Sean C. Morgan
It may not quite be “Who let the dogs out?” for the Sweet Home cops, but they’re definitely seeing more dogs these days.
Calls requesting Sweet Home police responses to calls involving animals have been steadily increasing in the last few years, according to department records.
Most calls fall under the city’s code violation ordinance or animal complaints, primarily – in order of volume, concerning dogs running loose or barking, with occasional bite complaints, said Police Chief Jeff Lynn. It’s increased primarily since the department had a kennel installed to begin handling complaints.
In 2015, the Police Department received 38 calls for city code violations regarding animals, mostly about dogs. In 2014, the department received 52 calls.
But the change is most noticeable in the number of “animal calls.” In 2015, police responded to 445 of them. Among them was a dog chasing a person and another in which a dog knocked down a fence. The calls also included dogs barking, running loose and bites.
In 2014, police received just 251 animal calls, and so far this year, they’ve received 86. Thus far this year, police also received four complaints related to the city’s animal ordinances.
The calls include complaints about other animals, including mainly cats and chickens.
Police officers handle most of the calls, Lynn said, but the more chronic issues go to the code enforcement officer.
“I think as you look, we’re handling more stuff associated with animals,” Lynn said. “I would say the vast majority is dogs.”
Code Enforcement Officer Gina Riley said dogs-at-large “are a complaint we get on probably a daily basis,” and often, those animals are also unlicensed.
“These could literally be a person’s job – taking care of dog calls,” she said of the volume.
Sweet Home police have an agreement with Linn County that the department can house animals for a short period of time, Riley said.
“We do work well with them,” Lynn said. “We have a temporary kennel at the facility where we can house an animal.”
Animal Control provided the kennel and a year’s worth of food to the Sweet Home Police Department in about March 2015 to help the police deal with situations in which LCSO cannot respond quickly to Sweet Home to pick up an animal.
That’s about when the number of calls the police started handling grew, Lynn said. Prior to that, Animal Control was handling the calls.
Officer Sasha McDonald, who worked for Animal Control prior to coming to Sweet Home, thought that Animal Control probably handled as many calls before SHPD took over the service.
Typically, the department has just one dog at a time, Lynn said, but sometimes it’ll have two animals.
Police Department volunteers also provided carriers that can be used to house smaller dogs, Riley said.
With all of this, the department is helping return missing pets to their owners.
LCSO has been “good” about coming for unclaimed dogs that Sweet Home police pick up, she said.
Prior to sending the dogs to Albany, Sweet Home police will post photos of dogs to the department’s Facebook page and on a page for lost cats and dogs, Riley said. The department has had success in returning dogs to their owners using Facebook.
If a dog is missing, “we encourage people to call in,” Lynn said.
The dispatcher keeps a log of missing and found dogs at the Police Department, Riley said. When a loose dog is reported, police can compare the animal to the ones on the list, or the loose dog goes onto the list. Owners can call in and find out if the department has their dogs.
Animal Control also provided police with a device that allows officers to read implanted RFID chips, which contain information about the animal, Riley said, and can facilitate the return of the pet.
A big problem in Sweet Home is canines with lots to say.
“We do get a lot of of dogs barking,” Riley said. “There is an ordinance that discusses noises that annoy the comfort, repose or peace of the people.”
Lynn said that ordinance is “not clear-cut, black-and-white,” so police always attempt to work with the people involved to come up with solutions.
Realistically, Lynn said, he’s not sure a black-and-white ordinance would be a good idea.
Most pet owners with barking dogs are already trying to do something to stop the barking and annoying neighbors, he said.
“It’s one of the most difficult violations we have,” Riley said. “For most people, these are their pets, their family.”
With chronic problem animals, Riley gets involved by trying to talk to the dog’s owner, she said. She’s looking for a way to make it work and then waits and sees. If an idea isn’t working, a complainant will usually call back.
“We can’t just go up there and say, ‘Kill your dog,’” Riley said. “We have a process.”
The ordinance is a gray line, Riley said, but if a problem continues, she can cite people and send them to the judge for a plan to stop ongoing problems.
Riley and Lynn listed several things dog owners should keep in mind:
n Make sure all your dogs are licensed with Linn County Animal Control.
n Make sure dogs have adequate fencing to contain them. Riley said that electric fences are prohibited in the city limits. If a dog is left outside, it should be secured.
n Make sure the dogs have adequate food and shelter while gone.
n If a dog gets loose, attempt to locate the dog, but if the dog remains missing, call the Police Department at (541) 367-5181 to check the dispatcher’s log for missing and found dogs.
n Consider leaving dogs that bark in the house during the day while at work.
“These are things we can ask people to do if it’s that big of a nuisance,” Riley said. New bark collars are available that don’t shock dogs, Riley said. Instead, they make an irritating noise that only the dog hears.
As long as owners are doing everything they can to contain their pets, Lynn said, officials understand dogs are sometimes ingenious and can escape containment. It’s the ones who are ignoring the problem who prompt police to take further steps.
“We don’t want to be dealing with those animals where the owner has a leaky backyard and nobody’s making any effort to keep them in,” Lynn said.