Pet-shop owner asks Pickens County to pilot in-store adoptions with county shelter

Dora Kelly, owner of Kelly Family Pets in Jasper, urged the Pickens County Board of Commissioners during public comment to allow a pilot partnership between her store and the Pickens Animal Shelter to foster and adopt puppies in-store.

Kelly said her store has adopted out multiple litters since opening and has been trained to use other shelters' adoption systems. "Why not try it for a month and see how it goes?" she asked, suggesting a trial while the county hires a new shelter director. She said other area shelters charge about $150 per adoption while Pickens charges $75 and argued that partnering would give the municipal shelter an additional $75 per puppy adopted through her shop.

Kelly described operational practices she uses with partner rescues: scheduling spay/neuter appointments, entering adopter data into the shelters' systems, and keeping post-adoption follow-up files. She said her business will absorb day-to-day care and only charge adopters a modest fee to cover food and supplies.

Chairman asked Kelly to leave contact information with Chief Jody Weaver so county staff could review legal and operational questions. The chairman noted the shelter is in transition and the county is in the process of hiring a shelter director, making this an appropriate time to evaluate whether an in-store adoption pilot is permissible and how payments would be handled.

No county policy or formal decision was made at the meeting; the request was referred to staff for legal review and follow-up.

Quote: "We have been open for 2 months now and to date have adopted out 5 litters of 8 to 10 puppies each," Dora Kelly said.