Public calls for animal control reforms and leadership change

BLUE RIDGE, Ga – Residents of Fannin County came forward to issue complaints about animal control and Julie Wooten asked for Animal Control Officer John Drullinger’s termination.

Wooten suffered a roaming dog attack at her property on January 12, 2021 and lost one of her geese to the incident.  It’s the second time a dog attacked Wooten’s geese. She estimated to have lost $12,000 because of the continued assaults.

She claimed Drullinger never responded to her phone calls even after being instructed to by Chairman Jamie Hensley. According to Wooten, she previously called nine different times about the same dog. She wanted to know why the animal control didn’t have paperwork on the dog because according to her, Drullinger picked up the dog once.

“Am I not getting my information out of spite because I have been so vocal about my displeasure with it?” she asked.

She went on to detail other encounters with Drullinger. She retold her experience of asking to adopt a dog that wasn’t fixed. Drullinger told her to go through a rescue first. However, recently another individual could adopt eight- to ten-week-old puppies. Typically, a dog is fixed between four to six months.

“Why does he get to change his rules when it suits him? That’s the issue with it, not the person to adopt the puppies but the fact that Mr. Drullinger is making up these rules as he goes.” Wooten stated.

She presented research detailing 11 roaming dog attacks last year and three required medical attention.

FYN spoke with Chairman Jamie Hensley about the accusations. He stated that the county’s trying to rectify the situation and making changes to animal control for the safety of the animals and the employees. The goal is to provide more transparency and accountability to the public. They hope to address everything as quickly and positively as possible.

Debi Holcomb asked for a written policy and procedures for animal control, so a department head couldn’t act of his own accord. She also spoke about not being allowed to sign a contract for a dog around Thanksgiving 2020 and had to call a rescue in to obtain a contract for her.

 

Animal Control did recently make several improvements to the facility. Since Hensley took office, they fixed the drainage issue inside the building, trucks now have a GPS monitoring system, new sink installed, new hours, an account for donations, and started a volunteer of the month.  Under former Chairman Stan Helton, the volunteer program began, outdoor access to kennels, and installation of an outdoor play area.