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San
Leon, Bacliff talk loose animals
as printed in
the Texas City
Sun
06/16/04
By Lisa Ray
Dogs and cats
running free are not what San Leon residents
want to see.
About 40 residents came together
in a town meeting Tuesday night to address
the problem of stray animals in the county.
County officials; Ronnie
Schultz, director of environmental health
programs; Michele Reynolds, director of
animal services; Garret M. Foskit, environmental
and consumer health nuisance abatement
officer; Galveston County Sheriff’s
Deputy Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo; Incoming
Constable Pam Matranga; and Assistant
District Attorney Mohamed Ibrahim attended
the meeting to answer questions and provide
information.
For residents who were especially
fed up with dogs running the streets,
Ibrahim and Tuttoilmondo clarified the
law on when they are allowed to shoot
a dog.
“No you can’t
just shoot them if they’re standing
in the street,” Tuttoilmondo said.
It is legal to shoot a dog
that poses an imminent danger to a person
or someone’s property, such as livestock,
Ibriham said. It is also legal to shoot
a dog, wild or domestic, that has recently
killed or injured livestock.
Residents in the crowd complained
of dogs preventing their children from
playing outside. Ibrahaim said shooting
one of these dogs could end in an animal
cruelty charge.
What most residents did not
know was that all Galveston County pet
owners must obtain a license for their
dogs and cats, even if they are kept in
a fenced-in area, according to Schultz.
Officials and residents also
discussed ways to take care of stray animals.
One way is to take them to
the animal shelter in Texas City. Reynolds
said the animal shelter is changing its
image and trying to save as many pets
as possible.
“We no longer want
to be viewed as a hold-and-kill shelter,”
Reynolds said.
Animal Services has begun
working with animal rescue organizations
and has established a Web site, GCAS.PetFinder.org,
to help pets find homes, Reynolds said.
Galveston County Sheriff’s
Office does not deal with domestic animal
problems unless the animals are being mistreated,
Tuttoilmondo said. However, residents who
need the help of animal services after business
hours can call the Sheriff’s Office
and ask them to contact an on-call animal
control officer.
For More Information
Contact:
Kurt Koopmann
Public Information Officer
Galveston County Health District
(409) 938-2211
kkoopman@gchd.org
read
the press release
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