Animal control commission is revved up for action
By Debbie Lowe Staff writer

The Carroll County Animal Control Commission was established in 2001 under the leadership of then sheriff, Dennis Randle. By 2005, significant opposition to spending county dollars for the care, feeding and distribution of unwanted animals was voiced by members of the county council.

An article appeared in a March 2005 issue of the Comet about the cost of animal control and the commission. At the time, although there were seven positions listed in the ordinance as being appointed to the commission, only one of those people contacted said they knew they were a member because the commission had not met in four years.

Now that the cost of animal control is being scrutinized by the council and community members alike, new sheriff Tony Burns decided to activate the commission and make it part of the solution for the county.

Commission members met Aug. 8 in Camden to organize and make a plan for future endeavors.

"We're together, we're organized and we're working on the solution," Burns said Friday.

Burns will lead the group by chairing the monthly meetings. Camden Clerk-Treasurer Pat Casserly was named vice chair and Joretta Tinsman, secretary. The group will meet the second Wednesday of each month at 9 a.m. Burns said community input will be important to commission members when making decisions which could affect every county taxpayer.

"We need to know what the county consensus is," he said.

"The animal control commission has always been on my radar screen," Burns continued. "I've just been doing other things. But this is important for the county to address and it is up to me to bring that together."

The group discussed establishing a county animal shelter and will invite a speaker from a nearby county to talk about what that would take at their September meeting. They also discussed the need for education services to combat the animal overpopulation problem.

"We came up with a game plan to get educated," Burns explained about the meeting that lasted well over an hour.

Documentation provided by Burns indicated between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2007, 157 dogs and 57 cats were sheltered, paid for by the county. The largest portion of the animals came from Delphi, however a significant number came from Tippecanoe, Deer Creek, Rock Creek, Madison and Jefferson townships and the town of Flora.

Commission members include Burns, Casserly, Tinsman, animal control officer Ed England, shelter operator and veterinarian Dr. Lawrence Stauffer, commissioner George Mears, counsel member Ann Brown with alternate Ron Slavens, Delphi representative Carolyn Pearson and Burlington representative Tammy Dyer.

Burns recommended community members contact a representative and offer assistance in solving the financial and overpopulation animal control issue currently facing the county.