Beasts of Burden (Page 2 of 4)

Head says that the only way a pet owner could know the identity of the person filing the complaint is if the case goes to court. It’s rare, he says, that cases reach that point.

“We must give owners time to remedy the problem, we can only take the animal if it’s in imminent danger or close to death. Then we have to get a search warrant to come back on the property,” says Head. “It’s very rare because you’ve got to give them a chance to correct it. [KCAC] has taken 11 animals in two years, dogs and some cats. And those have made the paper because they’re prosecutable cases.”

The City of Knoxville animal control department, a seven-person offshoot of the police department, serves the 103-plus square miles within city limits and handles some things differently than the county, says Karen Pappas, animal control supervisor. One major difference is they respond to anonymous complaints.

“We answer any call we get,” Pappas says. She explained that people are hesitant to identify themselves when making a complaint because they fear repercussion from those they complain against. Pappas used the hypothetical example of an elderly woman living next to a suspected drug dealer who sees him beat his dogs. “It doesn’t matter what kind of call it is … if you’re afraid to give your information out as a complainant, I understand that,” she says.  

The complaints, which are dispatched either through 911 or Officer Initiated Action (OIA) while on patrol, totaled 14,548 in 2006. Pappas says the city tallies its numbers based only on instances of response, rather than totaling all incoming calls as the county does.

“In 2006, 1,122 citations were issued for no shelter, no food or water, and … for running at large,” Pappas says. She estimates in 2006 about 75 animals were confiscated, usually from instances when animals were abandoned.

“Many times when people have moved they’ve skipped out on their animals. We confiscate more and more every year,” she says. Animal control will leave a notice for the owners and many times the animals can be reclaimed with just a phone call. “Fifty percent of the time we confiscate, the owners don’t come back. My main concern is the care of the animal,” Pappas says.

Both city and county animal control share the Young-Williams Animal Center, which took in 16,914 animals in 2006. Of those, roughly six percent were reclaimed by their owners. About 13 percent were adopted, and approximately seven percent were taken to other animal organizations like the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley (HSTV).

A majority, 71 percent, were euthanized.

“Young-Williams can accommodate 500 to 700 animals,” Head says. “They’re legally held at least 72 hours from the time it comes in the door, and then it’s up to Young-Williams to decide. They keep them if they’ve got room, they’ve had some [pets] there for several months … but in the summer we are full.”

The percent of animals euthanized has increased since the current animal control agencies received the contract that was formerly managed by the Humane Society and ended in 2000. Of the 13,423 incoming animals that year, six percent were reclaimed by their owners, almost 27 percent were adopted out, four percent were released to other organizations and 60 percent were euthanized.

In addition to responding to possible cases of abuse, both city and county animal control officers also address stray animals or pets that are running free. With both agencies coping with small staffs, complaints sometimes fall through the cracks.

Sara Baker of South Knoxville recently needed assistance from animal control when two dogs running at large began attacking her neighbors’ dog, Buddy, who was chained in their backyard. “Buddy was making a real bad sound and I looked back there and there were two dogs on his neck,” Baker says. “He was doing the best he could, but it was two against one. I got my neighbors and they tried to stop it. One of the dogs ran off but the other wouldn’t leave. My neighbor went out and hit it with a shovel and it still wouldn’t leave the area, … it wanted another shot at [Buddy].”

After the dog began harassing other penned animals and with neighbors on their front porches yelling, Baker says she called 911 and got a message, rather than a live operator. “So I called 911 to get animal control out there, because if it was attacking animals who knows what it would have done to a person?” she says. “I’d never called 911 before and I was shocked when I got a message. It didn’t play for very long before someone picked up, but we take 911 for granted.