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Dead Animal in the Road or the House in Columbus, GA: Who Removes It?

Checked against Columbus Consolidated Government, West Central Health District, Georgia DPH and local news reports on November 7, 2026. How we research this site.

In Columbus the road and the house are handled by different people. Animal Services, now run by PAWS Humane, takes dead animals in the roadway. A dead pet you can carry in yourself. An animal that died under your floor or in the attic is yours to sort out.

Who handles what in Columbus

Roadkill: Animal Services, not Public Works

People often call the wrong department first. The Public Works FAQ is specific that its Community Service Division, which clears litter from the right of way, does not pick up dead animals. The call goes instead to the Animal Services Division.

That division is the old Columbus Animal Care and Control. PAWS Humane Society took over the city-funded operation in early 2025 and renamed it the PAWS Humane Animal Services Division, but kept the phone number, (706) 653-4512. A PAWS representative told WRBL that residents can call it about dead animals in the roadway, should not try to remove one themselves, and that the division will bring in extra help if it needs to. PAWS also told WRBL its officers work until 10 p.m. but stop taking calls at 5 p.m., so ring during the day.

A pet that has died

Animal Services will not come to the house for a deceased pet. It will take one brought to its Milgen Road building, next door to PAWS Humane Society.

Inside the house

No public agency in Columbus deals with a carcass inside a structure. Animals that get into an attic, a wall cavity or a crawlspace and die there are a private job: find it, remove it, clean up what it has soaked into, and seal the gap that let it in. The finding is often the slow part. Smell moves along joists and ducts, and the worst spot in the room is not always where the animal is.

We do not publish a price for it. Whether a ceiling or wall has to be opened is what decides the work, and that cannot be judged from a description.

The smell

It lasts until the carcass dries out or is eaten by insects. One Extension expert gave a small animal about a week or two, and Extension guidance is that larger ones take longer. A Georgia summer and a closed wall cavity slow the drying. Odor absorbers help you live with it. They do not make it stop.

Before you pick it up

Rabies does turn up in Columbus. In July 2025 the West Central Health District reported a raccoon that tested positive in the Japonica Drive and Laurel Drive area, and its advice included not picking up or handling stray or wild animals, and reporting any bite or scratch to Animal Care and Control and to the Columbus Environmental Health Office, which is on (706) 321-6170.

If a person or pet touched the animal before it died, keep it and call Environmental Health before you dispose of anything: an animal can only be tested if it is still available. Georgia’s Department of Public Health says to wash any bite thoroughly with soap and water and call your doctor straight away, and doctors can consult the Georgia Poison Center on 800-282-5846 about treatment.

Questions people ask

Who picks up a dead animal in the road in Columbus, GA?

The PAWS Humane Animal Services Division, which took over Columbus Animal Care and Control in 2025. Its spokesperson told WRBL that residents can call it about dead animals in the roadway, on the same number as before, (706) 653-4512, and should not try to move one themselves.

Will Columbus pick up my dead pet from the house?

No. The Animal Services Division told WRBL it cannot come to homes to pick up deceased pets, but you can bring one to its Milgen Road location, next to PAWS Humane Society.

Does Columbus Public Works collect dead animals?

Not its Community Service Division. The Public Works FAQ says that division does not pick up dead animals, small pieces of glass or anything smaller than a cigarette butt from the right of way. Call Animal Services for one in the road.

How long will a dead animal under the house smell?

Nobody can give a fixed date. An Extension expert told one homeowner the odor from a small animal usually fades within a week or two. Extension guidance is that larger animals take longer, because the smell stops only once the carcass dries out or insects have consumed it.