Town officials fault county for lack of dog control

Some town supervisors are complaining that the Jefferson County dog control employees won’t pick up unleashed dogs in their towns, but county officials say they can’t enforce local leash laws.

Wilna Town Supervisor Paul H. Smith believes the Jefferson County dog control officers should have to enforce local leash laws and pick up unleashed animals from the town, especially because the town is paying about $11,000 to the county for dog control services.

Todd L. Cummings, the county’s supervising dog control officer, said the contract with the town stipulates the county is responsible for all services listed in Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law except for leash law violations. The contract has remained the same since the 1980s, according to Mr. Cummings.

At a Town Supervisors Association meeting last week, Champion Town Supervisor Terry L. Buckley said he thought the county’s lack of response was because town officials chose to license dogs locally instead of letting the county handle all dog licensing.

“It’s a push back, is what it is,” said Mr. Buckley at the association’s meeting.

Mr. Cummings said the services to the town have never changed and were not changed after the municipalities opted to handle dog registration.

“The problem is that some of the towns think things changed,” he said.

Mr. Cummings was not present at the town supervisors meeting.

Cheryl K. Horton, Philadelphia town supervisor, said at the meeting that the county dog control phone number was disconnected the last time town employees tried to call. The town has its own dog control official.

“I’ve been here since 1984 and that number has never changed,” Mr. Cummings said. “It’s 782-9179,” he added.

Mr. Cummings said dog control staff has responded to calls in the towns of Wilna and Champion recently to pick up several dogs, including a call on Feb. 3 to pick up a coon hound. Officials will also pick up hurt animals if local police or officials are unavailable, he said. However, the dog control department has only eight employees and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He said it is not feasible for county dog control employees to pick up unleashed dogs in all 26 towns.

Mr. Cummings would like to see the county handle dog registrations to ensure that its databases stay consistent and up to date with the municipalities’ databases.

“They have a right to step up to the plate and hire a dog warden,” Mr. Cummings said.

Mr. Cummings did not have a copy of the contract. He said the last time he read it, it was “vague” and “doesn’t pinpoint specifics.”

County Administrator Robert F. Hagemann III did not return calls asking for specifics about the contract.