Please contact the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division at 770-535-5700 for wild animal calls.
On January 1, 2006, the Madison County Board of Commissioners adopted An Ordinance for the Regulation, Control, and Disposition of Animals and established Madison County Animal Control. The Madison County Animal Control Office is under the supervision of Madison County Code Enforcement Officer Jack Huff.
Please take time to read the ordinance below. There have been significant changes to Georgia State Law on dogs in July of 2012, and Madison County has revised the local ordinance to comply with these changes.
The majority of Madison County Animal Control’s duties are the control of vicious and dangerous dogs.
Madison County Animal Control will respond to stray animal calls as time allows.
Link to the Humane Society of the United States for information on reporting cruelty and illegal dog fighting. www.hsus.org. A toll-free line has been established to report dogfighting. (Norred & Associates will operate the hotline, evaluate the tips called into the hotline and forward them to the appropriate law enforcement agency.) The hotline number is 877-TIP-HSUS (847-4787).
Section 2 of the Ordinance covers Duty of Owner to Keep Animals Under Restraint. This section is the most commonly called in complaint for Animal Control. MadisonCountydoes not require that animal be in a fence as AthensClarkeCountyrequires.Animals are not permitted to be at large within the unincorporated areas of MadisonCounty.Please see Section 1 of the ordinance for a complete definition of the terms “animal under restraint and animal at large”.
Generally, violations of the Madison County Ordinances do not occur when an officer is present. Complainants for Section 2, Duty of Owner to Keep Animals Under Restraint, must be willing to identify the animal’s owner and testify in court if necessary. To ensure all information is properly collected and recorded, callers will required to submit an Affidavit of Complaint and return it to the Animal Control Office before the Animal Control Officer will be dispatched to the call. For Madison County Animal Control to successfully respond to your needs and prosecute Section 2 of the ordinance, the Animal Control Officer must physically see the animal in violation of the ordinance, or have a witness to present evidence of the violation to the Magistrate Court judge.
******Please be sure to sign the Affidavit of Complaint******
***You may email theAffidavit of Complaint to kdvaughn@madisonco.us, or deliver it to our office at 90 Crawford W. Long, Danielsville, GAbetween 8:30 am & 12:30 pm weekdays.***
Madison County Animal Control will verify current rabies vaccinations on all animals when responding to complaints. Rabies is a very dangerous disease and a current vaccination on all domestic dogs and cats is the key to preventing the spread of this disease.
As of this year, there have been 21 animals in MadisonCountythat have tested positive for the rabies virus.
It shall be the duty of any person bitten by any animal reasonably suspected of being rabid immediately to notify the County board of health. It shall be the duty of the owner, custodian, or person having possession and knowledge of any animal which has bitten any person or animal or of any animal which exhibits any signs of rabies to notify the County board of health and to confine such animal in accordance with rules and regulations of the County board of health.
MadisonCountyBoardof Health706-795-2131
Any person that suffers an animal bite that is severe, immediately dial 911.
Pets are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.
Let’s all keep them safe, healthy, and happy by being responsible pet owners.
Stray animals are held for 3 days in our facility and then are either transferred to Madison Oglethorpe Animal Shelter http://www.moaspets.org/, other rescues in the area, or are euthanized. Sadly, themajority of impounded animals willbe euthanized, due to overcrowding of shelters and rescues.
