Animal Care & Control, is the impoundment facility for all of St. Clair County, according to Wendy. Operation is contracted to Greater Birmingham Humane Society (GBHS). St. Clair County Commission contributes to the facility budget, according to Nikki Major.

GBHS took control on Apr. 1, 2025, as reported by Pell City and WBRC. GBHS CEO Allison Black Cornelius claimed that that the three-week closure during the transition would ensure that the reopened PCACC “reflects our core values of transparency, safety, and humane treatment,” ABC3340 reported.

In direct contradiction to Cornelius' statement, GBHS has failed to even once provide the state-mandated monthly Animal Census Report, thus leaving constituents and even the city and county in the dark as to the intake and outcomes of animals brought to Pell City Animal Control Center. We have heard that PCACC in Cornelius' hands is an animal disposal facility. At this time we have no evidence to support this information. We also have nothing to dispute it.

• Stray Hold is 7 days.
• Animal Census Reports are required by state law, but GBHS is not complying with Alabama's Animal Census Reporting Act.

Prior to the GBHS contract, the facility was called Pell City Animal Control Center and was operated directly by Pell City and managed by Whitney Smith.

Animal Control in St. Clair County

Animal Control in Unincorporated Areas of St. Clair County: St. Clair County has one ACO, according to Nikki Major. ACO Josh is employed by St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office and covers all of the unincorporated area of the county and some municipalities, according to Operator 12. Call 205-884-3333 for non-emergency, or 911 in an emergency.

Animal Control Within Corporate Limits & Police Jurisdiction:

• Animal control in Argo, Ashville, Margaret, Odenville, and Steele is handled by the St. Clair County ACO (see above). For neglect or abuse concerns, residents can also contact the local police department. The arrangement is likely the same in Riverside and Vincent.
• Call 205-640-3333 to report to Moody’s ACO, who is employed by the Moody Police Department.
• ACO Tara Hazelwood serves Pell City. Call 205-884-3334, or report your concern to thazelwood@cityofpellcity.net. See Animal Control Services. Pell City has one ACO.
• In Springville, animal control was moved to the Springville Police Department in early 2026 to streamline operations, per Katherine. Call Dispatch at 205-467-3333 for assistance from ACO Trammell, who is an officer at Springville PD. Impounded dogs are posted on the Springville Police Department Facebook page.
• Leeds and Trussville: See Animal Services in Jefferson County.

Dog Confinement Requirements in St. Clair County

Does St. Clair County Require Dog Confinement? St. Clair County officials stated that they enforce Alabama Code § 3-1-5 and believed it to be applicable, but had no record of statute adoption and expressed misconceptions over statute applicability.

Our recommendation for those in the unincorporated area or in a municipality with unclear statutory authority is to proceed as if the statute or an ordinance is applicable, by keeping their own dogs confined or in their charge and by reporting owners who allow their dog to run loose, for the safety of people and animals alike.

Deputy Administrator Susie Washburn said loose dogs are a big problem in St. Clair County.

St. Clair County municipalities have their own dog confinement requirements:

• Dog confinement is required by ordinance in Argo (2019-03-25), Margaret (05-719), Moody (§ 6-1, § 6-11), and Pell City (§ 4-30).
• For requirements in Leeds and Trussville, see Animal Services in Jefferson County.
• In other municipalities, see our recommendation above. This includes Ashville, Odenville, Ragland, Riverside, Springville (report to 205-467-2704), and Vincent. A Steele official said the city has no dog confinement ordinance; residents can still follow the recommendation to test whether the statute will be enforced.

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

Has St. Clair County Commission Adopted Alabama Code § 3-1-5? St. Clair County Commission officials attempted to provide information regarding whether the county had adopted Alabama Code § 3-1-5, but expressed confusion, had no practical way of searching county records, and ultimately did not address the question of the statute’s applicability:

• In May 2024, Kendra Burnett, in consultation with ACO Josh, said the county adopted the statute in 1975.
• On Apr. 11, 2025, I submitted a public records request for a resolution or other record of § 3-1-5 adoption. On Apr. 29, Trisha transferred me to Asstistant Deputy Administrator Corey Phillips, I left a voicemail but did not hear back.
• On Apr. 30, 2025, Deputy Administrator Susie Washburn was not aware of the statute or why Kendra said it was adopted in 1975. We speculated that it may have been a misunderstanding since state laws are often listed as Code of Alabama 1975. If the Commission did adopt in 1975, the “records are upstairs in our attic and they are paper,” Susie said, and would require days of searching. Susie said loose dogs are a big problem and we talked about how the law is usually enforced and the option available to the Commission to simply adopt now to formalize, whether or not the statute was adopted previously. She said she would look around and call me; I did not hear back.
• The last word from the Commission arrived in an unsigned May 13, 2025 email from info@stclairco.com in reply to my Apr. 11, 2025 request for record of § 3-1-5 adoption. The email expressed a common misconception: “The county never adopted this because it is a State law and we must enforce State law we have no need to adopt it.” In my reply, I cited the second paragraph of the statute and my contact info, should the county wish to clarify the situation; I did not hear back.

