DOGS ROAM THE STREETS

FERRIS – When you see dogs running aimlessly around the city streets with no owner protection, you wonder why?

When you see children getting attacked by dogs whose owners do not seem to care where their pets are, you know there is an animal control problem in that city.

When a seven-year-old child was bitten by a dog earlier this month in Ferris and transported by CareFlite to Children’s Hospital for medical care, that was just one more in a long line of loose dog incidents.

The last officer in that position was removed many months ago.

Len Baxley, a Ferris resident who regularly tends to stray dogs running about town, said City Manager Bill Jordan told him the last Animal Control Officer was fired due to the condition of the shelter, but Baxley said that officer had received good shelter reviews.

Jordan said the city has been trying to replace this important piece of the puzzle at the local animal shelter.

“We have had a hard time finding a candidate that was qualified for the rate of pay that was being offered,” he said.

That rate was $15.75 an hour, but now $18 is being offered.

Jordan said he addressed the budget issue recently and presented the problem to council.

He said he requested additional funds to offer a better salary package to attract a candidate.

“The council approved the increase and we have been able to successfully extend an offer to a candidate,” he said.

The new animal control officer, according to Jordan is set to begin March 1.

Currently maintained through the Public Works Department and not the Police Department, Jordan also said, “We have additionally been working with rescue groups and have reduced the shelter population to three with no euthanasia.”

While some residents might wonder why Animal Control falls under Public Works versus the Police Department since incidents like this past weekend’s dog bite does require police intervention, Jordan said, “All cities are organized differently. It is just as common to have animal control under Public Works as it is under the PD.”

He said in some cities, Animal Control is its own department or under code compliance along with building inspection.

“The decision of how to organize the structure of the city for any department relies on the needs of the city as well as the resources and talent available,” Jordan explained,

“In the case of Ferris, animal control had been under the Public Works - it has been several names throughout the years – umbrella for years but was put under the PD by the prior City Manager Carl Sherman,

“After Sherman’s departure, I was receiving regular complaints about no response from the animal control officer. I felt like the PD was unable to dedicate the time needed to properly provide oversight for animal control since they gave police services priority, and rightfully so. I moved animal control back to its original department so that more oversight could be given in an effort to reduce complaints and improve services.”

Service does not seem to have noticeable improved, which could have something to do with the fact little to no citations or tickets are being issued to negligent pet owners.

“When the city does not use the power of the ticket book it creates more and dangerous problems for the city,” Baxley stated.

Jordan said in the last year four tickets/citations have been issued. That was confirmed by the City Manager after a December meeting with Baxley when he was told there had been no citations or tickets written since December 2017 by Public Works Director Scott Metcalfe.

Jordan said the last citation issued by Public Works or the Police Department was written on Dec. 18, 2018.

The Public Works call sheets and Police Department animal control incidents are also logged reflecting these citations Jordan said.

“All non-police/fire requests of the city are logged through our Customer Request Management (CRM) system. Public Safety requests are handled through our dispatch (CAD) system,” he explained.

One easy fix might also be a mandate the city has been breaking for years. Apparently since 1989 when the Animal Control Advisory Board was adopted, however, there has never been an Advisory Board created.

Jordan has been in his position two years, and the board has gone unnamed during his and Metcalfe’s tenure.

“We have identified the lack of an advisory board as one of our deficiencies,” Jordan explained. “Bringing this board online will be one of the first priorities of our new officer. The board’s role as defined by state law will be to advise the city on compliance with chapter 823 of the Texas Health and Safety Code.”

It has also been said residents are not allowed to visit the shelter. One woman even had to apparently pick her wandering dog up from City Hall.

Jordan said the shelter is open for visits.

“People are allowed to go to the shelter,” he assured. “We are more than happy to let anyone in the shelter to view animals as they all need a good loving home, but even with an animal control officer on staff, the City does not have a full-time shelter attendant. We must therefore operate on a by-appointment basis.”

The problem of not being able to view animals in the shelter regularly could be a point of contention, but for Baxley it was the food and toys that were thrown in the trash several months ago with little discretion.

“The Ferris Animal Shelter let two pallets of food expire and then threw it away instead of giving to a needy pet owner,” Baxley said after retrieving from the trash the unused items that were discarded.

It was confirmed the shelter had a rat problem at the time the items were thrown away. And, while the food might have been expired or rat infested, Baxley was still adamant the toys did not need to be rejected. Metcalfe said, according to Baxley, some items had been salvaged, but that was unprovable.

There was also the case of the dead dog wrapped in a black trash bag and thrown in the dumpster. Confirmed to have been done by a new Public Works employee who picked up the dog’s body, Baxley said it not only looks bad, but is a violation of protocol.

Currently there are 30 current animal licenses on file. All licenses expire after 12 months and must be renewed.

Anyone who wants to adopt an animal from the shelter can contact the city at 972-842-2752, or stop by the water billing desk at 104 S. Central St. and request to view the animals Jordan said. If you do choose to adopt a pet, you need to complete an adoption form and pay the adoption fees as well as prepay for rabies vaccination.

Baxley said he encourages the city to be held accountable for doing its job along with the pet owner.

“Even though writing a citation is unpopular it needs to be written because a person getting bit does not care if the owner could pay for the citation or not,” Baxley concluded.