Animal cruelty incidents call for creative solution

I read with interest the recent articles involving alleged dog fighting and the attack by two pit bulls on a household pet in Eastpoint. I also found Undersheriff Joel Norred and Director of Animal Control Van Johnson’s response to the most recent incident interesting.

Director Van Johnson stated “We probably receive more calls for fighting on the weekends than any other time.” With all due respect, if this is the case would it not be prudent to schedule an animal control officer to be on duty when the need is greatest (weekends and evening hours)? I’m sure Undersheriff Norred schedules his deputies according the needs of the community and the number of calls for service.

Deputies work weekends and evenings, why not schedule an animal control officer to work weekends and evenings if that is the when the most calls for fighting are received? And why not cross train one or more deputies (minimum of one on each shift) on how to handle future situations similar to the above? After all deputies routinely encounter uncontrolled dogs and other animals during the execution of search warrants or when responding to citizen complaints.

The Sheriff’s Office has or had canine deputies who would be excellent candidates for this type of training and post incident investigations. This type of animal cruelty should not be allowed in Franklin County and it would not be tolerated in other jurisdictions.

R. Bruce Barnes