Low-Cost Spay & Neuter in St. Clair County

See Low-Cost Spay & Neuter in Alabama for additional resources.

Community Cat TNR & Fostering Programs

• For snip, tip, and vaccination of community cats, see ASN or ASV Hoover in the table above.
• The nonprofit Country Cattery assists with feral and friendly community cats — including TNR, vet care, foster programs, and adoption — in Jefferson, Chilton, Shelby, and St. Clair counties. TNR ensures the health and stability of the colony by trapping the cats so they can be sterilized, ear-tipped (for identification), vaccinated, and have any health needs attended to prior to returning to their home. If you have noticed a cat colony, contact the Country Cattery via email or through Facebook.

St. Clair County Documents

• Animal Census Reports for GBHS Pell City Animal Care & Control — Pell City acknowledged our request for Animal Census Reports on Sept. 22, 2025, but did not fulfill the request. A second request to Pell City and a first request to St. Clair County were sent May 17, 2026.
• St. Clair Commission Public Records Request Form & Policy
• Pell City Public Records Request Form, also accessible from the Pell City website: click Government, then City Clerk, then Public Records. Requests may be emailed to City Clerk Sheree Pruitt at spruitt@cityofpellcity.net.

Sources

St. Clair County Commission, 205-594-2100, info@stclaircounty.com:

• Nikki Major, AP/AR accounting, provided information about animal services in St. Clair County and Pell City on Apr. 29, 2025.
• Kendra Burnett spoke about the dog confinement statute in May 2024.
• Susie Washburn, deputy administrator, x7, spoke about the dog confinement statute in May 2024.
• Unidentified sender of info@stclairco.com replied to a May 17, 2026 public records request stating that St. Clair County does “not keep records for the Animal Control Center” — it is concerning that St. Clair County officials do not review animal census data for their contracted impoundment facility.

Municipalities:

• Argo, 205-352-2120 — Amanda provided AC info on Oct. 6, 2025.
• Ashville, 205-594-4151 x4 — Chrystal St. John, city clerk, provided AC info on Oct. 6, 2025. Chrystal said that dog confinement is required by state law; Kristin Yarbrough advised that St. Clair County Commission had no record of adopting the state dog confinement law, so the council may wish to adopt their own ordinance.
• Margaret provides an archive of ordinances on the city website in the form of large PDFs. A previous dog control ordinance (Ordinance Book 1 pp. 156-158) was repealed in 2005 and replaced with Ordinance 05-719 (Ordinance Book 3, pp. 164–166), which was repealed in 2007 and replaced with the most recent dog ordinance I found on the city website, Ordinance 06-113, Ordinance Book 4, pp. 23–26.
• Margaret Police Department, 205-529-2249 — Chief Anthony Fields spoke about animal control and the dog confinement ordinance on Oct. 6, 2026.
• Odenville —  On Oct. 6, 2025, Karen that she was not aware of any animal control ordinance and that she believed dog confinement was required by statute. We spoke about St. Clair County’s lack of any record of statute adoption. The Odenville Animal Control page also states that dog confinement is required without citing a statutory authority.
• Odenville Police Department — Operator 12 spoke about animal control and dog confinement on Sept. 23, 2025.
• Pell City Animal Control — ACO Tara Hazelwood, 205-884-3334, thazelwood@cityofpellcity.net, shared information about animal control on Sept. 22, 2025. I also emailed Tara a link to this page for any corrections, additions, etc.
• Pell City, 205-338-2244 — Janet provided the email address for public records requests on Sept. 22, 2025. Receipt of the public records request was confirmed the same day; however, the request was not fulfilled. A second request was emailed May 17, 2026. Jeff Thompson, Community Engagement, took a message on May 19 to ask City Clerk Sheree Pruitt to confirm receipt of the request; she did so the same day and followed up the next morning with a friendly reply stating that Pell City has only pre-GBHS records. Animal control information is from Nikki Major, St. Clair County Commission, as noted above.
• Springville animal control and confinement law information is from Katherine Colley, clerk, City of Springville Public Works, 205-467-2704. Katherine said the city mails a notice of a dog confinement complaint, which usually resolves the issue. We spoke on Aug. 25, 2025; on Sept. 22, 2025, I emailed Katherine a link to this page for any corrections, additions, etc. On May 22, 2026, Katherine provided the ACO’s name and confirmed that Animal Control had been moved to the Police Department around the beginning of 2026 to streamline operations, stating that an officer was often involved anyway while Public Works was handling AC.
• Steele, 256-538-8145 — Donna shared information about animal control on Oct. 6, 2025. She said that dog confinement is not required by ordinance.

Humane Groups:

• Wendy, GBHS, 205-814-1567 x1, confirmed that PCACC is the impoundment facility for all of St. Clair County, that the animalcenter@cityofpellcity.net email address (which is listed on the Pell City website) is no longer operational, and that it is no longer possible to email PCACC directly (inquiries must go through GBHS corporate). We spoke Sept. 22, 2025.
• Stephanie Salvago, GBHS Director of Development & Marketing, 205-937-3042, SSalvago@gbhs.org.
• Rachel Cochran, VP of the Country Cattery, messaged with Kristin Yarbrough on Apr. 22, 2026.

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