Who let the dogs out?

Recent cases of roaming dogs that have attacked and killed smaller dogs and cats in Olney have Animal Control Officer Hollie Hawkins warning that letting dogs roam free can be costly for owners and potentially deadly for their pets.

The problem with unleashed canines in Olney “is really not as bad as it used to be … but people are not being as responsible as they should be,” Hawkins said.

City ordinances dictate that pets are not allowed to run at large at any point and must be kept indoors or in an enclosed yard or pen. In addition, pets must be leashed at all times when taken off the owners’ premises.

Owners of dogs and cats six months of age or older are required to obtain a license that must be renewed annually for a fee of $5 per pet.

Also, the Texas Legislature, in January, enacted criminal misdemeanor penalties for owners who fail to provide adequate food, water and shelter and use heavy chains or weights to restrain dogs.

An unlicensed, free-roaming dog - especially one that attacks a person or another animal – can cost its owner $131 in fines and court costs, said Interim City Manager Arpegea Pagsuberon.

But that is the beginning of the pain if owners don’t spot their pets when Hawkins posts their photos on the Olney Animal Control Facebook page.

“I usually wait a few hours to see if anyone calls or comments because I can’t really baby-sit them,” she said. “I don’t have holding kennels here.”

Hawkins said that owners who spring their pets from the city’s animal control office must prove the animals have current rabies vaccinations and are registered with the city.

If no one claims or identifies an animal from Facebook posts, Hawkins takes it to the Humane Society of Young County in Graham.

The impound fee tacks on an additional $75 to the escapee’s tab. The animal receives a range of vaccinations, including parvovirus, distemper and rabies, as well as a heartworm test - so as not to infect other denizens of the shelter. The animal becomes the county’s property if it is not picked up after three days, and adopting your lost pet will run $110 for dogs and $75 for cats.

“It’s cheaper to keep your dog put up,” Hawkins said. “And you don’t run the risk of your dog biting somebody. Keep your fence fixed. People don’t realize how costly it is if their dog bites somebody. And if you don’t have a rabies vaccine, you could lose your dog.”

Owners of dogs who bite people have two options: quarantine their pet at a veterinarian at about $250 until it can be cleared for rabies, or surrender the dog for rabies testing, Hawkins said.

“Let’s put it this way, the only way to test for rabies is to test the head. It is the most undesirable part of my job,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins said that cat owners are not exempt from city rules about stray animals.

“We have a cat issue, too,” she said. “We have a lot of cats. I do trapping of feral cats, and sometimes I catch somebody’s pet cat, and the law is that they have to be vaccinated.”

Most nonaggressive dogs and cats taken to the Graham animal shelter end up in rescue operations and are placed in homes across the United States, said Hawkins, who fosters stray dogs and has placed some as far away as Syracuse, New York.

But she hopes that Olney pet owners do what it takes to keep their pooches and kitties at home.

“The ones I pick up … the owners usually try to contain them after that,” she said. “Other people have a fence that needs work, and they won’t fix it to where the dog stays contained, but there are options - you can crate your dog in the house.”