Police phone lines snarled over dog control.

Byline: MATT COOPER The Register-Guard

SPRINGFIELD - It's only been about three weeks since the city dropped animal control from its budget, but it already seems likely that the issue will be revisited.

The animal control officer and clerk positions were eliminated for the fiscal year that began July 1, leaving police officers to deal with stray or vicious animals.

While officers will corral vicious dogs as a matter of public safety, Chief Jerry Smith said he doesn't have the staffing to chase down run-of-the-mill strays.

That means people will have two options: "Ignore it," Smith said, "or if there's no risk to themselves, they can take the dog and transport it to Lane County animal control."

That has upset citizens keeping the phones busy at the police department, and city Councilor Fred Simmons, a member of the Police Planning Task Force, is certain the council will reconsider the issue after its August recess.

"We either do (animal control) or we give it to Lane County," Simmons said. "I don't think there's any desire of the city to shirk its responsibility."

Funding for animal control was cut to keep police officers on the street, Simmons said, but it has left a number of unanswered questions.

For the time being, police are licensing dogs. But without an animal control officer or clerk, Smith said there's no enforcement of licensing violations and no one to process complaints.

Police call-takers may get a dozen or so calls daily about problem dogs, and they're the ones feeling the effects of the cutbacks, Capt. Rick Lewis said.

"They take the brunt of people's anger," he said. "Anything from a barking dog or a loose dog to some kind of animal control question where we're telling them `no.' '

It's also unclear whether citizens themselves will be able to unload strays at the Lane County Animal Regulation Authority in west Eugene over the long term.

Last month the authority received 51 cats and dogs from Springfield - a slow month, program manager Mike Wellington said - and 48 of them were euthanized.

But Smith said Springfield also cut the $30,000 per year it had been budgeting to hold strays at the Eugene shelter. His department is temporarily covering the quarterly cost, he said, but how the future cost will be covered is uncertain.

The city also has yet to determine how to supervise quarantined dogs. If a dog bites someone, the dog is supposed to be quarantined for 10 days to determine whether it has rabies. Without an animal control officer to supervise the quarantine period and assess the animal, Simmons and Smith both suggested that the city could be liable if a rabies outbreak were to occur.

All questions end with the same one: Is there money to reinstate animal control?

There might be, City Manager Mike Kelly said, if Symantec Corp. pays its property taxes in November.

The software company moved to Springfield earlier this year under the city's tax-exempt enterprise zone conditions but has since laid off workers, which jeopardizes its tax-exempt status.

"Compared to other cuts we'd have to make, we felt these were doable - they're kind of low-level things that don't get into personal security issues," Kelly said. "If that money comes in in November, the council reserves the right to reinstate (animal control)."

SPRINGFIELD ANIMAL MANAGEMENT

If you see an animal attack in progress: Call 911.

If you see a vicious animal at large: Call the Springfield Police Department at 726-3714.

If you see a stray dog or cat: You can take it to Lane County Animal Regulation Authority at 3970 W. First Ave., Eugene.

- City of Springfield