Three Mathews residents, speaking during Tuesday’s board of supervisors’ meeting, took issue with the way in which the county is handling its animal control operations.

Mesa Allsbrook of Hallieford, Richard Browder of Port Haywood, and Lyn Layer of North, all questioned Mathews County Sheriff Mark Barrick’s decision to remove animal control operations from his office while retaining control over dispatching the animal control officer, who is no longer under the sheriff’s supervision.

Browder said he was dismayed and disappointed at Mathews County Administrator Mindy Moran’s statement that the county would only handle issues with dogs, as the state requires. He said that, contrary to previous remarks made by Moran, there is no difference between animal control and animal welfare, since the state statute dealing with animal control is titled “Comprehensive Animal Care.”

“Ms. Moran’s depiction that we will have a skimpy, bare-bones, 1950s dog-catcher-type animal control operation is not what the citizens of this county want and deserve in terms of safety, concern and compassion,” Browder said. “I am certain that all reasonable people—our citizens, your constituents—reject the new animal control plan as now implemented.”

While the sheriff had said he had “too much to do to contend with animal control issues,” said Browder, “his dispatchers, none trained in animal control, take 100 percent of the animal control calls; and his deputies, not one certified in animal control nor with any equipment or method to safely capture, contain and transport animals, are those who respond to animal control calls 82 percent of the hours in a week.”

Browder said he didn’t know why the “systematic dismantling of Mathews Animal Control occurred” and expressed consternation that the county had approved removal of over $50,000 from the animal control budget “without one word of discussion.”

He asked the board to rethink the issue before the final budget is passed and to do “all that is practical and reasonable to provide friendly assistance to citizens with animal problems.”

Allsbrook charged that the sheriff’s office had told her there was no coverage available to respond to her report of a stray dog that was picked up on Main Street when she called on Dec. 22.

Layer said that the statute governing animal control requires localities to employ an animal control officer who has the power to enforce “all laws for the protection of domestic animals,” not just licensed animals. She said there are large numbers of companion and livestock animals in the county, including dogs, cats, horses, cows, goats, llamas and sheep. She said animal control officers are trained to know the standard of care for these animals and, as a sworn officer of the law, to take action when inhumane treatment occurs.

With rabies a problem in the county, Layer said that it makes sense for animal control to make the determination about whether or not to respond to any calls regarding wild animals.

Layer took issue with a previous statement by Moran that feral cats can be handled by a pest control company, just as exterminators deal with bugs or rodents. A member of its board, she said that Animal Care of Mathews had called a number of pest companies, but that only one company would deal with feral cats. That company’s method, she said, was to trap the cats and turn them over to animal control, requiring that a resident personally pay for the service, while the cat would still end up in the hands of animal control.

Layer said it doesn’t make either common sense or financial sense for an untrained dispatcher to decide whether to dispatch the animal control officer or a deputy who has no animal training or specific equipment. She said dispatchers already have to juggle requests for assistance for fire, rescue and police emergencies.

“Why, if there have been too many animal calls, doesn’t the dispatcher automatically refer these calls to the animal control officer for him to handle?” said Layer.

Layer said she had an experience in December with the county’s new method for handling animal control, and she wasn’t happy with it. She said she heard her dogs barking in the front yard and looked out to see two cows and a goat in her yard. Concerned that the animals might hurt the dogs, Layer called the sheriff’s office and requested help, but Animal Control Officer Ralph Horn called her back to say he was no longer allowed to deal with livestock and couldn’t help. She said it turned out that the animals belonged to her neighbor, who happened to be at home and who came and got them.

But, Layer questioned what the result would have been if her neighbor hadn’t been home, or if she were a part-time resident who didn’t know her neighbors, or were an elderly person who might have been injured by one of the animals.

Layer suggested that the county needs at least one full-time animal control officer and one part-time assistant, and that all calls should be referred to the animal control officer on duty.

Board members questioned the sheriff about the matter. Barrick reiterated that the decision to place animal control under the sheriff’s office was done before he took office, and that he didn’t agree with it when it was done. He said it had consumed a lot of time in terms of administration and personnel, that it wasn’t part of his constitutional responsibilities, and that he had spent 10 months transitioning the position back to the county after he took office. Escaped livestock are a traffic hazard, he said, and therefore an officer responds. Deputies also pass along concerns about animal welfare, he said.

Supervisor Janine Burns said she respected Barrick’s decision but wondered about the process that takes place from the time a resident has identified a problem until it’s addressed by the county. She suggested that before the budget is complete, a tabletop exercise be held with residents, the sheriff, the animal control officer, and other concerned parties at which scenarios could be discussed and solutions suggested.

During the final comment period, Layer thanked the board for suggesting the tabletop exercise and said that Animal Care would be glad to participate.