In the muddy backyard of her new south Fulton home, Peggy Dye is squeezing her emu.

"I call this one Baby, because she just loves to be hugged," says the septuagenarian, wrapping her arms around the feather-boa neck of a 5-foot bird. "Give me a kiss."

Frank Niemeir/Staff (ENLARGE)

A noisy peacock perches on a bike on Peggy Dye's property.

Frank Niemeir/Staff (ENLARGE)

Peggy Dye checks out her Snoopy phone in her sparkling 900-square-foot home in south Fulton.

Frank Niemeir/Staff (ENLARGE)

Dye's $150,000 house was built through Fulton County's Housing Rehabilitation Program, a federally funded effort to renovate substandard housing.

• Photos: Peacocks, goats, emus remain • More Atlanta and south Fulton news

Baby demurs. But Dye has no shortage of overtures from other wildlife in her 10-acre compound, which rings with greetings from goats, turkeys, geese and one really loud-mouthed peacock.

They may be dreading her eventual departure.

For the past few years, Dye has lived in a trailer in the midst of her menagerie, at the far end of her 10-acre parcel. It wasn't always easy. She's had no running water and minimal conveniences. She'd wash up at friends' houses and take advantage of the surrounding woods.

This week she's moving up the hill, to a brand-new, two-bedroom bungalow, with — luxurious! — a tiled bathroom, chrome towel racks and vanity lighting. If mom is inside her new palace, the animals will have to wait for their hugs.

The $150,000 house was built through Fulton County's Housing Rehabilitation Program, a federally funded effort to renovate substandard housing for low-income and middle-income citizens through the county's Department of Housing and Community Development.

Trailer failed to meet code

The county's $1.4-million program provides money for new roofing, upgraded wiring, plumbing repairs, rental assistance and down-payment assistance. Dye had been on a waiting list for help from the county since 2004, after her trailer failed to meet a variety of county codes.

If the trailer was substandard as far as the county was concerned, it was fine with Dye. It beat living in the back of her van, where she'd also stayed for a while, and was much better than the leaky log cabin on her property. "I could have lived in a car if I had to," said the cheerful grandmom, looking more urban than farmer in her black boots, black jeans and black top.

Dye has owned this slice of south Fulton for more than 30 years, in an unincorporated area near College Park and off South Fulton Parkway that is still zoned agricultural and is largely rural, despite the new homes springing up here and there.

After divorcing her husband and seeing her three children grown and gone, Dye learned how to take care of herself. She worked as a bolt-checker on a production line at the former Owens-Illinois plastic factory, but she injured her hand and left on disability.

Last year the county worked its way down the list to her name. "We got in there and looked at the situation and decided that the best thing to do was to start from ground zero," said John Robinson, deputy director of housing and community development.

It was impossible to efficiently upgrade the trailer and still meet county codes, he said. So instead, the county built a new house near the front of the property, a 900-square-foot gem with a porch that looks out over the animals.

The new house is the exception rather than the rule, Robinson said. Most of the Housing Rehabilitation Program's efforts are smaller. The county assisted about 130 families last year, said Carolyn Stewart, who oversees the HOME program, which provides part of the funding for HRP work.

The county retains title to the house for five years, said county spokesman William H. Durant, and awards a 20 percent equity to Dye each year; in 2013 it will be 100 percent hers.

"This is one of the good things about county government," said Commissioner William Edwards, who was among county officials who recently made the trip to Dye's house for a ceremonial handing over of the key.

"These types of things make it all worthwhile."