PHOTOS: Social media spotlight gives shelter dogs a 2nd chance at life

News

Social media has transformed the dog adoption process at LifeLine, where animals have to be put down each week due to shelter overpopulation.

Mary Ann Dunkentell is reunited with her dog, Va-Beep, at the DeKalb Animal Shelter on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Chamblee. (Olivia Bowdoin for the AJC)

A dog peers through the bars of a cage at the DeKalb Animal Shelter on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Chamblee. (Olivia Bowdoin for the AJC)

Social Media Coordinator Sam Moore puts a dog back in its cage at the DeKalb Animal Shelter on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Chamblee. (Olivia Bowdoin for the AJC)

Volunteer and board member Jane McAuley feeds Angel Mist a treat at the DeKalb Animal Shelter on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Chamblee. (Olivia Bowdoin for the AJC)

A volunteer teaches visitors how to use a leash at the DeKalb Animal Shelter on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Chamblee. (Olivia Bowdoin for the AJC)

A volunteer shows visitors the dogs at risk for euthanasia at the DeKalb Animal Shelter on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Chamblee. (Olivia Bowdoin for the AJC)

Kim Minshew and her foster son, Christopher (pictured), take a dog home from the DeKalb Animal Shelter on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Chamblee. Kim says dogs have worked better than therapy for Christopher, so they drove three hours to pick one out. (Olivia Bowdoin for the AJC)

Coretta Johnson reclaims her recently adopted dog, Tori, at the DeKalb Animal Shelter on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Chamblee. (Olivia Bowdoin for the AJC)

A volunteer takes a dog for a walk at the DeKalb Animal Shelter on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Chamblee. (Olivia Bowdoin for the AJC)

Devoted volunteer Lee Gatewood sits with a dog, Cassandra, outside the DeKalb Animal Shelter on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Chamblee. (Olivia Bowdoin for the AJC)

Zach Jackson gets his new dog, Pomelo, ready to go home from the DeKalb Animal Shelter on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Chamblee. (Olivia Bowdoin for the AJC)

1/11

Credit: Olivia Bowdoin

Mary Ann Dunkentell is reunited with her dog, Va-Beep, at the DeKalb Animal Shelter on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Chamblee. (Olivia Bowdoin for the AJC)

Today's Gallery Headlines

PHOTOS: Halloween in Jacksonville ahead of the Georgia-Florida game

‘Til death do us part: Metro Atlanta couples tie the know on Halloween

PHOTOS: ‘Til death do us part: Metro Atlanta couples tie the knot on Halloween

PHOTOS: Kennesaw State football defeats UTEP, becomes bowl eligible

Rusty Mansell, co-chairman of the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame, listens to remarks from Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart after Smart was inducted into the Georgia Football Hall of Fame association Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. (Daniel Varnado for the AJC)

PHOTOS: Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony

More Galleries

Former UGA football coach Mark Richt poses for a photo with his wife Katharyn and four of their grandchildren during the third annual Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl fundraiser for Parkinson’s and Crohn’s disease research at Showtime Bowl in Athens on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. Richt, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2021, hosted the event. (C.J. Bartunek for the AJC)

PHOTOS: 2025 Dawg Bowl

PHOTOS: 'The Bert Show' through the years

PHOTOS: Hawks fall at home to Raptors in season opener