Sean C. Morgan
Sweet Home Police Chief Jeff Lynn told the city Public Safety Committee last week that he is hoping to work with Linn County Sheriff’s Office to address a rising number of dog-related calls.
The number of calls in which officers deal with dogs and dog-related problems are increasing, he told the committee during a meeting held Dec. 13.
“You can see our calls going up,” Lynn said. “I believe the dogs have always been running loose, but the more we actively engage (it), it’s just kind of created its own perpetual motion, and more and more are calling.”
In 2013, Linn County Sheriff’s Office took over dog control, Lynn said. “Their staffing has struggled with maintaining some of the enforcement in this area. Quite honestly, we never got great enforcement from Linn County Dog Control.”
The Sheriff’s Office approached the Police Department to begin helping round up stray dogs, Lynn said. When police officers capture loose dogs, the dogs go into a kennel, and the Sheriff’s Office comes to Sweet Home and picks them up.
“In this year alone, we’ll have probably arrested 100 dogs and lodged them (by) the end of the year,” Lynn said.
He said he plans to meet with the Sheriff’s Office to begin coming up with some problem-solving strategies, he said.
“Really, we have to get people to take ownership and be responsible pet owners. It’s easy to say, but I think it’s going to come in a number of steps.”
Among possible steps will be easier access to licensing and chipping, he said. Right now, people have to go to Albany, but it may make both easier if Linn County Sheriff’s Office could come to Sweet Home periodically.
“There’s also going to have to be much more of an enforcement effort as well,” Lynn said. “If you’re just repeatedly allowing your dog or your animal to run loose, you’re going to have to be held accountable for that at some point in time. I want to develop a program that would work jointly together with dog control and try to reduce the number of these calls.”
Lynn told the committee he would return to its next meeting with further information.
Councilors Greg Mahler and Dave Trask attended the meeting. Councilor Ryan Underwood, who is a coach in the high school girls basketball program, was absent. The committee is comprised of the three councilors.