Behind the Badge: YPD animal control

When the Yuma Police Department took over animal control services from the Humane Society of Yuma, city officials experienced a steep learning curve by starting the unit from scratch.

John Allen, YPD's Animal Control Services (ACS) unit supervisor, said, ?I will throw my name into the hat of those who underestimated the numbers of calls we would receive.?

When they officially began offering services through the ACS office on Jan. 1, Allen said, they started out with two officers including himself, but he was the only one working that day because of the holiday.

?I got in that truck and was never given the opportunity to go anywhere else except from call to call to call. We recognized quickly that we were going to have more calls than we expected and thus needed more staff to take care of that.?

They now have four ACS officers, in addition to Allen, who have all either gone through or are in the process of going through the Nationwide Animal Control Association training process.

?It's the only certifying body in the nation,? he said about the NACA. ?Although it's not required, it's always good to get them certified so we can be as professional as possible.?

Allen said that in addition to creating new uniforms and purchasing vehicles, they had to develop policies and procedures. ?A lot of what we had we learned as we went.?

While HSOY had previously handled services for both the city and the county, the city of Yuma's animal control services are addressing only the animal control needs of the city. However, the city has expanded its services to include cats, previously not handled by HSOY's Animal Control unit.

Additionally, they are offering a Feral Cat Trap and Voucher Program.

The program, Allen said, allows Yuma residents to check out a cat trap at the office, located in YPD's lobby at 1500 S. 1st Ave., free for two weeks to capture any feral cats around their homes or businesses.

Once a cat is captured, residents can bring it by the animal control officer for inspection to make sure it isn't part of a trap, neuter and release program, and to see if it is micro-chipped with identification. Then the individual will be given a voucher to present to the Humane Society, which will be required to take the cat.

The voucher, Allen said, will cover the cost the Humane Society would normally charge to take the cat in. ?My goal is to cost the citizens of this city as little as possible.?

He said that revenues from licensing animals cover the cost of vouchers issued through the feral cat trap program.

Allen noted that if an animal is licensed, he is more likely to want to return them to their owner than to the Humane Society.

?We don't pay HSOY unless we take an animal to them. So I have incentive not to take animals to them and cost the city money.?

The fee scale set by the city for a dog at large is $50 for a first offense and progresses to $100, $200 and $300 for continual offenses.

?Typically as a reward, if you will, for being licensed, we won't charge people for their dog being out the first time,? Allen said, noting that residents won't be charged over $300, but they haven't run into that problem yet.

He stated that in the long run, licensing your animals through HSOY can be less costly than not. For a fixed animal, the cost of licensing is $13 for one year, $24 for two years or $35 for three years. For a not-fixed animal, licensing is $25 for one year, $50 for two years and $75 for three years. Temporary residents can pay $6 to license their animal as well.

?If you don't license your animal and we catch it, it goes to the Humane Society. When you go to get it, you're going to have to pay fines.?

He did note, however, that in order to license your animal, it must have its rabies vaccination, which can be done through HSOY for $20 or also at a local veterinarian's office.

?State law says if a dog bites someone and they're not vaccinated, we have to quarantine that animal off site for 10 days; that's over $300 worth of quarantine. If the animal is licensed, I can home quarantine ... and it wouldn't cost the owner a penny.?

Yuma Police Capt. Rod Hamilton emphasized that the city of Yuma's ACS unit has a philosophy of first educating the public, assisting them if they can and then lastly enforcing the law as needed.

?We're not in the business of going out and trying to make money, that's not what we're here for. I know there's an aspect of this that is money-generating but that's not what we're here for,? sad Hamilton.

Allen said they plan to continue with ACS for the foreseeable future.

?Yuma and Lake Havasu were the only two municipalities in the entire state that had the Humane Society doing animal control. We were the last two holdouts.?

Animal Control Services can be reached at ACS@yumaaz.gov or 373-4795 or 783-4421. The office is open seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Sarah Womer can be reached at swomer@yumasun.com or 539-6858. Find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/YSSarahWomer or on Twitter at @YSSarahWomer.

Source: http://www.yumasun.com/news/animal-80832-control-allen.html

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