MOUNT VERNON—A September meeting between dog shelter and humane society representatives and the county commissioners will hopefully clarify responsibilities in animal abuse or neglect cases.
The catalyst for the meeting was an incident involving a court-ordered cat seizure that the humane society declined to take.
The Knox County Humane Society is responsible for investigating and handling animal abuse and neglect cases under Ohio Revised Code sections 1717 and 959. KCHS also appoints the county’s humane officer.
However, because the humane society does not have money to fund the humane officer or investigate and care for animal abuse or neglect cases, the dog shelter handles those obligations on its behalf.
The county and City of Mount Vernon share the cost of the humane officer’s salary. The dog shelter absorbs the cost of caring for abused or neglected dogs.
Commissioner Teresa Bemiller said this agreement has been in place for years.
“The expectation has always been that the humane society would be able to take care of the cats we come across,” she said.
The Knox County Dog Shelter is charged with caring for and adopting out strays, investigating dog complaints, and licensing dogs. ORC Section 955 details its responsibilities.
“Our priority is dogs and the aspects that come with those ordinances. But we also dive into the 959 offenses where the humane issue comes up since our humane agent is out of our office because the humane society isn’t able to have a humane agent,” Dog Warden Brian Biggerstaff said.
“We’ve had situations arise where we’ve had court orders to seize animals, cats or other animals. We’re just trying to figure out how we can work together to house those animals and care for them.”
A gray area
“We legally can’t house cats in the dog shelter,” Assistant Dog Warden and Humane Officer Tyler Moore said. “If we have to seize these animals, who’s really responsible for them?”
Regarding the long-standing agreement between the county and the KCHS, Moore said, “I get that. But is it legally the right way? Is that how it should be done?
“There’s a huge situation, a huge problem, and I’m sitting here holding this hot potato and getting screamed at. We’re getting called because we’re not doing our job. Well, the problem is why we can’t do our job: There’s this final issue of where these animals will go.
“We’re six years to the day where the dogs were taken from Pittie Paw,” he added. “Nobody at the dog warden’s office was planning on taking in 65 adult dogs, but they still had to do it and make space.”
Lack of room at KCHS
“I think our perception and the public’s perception has always been that your shelter, when a court issue comes up, is always available for our people to be able to bring a cat there. And it sounded like in this situation, you basically said no,” Commissioner Bill Pursel said.
Martha Otto, KCHS’s board chair, acknowledged the concerns but said the agency is not set up with the staff and space to handle cats or animals that might come in. She questioned how often something like that occurs.
“It’s not often that we have a court order by a judge, but every day we are investigating animal cruelty issues, neglect issues. Sometimes that’s just about dogs, sometimes that’s about livestock, horses, and then also cats as well,” Biggerstaff responded.
“We’re interested in working with the dog shelter, but again, our current situation is such that you have to do some manipulating around to accommodate additional cats right now. We are full,” Otto said.
Part of that is due to larger cages compared to other facilities. The Association of Shelter Veterinarians requires a minimum of 8 square feet.
“Right now, we’re about to their optimum of 11 square feet per cat, which means that a certain facility that might earlier have housed three or four cats now houses one just because it’s better for their health,” Otto said.
“I think it was just that particular situation came on out of the blue and for various reasons we weren’t able to accommodate you at that time,” Otto said.
Case-by-case basis for animal abuse or neglect
Otto said KCHS is concerned about the length of time the humane society would have to care for animals it accepts. KCHS has a series of tests, vaccinations, and quarantines to ensure the safety of incoming animals and cats.
The agency cannot rehome an animal until the court releases it. The time frame is determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on the severity of the case.
Mount Vernon Municipal Court and the Knox County Court of Common Pleas can issue animal seizure warrants.
“ I’m just an extension of your guys’ office being the appointed agent. I have a legal requirement to do this job, but if I can’t do this job because I have no place for these animals to go, then I’m on the hot seat,” Moore said.
KCHS volunteer Kasie Alexander said the agency has a challenge getting volunteers or paid staff members.
“We also have a financial challenge,” she said. “Where do our revenues come from? They come from donations primarily. They don’t come from county commissioners.”
Alexander said it would be helpful if the county would define costs and who would pay the humane society for animal care.
“We’d love to have that relationship that you’re talking about,” she said. “But we do not provide care for sick animals. We just don’t do that. We are a prevention and surgical facility.
“Sick animals could come in and stay in isolation for X number of days. But then where do they go? What do we do with them? And I think that’s why we’re here today is to establish some policies, right?”
“The bottom line is we would like to know that if we have situations like that with cats that we can work with the humane society,” Bemiller said.
Moving forward
In a recent potential horse neglect case, the county signed a Memorandum of Understanding with an individual to feed and house the animal. Fortunately, the case did not proceed.
County Administrator Jason Booth suggested that KCHS could reach similar MOUs for other animal abuse or neglect cases. He will provide Otto with a copy of the MOU.
Moore recommended that KCHS members talk with the Licking County Humane Society, which evolved from a small building to a $3 million facility with over 80 employees.
Otto said she would like to learn more about court procedures and potential time frames for the agency to care for a cat. The KCHS board will also discuss the issue.
