Myles John Swain

Myles John Swain, age 61, of Douglasville, Georgia passed away on May 5, 2020. He is survived by his beloved daughter, Taron Swain Wallace and son-in-law, Kevin Wallace of Statham, Georgia; his father and step-mother, Myles Elwood Swain and Sylvia Jean Swain of Fayetteville, North Carolina; sister, Dany Roberson of Georgia; his brother and sister-in-law, Sean and Marie Swain of Fayetteville, North Carolina; and his four grandchildren, Jaxson Wallace, Maxsim Wallace, Nixin Wallace and Roxi Wallace. Myles was born May 19, 1958 in Michigan, grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina and moved to the Atlanta area in the early 1980's. Myles was very artistic and his home was full of his original paintings. He wrote beautiful poetry, enjoyed listening to music and was very athletic. Myles was also the published author of his autobiography, A Broken Cradle, and was working on a second book at the time of his passing. But Myles' consuming passion in life was helping shelter animals. Shortly after moving to Atlanta, Myles took a job at Fulton County Animal Services and began his four-decade long animal welfare career. Among other positions, he served as the Kennel Manager at both Fulton County Animal Services and DeKalb County Animal Services and as the Rescue Coordinator at Douglas County Animal Services, where he was employed when he passed away. When Myles first started at the Fulton shelter, almost all of the animals that entered the shelter were euthanized. Myles made sure that before they died they were shown tender loving care, often for the first time in their lives. He also saved animals the only way he could at the time, by going against shelter policy to sneak animals out to rescue groups. Eventually, he joined forces with like-minded animal advocates in order to fight for, and eventually usher in, much needed changes at both the Fulton and DeKalb County shelters. Most of his shelter reform work was done behind the scenes, but he also bravely appeared on TV news whistleblower type stories where he passionately advocated for lifesaving changes. Myles dedicated his entire adult life to helping shelter animals. He always saw the best in the animals, especially the ones with problems. He would not only champion the cute little puppy or kitten, but also the eighteen-year-old, one-eyed, diabetic cat; the abused dog that would growl when anyone came near him; the starving dog covered in mange and the one-day-old orphaned kittens with their umbilical cords still attached. And the animals knew it - within minutes he could handle and soothe the most scared dog that no one else could get near. Myles was also such a persuasive advocate for the homeless animals that rescuers who came to the shelter to rescue one animal often found themselves leaving with three or four or seven of them. We are still providing services to our families based on CDC COVID-19 guidelines. According to Myles' wishes, he will be cremated and a celebration of life gathering will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, those who wish to honor Myles Swain's life of service to animals are encouraged to support their local animal shelter or rescue group with donations, by volunteering or especially by adopting or rescuing a pet in Myles' honor. He would have loved that. Messages of condolence may be sent to the family at www.jones-wynn.com. Jones-Wynn Funeral Home of Douglasville is in charge of arrangements. 770-942-2311