I have said several times that the county I live in does not have animal control. Do you see why?? I have to quit bitching and do something about it. I started looking tonight. I found out about the meeting which I missed last Thursday but I will be at the next one. I am going to talk to my neighbor across the way and see if she wants to come. They have actually become very good dog owners. We have talked and they feel the same way I do about the other neighbor's dogs running loose. Anyway. Is there anything yall would suggest that I need to have with me or a list written down. I don't want to go without my ducks in a row. Yall know I am not very good at coming with stuff off the top of my head so if I have it written down nice and professional like it wouldn't hurt. On another note. Our county is one of the largest around. Especially land wise. Very rural but something is needed. Yes we have had a death not long ago from a wild dog attack. We have quite a few packs of wild dogs. With all the wildlife and water supply they can get quite out of control. This county believes that shooting them is the answer. We did have to resort to that one time at our other house when I was down at the barn. It was very scary.
But we need to take control or at least try. Sorry I am going on and on, but I am excited that there is at least talk about help.
I want to help animals and responsible owners. Maybe even educate some people.
I found something else that stated they meet every last thursday of the month but I can't find it now to copy it.
Friends of Pike County Animals to Meet on Thursday
The Friends of Pike County Animals information meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. at the J. Joel Edwards Public Library.
Fundraising and other efforts to bring animal control to Pike County will be discussed. Come and bring a friend.
4.21.08
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/
Dogs Running Loose Are a Nuisance in the Community
4.23.08
Dear Editor,
I am submitting this to you I hope that it will bring the issue of dogs running loose to Pike County and its residents. If you would like to share this with your readers you have my permission.
Dogs are being a nuisance to communities in our area.
Dogs running loose is a growing problem in Pike County on Flat Shoals Rd. and other communities. There is no way to tell if these are wild dog packs or friendly dogs. Dogs running free are causing driving hazards due to all the large freight trucks, dump trucks and log trucks, and other traffic.
This is also a problem for all our children, elderly persons and livestock I am sure everyone knows about some of the problems.
My husband and I had a chain link fence installed on our property before we brought our dog to our home. I love my dog and want to protect her. I know that a fence is expensive but there are other ways that are cheaper to keep pets confined. If people care about their dogs they should keep them confined to their property.
I know there are no animal control laws in the county. If they do pass an animal control law it should require dogs and cats to be spayed or neutered.
Feel free to print this in the paper and on line or share it with Friends of Animals I don’t know if anyone cares or not about any of these issues.
Thank You,
Janie Wilson
Concord
Pike County Animal Control
3.3.08
Dear Editor,
I wish to personally thank the Pike County citizens for their continued support in reference to the animal control issues we have here in our county. The idea of one day actually having a trained county animal control department to assist our citizens with issues is finally on the horizon. Through your continued support, we can get this done.
An animal control workshop was conducted on 13 February 2008 at 3 p.m. and due to the length of the BOC meeting that day, only a few people attended. This workshop was scheduled around the BOC calendars and at least 10 days in advance. Only the County Manager and Commissioner Willis attended and I would like to thank them for doing so. The Director of the Meriwether County Animal Control and Code Enforcement and the Barnesville/Lamar County Humane Society attended and discussed their organizations mission and what kind of assistance they provide for their community. Some good ideas were generated and those are being researched.
A Pike County Citizen who was in attendance spoke up about the lack of county assistance. He passed around pictures of his cattle which were attacked by a pack of dogs. The pictures of the cattle were gruesome, many of the cattle were in bad shape, and the owner had to put many of them down. He called the Sheriffs office, filed a report, and even located where the dogs were. When he appeared in court, the case was not processed due to lack of evidence and documentation. This will not be the last time our citizens have no course of action as the problems will only continue. It is understood that animal control will not stop all the issues. However, the animal control officer can respond to the situation, document the evidence, confiscate and quarantine the dogs in question, cite the owner for not following the Georgia Statutes already in place, and appear in court as a credible witness. An animal shelter will help citizens recover lost pets, provide adoption services, reduce the number of strays, and assist the community in animal cruelty and attack cases. Who at the sheriff’s office can do that? Who in Pike County can do that?
Upon closing of the workshop, the County Manager asked me if I could prepare a budget so actual figures for an animal shelter would be known. I told him I would seek the assistance of Meriwether County animal shelter since they just completed the budget process and are in their first year of operation.
On 26 February 2008, the Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to place the animal control on the next election ballot. The County Manager stated he does not see this coming out of next year’s budget. The actual building and operations costs have yet to be determined. As previously mentioned, I was asked to provide a budget for this project and have not done so. When the actual figures are known, they will be made available. The goal is to let Pike County citizens decide how and what we need to do about animal control. I only wish to provide our citizens the documentation and information I have consolidated to let them know the facts. Animal Control issues will not be an instant fix, but the hope of formulating a plan and completing the action in two or three years is obtainable.
The BOC action is just a step in a direction. You ask what direction? It will be left up to you the citizens to determine if we move forward, or continue to lag behind what our neighboring counties are doing to assist their citizens. We cannot expect our neighboring counties to help us as they are overwhelmed with their own animal control and other community issues. Let’s make the right coordinated effort and move forward.
Thank you.
Don Bailey
Chairman, Friends of Pike County Animals
Pike County
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/let2ed.html