Skip to main content
Friday, October 30, 2026Oct 30

This story is free to read.

Dade County, Georgia, residents help animals and call for better services

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Barbara Havlin holds Maggie Mae, a rescue with a broken leg and a bullet lodged in her hip, as they look out the window of their home in Trenton, Ga., on Friday, August 5, 2022.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Barbara Havlin holds Maggie Mae, a rescue with a broken leg and a bullet lodged in her hip, as they look out the window of their home in Trenton, Ga., on Friday, August 5, 2022. Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Barbara Havlin holds Maggie Mae, a rescue with a broken leg and a bullet lodged in her hip, as they look out the window of their home in Trenton, Ga., on Friday, August 5, 2022.

Some Dade County, Georgia, residents are calling for better animal control services in the county, pointing to the many animal lovers and advocates having to open up their homes and wallets to fill the gap.

County elected officials are making plans to improve services, they said, but no timetable has been set.

Barbara Havlin, a Dade County resident, said she has 14 dogs at her house now, including five mostly-black Labrador retriever puppies. Several have white spots, so one with a white foot was named Twinkle – a creative name that will differentiate her when she is attempted to be homed by a rescue organization, Havlin said.

Her newest dog has a big injury on his neck from what Havlin thinks is a fight with another animal. She said the wound’s not healing and is festering.

“He’s a good dog,” she said.