COUNTY MAY CONSIDER ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER

JACKSON -- Cape Girardeau County is going to the dogs, and county officials are powerless to catch them.

But that could change when the county goes to first-class status Jan. 1: The County Commission then could enact laws to control everything from stray animals to littering.

Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said Monday the commission may hire a nuisance abatement officer who could also serve as the county's animal control officer.

He said some areas along county roads have become dump sites, with people littering the ground with everything from sofas to tires.

The cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson handle animal control in their communities, but the county has no animal control officers and no leash law.

Jones said he personally has had only a handful of calls about stray dogs but thinks the problem will continue to grow as more homes are built in the county.

Jones received a call about stray dogs near the Delta Elementary School just prior to the start of the school year. But he said he was powerless to do anything.

Principal Mary Ann Tierney said the playground isn't fenced off. Dogs sometimes get on the playground, she said. If students recognize the strays, the owners are contacted to pick up the dogs.

Short of that, school officials only can hope that stray animals don't linger and bother the students.

A county animal control officer would be a big help, she said.

Jhan White, who runs the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri animal shelter on Boutin Road, said stray animals are a serious problem in the county.

"We don't have any authority as far as law enforcement or animal control," she said.20Property owners end up taking the law into their own hands, White said.

She has had calls from people who report that their dogs have been shot. "Really, it is not against the law to do that," White said.

The county pays the animal shelter $6,900 a year to care for animals brought in by county residents.

Last year 396 animals were dropped off at the shelter by residents of the county, excluding the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

Overall, the shelter took in 4,515 animals last year. This year it has already taken in more than 4,700 animals and will be well over 5,000 by year's end, White said.

About 70 percent of the animals are euthanized; the others end up being adopted, said White.

The increasing number of animals reflects the fact too many people let their pets run loose. Those animals then breed, adding to the animal population, she said.

White said the county needs an animal control officer even though that could mean the shelter could be flooded with more animals. It also could force the humane society to request increased funding from the county, White said.