Grand Junction mayor Gerald Herrick and sheriff Steve Haupert met with the county board of supervisors Monday to talk and brainstorm about a growing problem – dogs!
Every town in the county except Jefferson contracts with the sheriff’s office for law enforcement services. Animal control has become the responsibility of the sheriff’s office, and the number of calls is increasing. Deputies respond to calls of dogs at large as quickly as possible, but the response time is often longer than hoped for. “To be fair, we just don’t have time. When a dog needs attention, we can’t be 30 minutes across the county,” Haupert said.
Haupert would like to see a uniform ordinance for the county regarding dogs running at large. The agreement would supersede the 28E agreements now in place with the cities. Haupert said he has consulted with attorney David Morain about the requirements for such a county-wide ordinance.
Herrick and Haupert both expressed frustration that where there are ordinances in place, like in Grand Junction, pet owners have been very successful in getting citations and fines dismissed.
The involvement of the sheriff’s office has also put an increased burden on the animal shelter in Jefferson. The shelter is operated by the volunteer People for Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and was initially intended not as a countywide shelter, but for Jefferson animals. With no other options, deputies take dogs they pick up to the PAWS shelter. There has been discussion in recent years of building a new shelter, perhaps near the Jefferson airport, but according to Mike Palmer, further discussion is “on hold.”
Other counties are working toward a countywide shelter and an animal control officer, with fines paying part of the expense.
Supervisor Guy Richardson asked Haupert to continue talking with Morain. “We need to have an ordinance that does what it needs to do in conjunction with the cities, to make sure we’re not overstepping what we have the authority to do,” Richardson said.
“The cities need to understand that it would cost additional money to support a pound and an animal control officer,” Richardson said.
