County looks at animal control concerns

Animal control concerns took center stage for Coryell County leaders during the March 22 meeting of the Coryell County Commissioners Court.

Local resident Steve Sands addressed the court and talked about a vicious dog case that took days to resolve, as well as calls to multiple people and agencies.

"A pit bull had been dropped off on property at Straws Mill Road, and the dog bit a 6-year-old and sent her to the emergency room," Sands said. "I called the sheriff's office and asked if the dog would be picked up and was told no, that the county attorney said we can't pick it up.

"It needed to be picked up and quarantined. I was told if you want something done, you need to talk to your (county) commissioner. I'm a bit confused – I thought the county had a contract to put (stray) dogs at the city (facility).

"I called the sheriff and asked for help and said he wanted something done for the safety of the community. What's going to happen if the dog bites someone else?"

Sands said a justice of the peace had a hearing about the dog and city animal control were sent to pick up the dog, although it was outside the Gatesville city limits.

"I want to thank the sheriff for getting it done a day or two after (the bite) but it shouldn't have gone that far," Sands said. "It surprised me that the dog bit someone and wasn't (immediately) quarantined. If it bites somebody, you don't just turn him loose."

Sheriff Scott Williams said animal control is a pressing concern for the county.

"Y'all heard Mr. Sands, and that's one particular call," he said. "I have a stack of paperwork (regarding animal control issues). Just going off the last two years, we've had 473 calls, anything from a nuisance animal to vicious animals that bite. We've had several instances where we've needed to do something – 473 cases documented in two years – that's unbelievable."

Williams said the recent incident in which the girl was bitten "is pretty bad in itself, but we had another incident where two years ago someone was disfigured (by a severe dog attack)."

He added that he considers this to be a significant and widespread issue.

"These dogs are everywhere, including in Copperas Cove and Gatesville," Williams said. "I'm getting beat to death by citizens wondering why we don't have animal control. It takes the county."

Commissioner Kyle Matthews said the county has an agreement with the city of Gatesville in emergency situations.

"It goes to the police chief and then back to the sheriff," he said.

"The difference between a vicious situation and an emergency is just seconds," Williams said.

Matthews said he spoke to Gatesville City Manager Bill Parry and one concern is the city is running out of space in its animal shelter.

"It would be advantageous to work with them instead of creating an entirely new entity," Matthews said.

Williams suggested providing additional county funding to help meet the concern.

"If we could kick some money into them or if we need to have our own animal control officer ... the facility is where the heartache is," he said. "I'd like to have a facility to go to to get this resolved."

County Judge Roger Miller said he has gotten calls from concerned people asking how animal control calls are handled.

"As we go through this – this is an expenditure and it needs to be a budgeted item," he said. "Something needs to start developing now. What kind of control do we have in unincorporated areas, or if something happens in Oglesby or Evant?

"In practice it will take more cooperation. I agree it is becoming more and more of a challenge. As our county continues to grow, it will continue to be a problem."

Williams said a prompt response is needed to resolve animal control issues.

"The thing I look at – it took 10 days for Mr. Sands' situation instead of just being able to pick the dog up," he said.

Matthews said the county has a word of mouth agreement with the city of Gatesville rather than a formal arrangement.

"Something we don't need is to keep kicking this down the road," Williams said. He added that a bite involving a child in the Hines Ranch area "was horrible, and if it hadn't been for another dog (getting involved), that dog would have killed him.

"There's no light at the end of the tunnel. I want to reach out to the citizens."

Miller said Copperas Cove and Gatesville had the only animal control facilities in the county of which he is aware. He said the Gatesville facility is near maximum capacity, and that Copperas Cove is building a larger facility.

"There's a lot of legalese we're going to have to muddle through to take some action," Miller said.

Williams said he wants the county to formalize its animal control agreements with Copperas Cove and Gatesville.

"I think that's something we can do shortly," Miller said. "We need to address this long-term and not just put a Band-aid on it."