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Highlands Today

Animal Control Calls, Adoptions Are Climbing

Jasmina Meyer/Highlands Today

Darryl Scott, Animal Control director, shows one of two female Blue Tick Hound puppies up for adoption at the county shelter. "We send people to the humane society and they'll send people to us," Scott said, "because we're all out for the same thing, to find animals a good home."

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By JIM KONKOLY

Highlands Today

Published: November 24, 2008

SEBRING - In the past fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, complaint calls handled by Highlands County Animal Control grew by 21 percent over the previous year, shooting up to 7,730.

Rising more dramatically were the number of stray dogs and cats adopted, which grew sixfold. Compared to 26 dog and cat adoptions in 2006-07, the past fiscal year saw 138 dogs and 17 cats going to new homes through adoptions from the county facility at 7300 Haywood Taylor Blvd.

The number of dogs and cats donated to non-profit rescue organizations also grew, rising from 31 to 78.

Darryl Scott, animal control director, said he's optimistic that adoptions will continue to rise, particularly with the success of the department's participation in the Iams pet foods "Home for the Holidays" adoption campaign, which started Oct. 1.

Running through Christmas, the Iams' promotion gives people adopting animals from a shelter free cat or dog food plus a booklet on raising their pets.

Through the seven weeks since Oct. 1, Scott said, more than 100 dogs and cats have gone out from impoundment either through adoption or donation to rescue groups.

And, he reports, the delivery on Wednesday of an eight-cage, solid-body dog pen fitted onto the back of one of the department's three pickup trucks will help field officers work more efficiently in handling the rising animal calls.

Two of the three field officers still operate with a wire cage, divided in the middle with two long compartments on each side, strapped into the bed of the pickup truck. Officers can hold up to four dogs in the cage, but not when they've rounded up an aggressive dog which has to be held alone on one side.

With the new eight-cage pen, each dog can be held safely and comfortably in separate cages, unable to see the other dogs, with a ventilation system that runs fresh air through each cage.

"Yesterday was the fist day I took it out," Field Officer Brandon Owens said on Friday morning, "and I had a lot of people saying it's good to see that the county is stepping up as far as Animal Control goes."

"It's safer for the animals," Scott said. "And it's safer for our officers.

"And it's making us more efficient," he added. "Now, Brandon can stay out in the field longer, because he has the capacity to hold eight dogs."

The truck cage was a sizeable investment at $13,500, Scott said, but it's the same bed used by Polk County Animal Control, which reports that this model is extremely durable.

"The great thing about it is that Polk County tells us they'll go through three or four trucks and still keep using this same bed," Scott said. "So we're looking at a life expectancy on it of 15 to 20 years."

Other improvements at Animal Control have been made during the past calendar year. The facility now has five separate pasture areas totaling about 10 acres to separate and hold livestock. The new arrangement replaces a fenced area that was just 60 feet wide and 140 feet deep and one large, undivided pasture.

Throughout a year, Animal Control has to pick up not only dogs and cats but also every type of livestock, from horses and donkeys to cows and hogs, goats and sheep. It's not uncommon that the department also is holding an assortment of other animals ranging from ducks and geese and doves to rabbits and reptiles and, at one point during the summer, emus.

With a $65,000 appropriation, Scott is working toward building new dog pens that will replace dilapidated pens dating back to at least the mid 1970s. He's hoping to see them up by mid 2009.

The roof over the old dog pens is still good and will stay up to shelter an area exclusively for keeping cats. That will mark a big improvement, Scott said, since many of the cats now have to be held four or five to a cage next to cages with stray dogs.

Pointing to a set of 12 new stainless steel cages, each holding one of the adoptable cats, Scott said, "We've taken a small, baby step forward in our cat pen situation."

Once the new dog pens are in, Scott said, adoptions should go up because staff will be able to keep the adoptable dogs and puppies separated from dogs brought in that for one of many reasons can't be offered to the public.

"All of this is steps in the right direction," Scott said. "We're going through a growing phase and catching up with the county that's growing up around us."

Animal control's annual report for 2007-08 shows the impoundment of 2,423 cats, 1,751 dogs and 745 livestock and wildlife. Of those, 430 dogs, 22 cats and nine livestock were claimed by owners, and 417 livestock/wildlife were relocated.

Unable to hold most animals long term for lack of space, the department had to euthanize 1,086 dogs and 2,346 cats.

A constant goal is to increase adoptions and donations to rescue groups, Scott said, because "there's just an awful lot of good animals that come through here, and it's a shame to see a lot of them have to be euthanized."

Scott credits the work of caretaker Teri Dosil as a major factor in adoptions rising by her spreading the word about adoptable animals at the county shelter.

"She has just really taken this on full bore, she's a very caring person, and she knows there's a tremendous amount of people out there in the animal community," he said.

Scott's optimism about increasing adoptions also comes from more people realizing that the department does adopt.

"A lot of people have come here and said they never knew that we adopted animals," Scott said. "I ask them how they found out and they'll say from the newspaper, or the radio, or they heard from a friend. And we also get some referrals from the Humane Society (of Highlands County).

"We send people to the humane society and they'll send people to us," he added, "because we're all out for the same thing, to find animals a good home."

Jim Konkoly can be reached at 8663-386-5855 or e-mail jkonkoly@highlandstoday.com

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