County to Crack Down on Animal Control

Attention pet owners: the county intends to be the big dog on the scene from now on.

After years of ignoring leash laws, roaming dogs, required vaccinations, underground dog fighting and dogs bred to protect unlawful products, the Board of County Commissioners has decided to get tough on the animal problem in the county.

In a special meeting on Aug. 6, commissioners spent an hour discussing animal control issues.

Included in the discussion were Don Minchew, city manager of Wewahitchka, St. Joseph Bay Humane Society board member Sandi Christy, Gulf County Sheriff Joe Nugent, Gulf County Animal Control officer Roland Jones, and several citizens.

According to Commission chair Billy Traylor, after an hour of discussion, "we've talked about this situation more today than in the 19 years I've been here," on the board.

As a result of the discussion, the board is pushing for immediate revision and strengthening of the existing county ordinance covering leash laws and other animal control issues.

Jurisdiction, Numbers and Enforcement

The question of county jurisdiction inside city limits was quickly raised.

The county board addressed a problem that was discussed in the previous night's Port St. Joe city commission meting: a city resident called county Animal Control about a problem inside the city limits.

She was sent on a circular chase involving the city, county and Sheriff's Office, trying to resolve a problem with someone's dogs running loose through her yard.

Her plea to the city commission revealed that Roland Jones, the county Animal Control officer, cannot write citations inside either the Port St. Joe or Wewahitchka city limits, but can pick up animals when called for a problem.

Nugent said if people needed help [regarding dogs], his office "will help no matter what, but the problem is citations," he repeated.

Minchew said he thought the Wewahitchka city commission would be "very receptive" toward an inter-local agreement with the county that would allow Jones to write citations within the city limits of Wewahitchka.

Although Charlie Weston, Port St. Joe's city administrator, was not at the Wednesday meeting, the Port St. Joe city commission also indicated in their regular Aug. 5 meeting that it, too, would work with the county in a similar arrangement.

According to county attorney Tim McFarland, who had sent information to the board for the meeting but was not present, the county ordinance governing animal control could be more stringent than state law, but the county ordinance could not be breed specific.

The board made a motion to direct McFarland to work immediately with the Humane Society, Animal Control and city representatives from both Wewahitchka and Port St. Joe to beef up the current county ordinance and make a concerted push to get it done as soon as possible.

Education and Changes Needed

Christy told the board that education was a key component of a tougher animal control ordinance, as well. "People are so used to doing what they want, that it's going to take a lot of education for them to change," she said. The board agreed.

Nugent told commissioners that the biggest problem in Animal Control was that Jones "is alone," emphasizing the need for another Animal Control officer.

But he warned the board that when they add the second officer the number of animals picked up would drastically increase.

"Roland just answers calls," Nugent said, "so when we have another officer who starts patrolling, you'll have twice as many dogs."

During last year's budget meetings, the county cut its second Animal Control officer position, leaving the county with just Jones in the department for the fiscal year 2007-08.

During Wednesday's meeting, the board decided to re-fund the second officer in the 2008-09 budget, which is under consideration now.

According to the board, Jones's position is currently funded through ad valorem taxes.

The board briefly tossed out ideas of partially funding the position and the required Animal Control officer training through money received from citations and registration of dogs.

Nugent also told the board that the county must have an agreement with the State Attorney's office and pay that office to enforce county ordinances.

Nugent added that the board must change the county ordinance to make animal control charges criminal charges in order for the State Attorney's office to enforce them.

Realistically, according to the board, it will take about 60 days to strengthen the county ordinance, advertise it and pass it, "but we've got to start somewhere," one commissioner said.

Butler was instructed to research the cost of enforcing this and other ordinances by the state attorney's office and report back to the board as soon as possible.

Why Now?

The new attention to animal control comes on the heels of a growing number of complaints about aggressive dogs and a spate of recent attacks county-wide by large dogs on people and smaller animals, mostly pets.

Adding to the fire is the growing number of people - locals and visitors - enjoying the county's dog-friendly beaches but refusing to adhere to the county leash law and refusing to pick up after their dogs.

