CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Bradley County residents living outside Cleveland have been without animal control since March 2014, but county commissioners want to explore the possibility of restoring that service after a series of recent highly publicized dog attacks that resulted in injuries for the victims and arrests for the animal owners.
Since March 2014, the county has relied on the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Bradley County, a nonprofit organization, to provide animal shelter services for county residents in accordance with an $80,000 annual agreement. SPCA provides animal pickup services only at the request of county law enforcement or other emergency responders.
On Monday, the Bradley County Commission voted 13-0 to consider animal control service bids from the private sector and to formally request that the Cleveland City Council meet with them to discuss options for using Cleveland Animal Control.
Commissioner Bill Winters spoke at length on the matter, citing his concerns about the need to enforce leash laws by some means, and he described the invitation to the City Council as "a good move."
Until March 2014, Cleveland Animal Control provided sheltering and pickup services for the county until a longstanding agreement and a series of temporary contracts lapsed after the Bradley County Commission and the Cleveland City Council failed to agree on the county's share of the total animal control budget.
Commission Vice Chairman Jeff Yarber voiced concern that the county might wind up paying a "fly-by-night" operation if it sought a private solution.
Commissioner Dan Rawls took exception to Yarber's "fly by night" description of potential independent contractors, who he said would be subjected to protocols and requirements by the county.
In addition to Cleveland Animal Control and private means, the County Commission is expecting an animal control proposal from the Bradley County Sheriff's Office on Thursday.
That proposal will address "dealing with strays, as well as enforcing the existing laws concerning animals," Sheriff Eric Watson said in a recent news release.
His office now is answering between seven and 11 calls of service daily about dogs running at large, Watson said. That number is up from the three calls per day reported in November by Capt. Keith Edwards in a meeting with county commissioners.
"Currently, the county has no stray animal confinement or pick-up services, and it is only a matter of time until someone else is attacked, maimed and possibly killed by a dog," Watson said.
Ultimately, dog owners must be accountable for their animals, Winters said.
"There's a point where we have got to say that if you have a dog in someone else's yard and it bites someone, you are liable," he said.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.