Dawson County Animal Control & Code Compliance

05/29/2026

Update: they're all safely home and secured. A tree fell and compromised the fence. Thank you!

🚨LOOSE LIVESTOCK ALERT🚨 Is anyone missing 2 horses and 4 mules near Holcomb Rd and Kelly Bridge Road? We have officers on scene trying to locate and secure the horses, but we need to know where they belong.

⚠️ Please take caution ⚠️ if you're driving in the area. We want you, the horses, and our officers to stay safe.

05/21/2026

What do you do when you pick up the cutest, sweetest old girl right before your lunch break? You take her with you and share your chicken nuggets, duh! Enjoy these photos from Officers Madison & Megan 💚

05/18/2026

We know a lot of people had posted about this sweet girl in Chestatee and were worried about her. She is safe and sound on her way to the Humane Society! Thank you to everyone who helped us find her!💚

04/30/2026

04/30/2026

Officer Kessinger is officially NACA ACO Level II certified. It took many hours of dedicated hard work and is truly an accomplishment worth celebrating, as it allows her to better serve the animals and people of Dawson County. Congratulations, Officer Kessinger!

04/20/2026

Congratulations, Chief Davis! We look forward to continuing to work with you in your new role!

Please help us congratulate Chief Davis on his promotion to Fire Marshal.

04/18/2026

And that's a wrap on ACO Appreciation Week. Thank you for all the notes of appreciation on our posts this week!

A lot of people say "I couldn't do your job, I love animals too much," but the truth is that you can't be good at this job if you don't have a heart for animals. We are all animal lovers here and that's at the heart of everything we do. Humans made the choice to domesticate animals and we make the choice to own them as pets and livestock. Therefore, it is our responsibility to treat them well and to speak up for them when they are being mistreated. As Elle Woods said "animals go on suffering unless we speak up for them... We are their voice, please speak up." 💚🐾

04/17/2026

Officer Madison is always striving to use her skills and experience to make a meaningful difference for both animals and people. She founded Racing to the Rescue, a car show to benefit the Dawson County Humane Society, and partnered with The Place to start the Pet Food Pantry. If you’ve had a positive experience with Madison, please share them below and wish her a Happy Animal Control Officer Appreciation Week!🐾💚



Fun Facts about Madison:
🐾She has two dogs and she also cares for a number of formerly feral barn cats.
🩷She loves reading, hand embroidery, fishing, scrapbooking, and cooking and baking. Her favorite food is hibachi, favorite movie is the Santa Clause, and her first job was running a pet/livestock sitting business.
🐶She is fueled by strawberry acai refreshers, dill pickles, and the desire to protect the animals and keep them safe.

According to Madison…
One thing people would be surprised to learn about her job: How much we take our work home with us. It's impossible to go home and not think about the sweet faces of the animals we work with and go over our cases and interactions over and over again.

The most rewarding part of her job: When I've rescued an animal that was not thriving, but they recover, get adopted, and then I get to see that animal again once they're living their best life. Even if it's just a photo, it makes my whole day. There are a few who still visit me and I cherish that!

A memorable case: I rescued a dog from a really sad situation. She was just surviving, she wasn't thriving. She was adopted by friends of mine, so I still get to see her. One year from rescue, she was a completely different dog. She gained necessary weight, she was so clean, she was actually a different color, she had a whole different demeanor. I swear, she remembered me. She put her head on my lap and looked up at me and I said then if this is the only measure of my success in this job, it was all worth it.

The community can support us by sharing in our successes, spaying/neutering and vaccinating their pets, donating pet food to The Place, adopting from or donating to the Dawson County Humane Society, and even just waving hi when they see us out and about.

04/16/2026

Thank you to the wonderful citizen who gave eggs to our officers! It was a beautiful ACO Appreciation gift!

04/16/2026

ACO Ferguson is certified in wildlife and forestry preservation and enjoys hiking, nature photography, and cooking. 🌳📷🍽

Fun Facts about Seth:
🌳He has a dog named Gigi who loves joining him while hiking or camping.
🌳His favorite movie is the original "Alien" from 1979.
🌳His favorite animal is the Gibbon Monkey.

If you’ve had a positive experience with Seth, please share them below and wish him a Happy Animal Control Officer Appreciation Week! 🐾👍🏻

According to Seth…
A funny story from the field: I once had a call involving two horses that had escaped their paddock and roamed a mile down Highway 136 to a neighbor's home. While the owner was being contacted, I responded to the call and found the horses in the woods near the complainant's house. I got them to start following me after showing them I had treats to feed them. They were both on either side of me as I walked, and I started to run out of treats. When I slowed down on feeding them treats, they noticed and started to bump into me like "Hey! keep the treats coming!". By the time I got to the complainant's driveway they were bullying me, knocking me around between them like a ping pong ball! I almost fell over several times!
What keeps him motivated on tough days:
Knowing that the good my coworkers and I accomplish outweighs the bad we experience.
Most rewarding part of his job: The times I've reunited pets with their owners after they had been missing, sometimes for months. Those reunions are very heartwarming to have a part in. Also the number of citizens we've been able to provide aid to who have been struggling to stay in compliance for financial reasons.