Commissioner Bill Williams said that all responsible pet owners are paying for the few irresponsible ones.

"Gulf County is one of the few Florida beaches that is dog-friendly," he said. "Visitors see ‘dog-friendly beaches' and let their dogs run loose.

"We need the Gulf County Tourism Development Council to educate guests and visitors to their own responsibility that includes sticking to the leash laws and cleaning up after their dogs on the beach."
Williams admitted that the problem was "not new, just heightened. It should have been taken care of a long time ago," he said.

Commissioner Nathan Peters, a life-long resident of Gulf County, said he had spent a lot of time on the beaches, especially Cape San Blas and Money Bayou.
"I've seen dogs mess on the beach and their owners just kick sand over it, then kids run and play in it," he said. "The only way to stop it is to say no dogs on the beach. In fact, I'd support a motion of no dogs on the beach."

Williams responded by saying the board should first consider other options, including a dog-friendly area like what has recently been imposed at Panama City Beach.

When a vote was called, Peters' motion died for lack of a second.

A resident and dog owner of Cape San Blas also asked the board to "think hard before restricting dogs from the beach," reminding them that Gulf County's dog-friendly beaches were a major tourist and economic attraction.

Williams restated that the board "can't move too fast," adding that they needed education, enforcement and public safety, but couldn't just rush in.

Several board members recognized the fact that Gulf County was one of the few dog-friendly beach areas left in the state, but agreed that having dogs on the beach was a privilege, just like driving on the beach in Gulf County, they said, and that privileges, if abused long enough, stand the possibility of being revoked.

In answer to another homeowner's complaint about no one enforcing current laws, Traylor said that during budget sessions, such as last year's public meetings, that "mad people" wanted the board to cut the county budget.

"Last year we cut Animal Control. But every time we cut the budget, you lose services. That happened last year when we cut Animal Control. I guarantee it will happen again this year in the upcoming budget meetings," Traylor said.

Roland told the board they should be "proactive. Let's put the county on notice. Let's not wait for a child to get mauled."

Traylor agreed with Jones that county officers must have jurisdiction to "go in and get a dog no matter where it is."

He added that all costs for catching unsecured and/or dangerous animals should be borne by the pet owner.

"There will be no free ride for people who have dangerous animals," Traylor said.

Jones told the board that the state law to have a dog officially declared and branded as "dangerous" was a very convoluted and lengthy road.

Traylor admitted one of the problems for the board was defining a vicious dog, but repeatedly referred to large dogs - pit bulls, Rottweilers and Dobermans by name - that populate the county.

He said he and others living in the Wewahitchka area had to be careful of what he called "large dogs around houses."

"Guys, we know why they're around the houses. They're there to protect product and we all know what that product is. And then they fight them, too."

"I feel 98 percent of the county wants us to do something. The other 2 percent won't want us to do anything," Traylor said.

Humane Society Assistance

Also during the discussion the board voted unanimously to pay $2,000 per month for June through September expenses to the Humane Society to keep the Society operating until the beginning of the new fiscal year in October.

According to Butler, the commission has allocated $38,000 to the Humane Society in the 2008-09 fiscal year, with approximately $114,000 in the budget for Animal Control, which includes a second Animal Control officer.

Humane Society Benefit and Pet Adoption Bash

Dockside Café will host a Tropical Bash Saturday, Aug. 16 at Dockside, 340 Marina Drive in Port St. Joe to benefit the St. Joseph Bay Humane Society.
Spectator sports begin at 11 a.m. ET and end at 8:30 p.m. ET with live entertainment from Southern Rain. The Humane Society will be on hand during the day with pets to adopt. For more information, contact Ben Hennington at 850-229-5200.
11 a.m. until - $500 First Place Volleyball Tournament, ages 16 and up
3 p.m. - Oyster Shucking Contest - up to $200 in cash and prizes
4 p.m. - Oyster Eating Contest - First Place gets a slot in the "World Oyster Eating Championship" in New Orleans
6 p.m. - all ages Hula Hoop contest
8 p.m. - Ugliest Tropical Shirt contest
8:30 p.m. Southern Rain