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Douglas County animal control officer Lee Bartholomew lifts a kitten into a cage on the back of his pickup after taking the animal from outside a home in the Mill Pine area of Roseburg on Wednesday. The cat had been left with a shoelace tied around its neck. With cuts to the Douglas County budget Bartholomew will be the only animal control officer to cover the entire county (except for Reedsport, Winston and Myrtle Creek).
A recent sweltering weekend brought reports of dogs left in overheated cars. Another call involved a dachshund and a Weimaraner blocking traffic. Then a tied-up kitten.
The three animal control deputies with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office respond to thousands of calls for service each year. But planned budget cuts will leave one of those deputies facing the calls alone.
“What that will mean exactly is probably yet to be seen, because we haven't been down to one deputy yet,” said Deputy Dwes Hutson, Sheriff's Office spokesman. “But what we're anticipating is that one deputy is not going to be able to respond to 5,000-plus calls per year.”
That's what representatives of animal welfare groups fear. They are afraid that suspected cases of animal neglect and abuse may go without proper scrutiny, that more dogs will run at large, that vicious dogs might have more chances to bite.
The decision to cut two-thirds of the animal control division was a difficult one, said Sheriff John Hanlin at a hearing last month before the Douglas County Budget Committee. The layoffs were part of the Board of Commissioners' call for 10 percent cuts for each county department as a result of declining federal timber safety net revenue.
After cuts in recent years, Hanlin said he had no choice but to cut more personnel. His priorities included keeping 24-hour patrol service and keeping the jail open at full capacity.
Public safety, Hanlin said, would have to take precedence over pet safety. But to those in the animal world, the two are one in the same.
The three animal control deputies with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office respond to thousands of calls for service each year. But planned budget cuts will leave one of those deputies facing the calls alone.
“What that will mean exactly is probably yet to be seen, because we haven't been down to one deputy yet,” said Deputy Dwes Hutson, Sheriff's Office spokesman. “But what we're anticipating is that one deputy is not going to be able to respond to 5,000-plus calls per year.”
That's what representatives of animal welfare groups fear. They are afraid that suspected cases of animal neglect and abuse may go without proper scrutiny, that more dogs will run at large, that vicious dogs might have more chances to bite.
The decision to cut two-thirds of the animal control division was a difficult one, said Sheriff John Hanlin at a hearing last month before the Douglas County Budget Committee. The layoffs were part of the Board of Commissioners' call for 10 percent cuts for each county department as a result of declining federal timber safety net revenue.
After cuts in recent years, Hanlin said he had no choice but to cut more personnel. His priorities included keeping 24-hour patrol service and keeping the jail open at full capacity.
Public safety, Hanlin said, would have to take precedence over pet safety. But to those in the animal world, the two are one in the same.
For the full version of this story see Sunday’s News-Review, or check back Monday morning.
