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County will apply state law to dangerous dogs

Lori Glenn


— MOULTRIE — The vote has yet to be cast, but the Colquitt County Board of Commissioners Monday, by general consensus, have agreed to simply enforce state law rather than significantly alter the county’s dangerous dog ordinance and to give the Colquitt County Humane Society authorization to enforce it.
The consideration now is how much more to fund the humane society, which holds a service contract with the county, for animal control.
The move, however, would not absolve the sheriff’s department from being called out as back up in dealing with irate dog owners, county officials said.
State law addresses dangerous and vicious dogs and doesn’t apply to nuisance animals. That falls under the county ordinance. Up until now, Colquitt County hasn’t given authority to any entity to enforce the state law, County Attorney Lester Castellow said in a work session. The sheriff’s department has been called out over the years to catch problem dogs, “but the sheriff has more than he can say grace over, so it would be so low down on the totem pole for him,” he said.
As it stands, the Moultrie-Colquitt County Humane Society has one staff member to work the county and one to work the city, Don Flowers, humane society director, said.
“A lot of these dogs, they’re real smart and you just can’t catch them. We chased that brown Lab that was in the paper down at Hardee’s three or four weeks back for about 2.5 miles, and we never did catch him,” Flowers said.
Funding for the service contract has been backward, he said. Sixty percent of the dogs handled by the humane society come from county territory, but the city funds the majority of the service contract.
“I could use really use more funding,” he said.
Don Wooten, resident of East Gate Subdivision, complained to the board that in his neighborhood there are several dogs which run loose that he doesn’t think are vaccinated. There are also two vicious dogs, he alleged, which have escaped their enclosure and attacked another dog in the subdivision. He also complained of a small neighbor dog which he said comes in his yard and nips people.
“Nuisance dogs are not needed in a neighborhood if you can’t control them. There should be something done about them,” Wooten said.
Commissioner Billy Herndon expressed reservations at placing too many restrictions on county dog owners, saying that his dogs, which run loose, prevent break-ins.
County Chairman Benny Alderman agreed. He quoted an elderly woman who approached him on the subject.
“She said, ‘I depend on my dog for my protection.’ And I don’t have to tell y’all how much crime there is in this county. Her dog runs loose, and she depends on it to protect property outside her house like her lawnmower...,” he said.
“There’s not a person on the board that doesn’t want to enforce the Georgia law (regarding vicious and dangerous dogs). I feel like that’s the way we ought to go,” Alderman said, adding that the humane society will need additional funds.
Anyone wishing to challenge a decision of the humane society can take the matter to the magistrate court, Castellow noted. Many of these will be decided on a case-by-case basis. For instance, if a person has a warning sign on their open property to beware the dog, it doesn’t necessarily protect that animal from being labeled by the law a dangerous dog, but if someone comes into a fenced area, that likely would be considered provocation.
State law also requires rabies inoculations and tags for all pets dogs and cats. The pets are required to wear those tags, said Flowers. Some of the commissioners seemed a bit daunted by the formidable challenge of enforcing that aspect of the law.
Also, Flowers said, many are unaware that Georgia does not allow an owner to vaccinate a dog or cat on his own. Inoculations are to be administered only by a licensed veterinarian, according to state law. Flowers would like to see local veterinarians venture into outlying areas to hold rabies shot clinics as they have done in years past.
The board also will consider a set amount for liability insurance on a dangerous or vicious dog. The state sets a minimum of $15,000, but Castellow said that amount is unrealistically too low.
Humane Society Director Don reported that this past year, his organization handled about five dog to human bite cases and up to about five more nips.
The Board of Commissioners meets again tonight at 7 p.m. at the courthouse annex.

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