Stephens County animal control situation different than in city

September 09

18:31 2024

Print This Article Share it With Friends

Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series by the Breckenridge Texan on the animal problems in Breckenridge and Stephens County, Texas. Additional articles are linked at the end of this story.

By Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan

When it comes to animal control in rural Stephens County, the problems are different than the animal issues inside the city limits and calls are handled differently than they are in the city. However, that could change, depending on the outcome of an interlocal agreement between the city, the county and the Stephens County Humane Society that is currently being negotiated.

In the County, Sheriff’s deputies are the ones who respond to most animal control problems, and many of their calls are livestock-related calls, such as a cow that got out of a pasture and wandered on to a highway. However, they do get their share of non-agriculture, domestic animal calls that are mostly dog related.

In some cases, City of Breckenridge animal control officers have helped with calls in the county. A more formal agreement on how that arrangement will work in the future will be spelled out in an interlocal agreement that is currently in the works between the city and county.

According to Stephens County Sheriff Kevin Roach, the Sheriff’s Office responded to 50 non-livestock related animal calls between Jan. 1 and the first part of September. However, he said that is the number of calls for service they received and does not reflect the actual number of contacts with animals. According to Breckenridge Police Chief Blake Johnson, the City of Breckenridge has received around 400 animal control calls this year.

Roach said most of the complaints they get in the county are not necessarily from abandoned animals; it’s disputes between neighbors. “It’s neighbors that don’t like each other’s dogs,” he said. “You know, ‘Their dogs are over here chasing my goats,’ or my cows and horses…”

Stacey Donaldson with the Stephens County Humane Society addresses the County Commissioners in December 2023 about the help the organization needs. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

He said he tells everyone they have the right to defend their property. For example, if a dog is attacking them – or their animals – they can defend themselves. And, he said people who live in the rural areas of the county understand and know that because they all have livestock, they all have other animals, and they’re going to do the same thing.

“You know, your dogs attacked my horses, I’m gonna shoot your dogs,” he said. “And (if) my dogs come in, attack your stuff, you’re gonna shoot my dog. And they understand that that’s a risk and liability they incur by law.”

“One of the main things I hear from people is complaints…wanting us to intervene and let their neighbor know (their) dog is fixing to be a problem and get dealt with,” he said. “We just try to diffuse (the situation) and keep the peace.”

Working relationship between Sheriff’s Office and Humane Society

In the past, the Sheriff Office has worked closely with the Stephens County Humane Society on animal control calls, especially in calls where dogs have been dumped in the county.

Because the county does not have its own animal shelter or facilities, they have traditionally worked with the Humane Society to help find a place for the dogs that they pick up in the county. That sometimes includes the Humane Society paying to have the dog boarded at a private kennel, or finding somebody who would take the dog temporarily in their home until they could find a permanent home for it. They’ve also worked with the City of Breckenridge Animal Shelter at times to house dogs under their care, if space was available at the shelter.

However, being able to help out has become a bigger challenge for the nonprofit Humane Society during the past few years. There has been a drop in donations since the COVID-19 pandemic, the local animal boarding kennel that they used for housing abandoned animals closed, and many of the organizations that they worked with for relocating animals for adoption to other parts of the state and country have either curtailed their activities dramatically or been discontinued.

The extent of those problems came to light in December 2023 when Stacey Donaldson with the Stephens County Humane Society addressed the Stephens County Commissioners Court at their Dec. 11 meeting. She told the court that the Humane Society was drowning financially and no longer had the capacity to take on more animals.

“Large dogs are just not moving anywhere in the United States,” she said. “It’s just not happening. You can call any rescue and talk to them. They’ll take puppies. They’ll take the cute little fluffy dogs, but the big dogs are out. I mean, it’s just, it’s nationwide. We are drowning financially. We do not have the funds to continue to pay someone to take care of the animals.”

She said the City of Breckenridge takes care of the dogs they have placed in the shelter and that the county and the Humane Society have always worked together in the past to make sure that animals picked up in the county would have someplace to be go.

During a recent workshop involving the county and city commissioners, as well as the local Humane Society, Stephens County Sheriff Kevin Roach answers some questions about the County’s animal control situation. Also pictured are Breckenridge Police Chief Blake Johnson, center, and Justice of the Peace Steve Spoon. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

She suggested that since the city and county have an agreement to work together on fire protection for the both the city and county, they could do the same thing for animal control. Now, several months after Donaldson addressed the County Commissioners, there have been two recent public meetings concerning a proposed interlocal agreement; the first meeting was between the Breckenridge City Commission and Stephens County Commissioners Court, and the second meeting was between both government commissions and Kathy O’Shields, president of the Human Society. One proposal that has been mentioned, but not formally agreed to, includes the City and County providing the Humane Society with funding to have them take over and operate the animal shelter. (Click here to read more about the proposed agreement.)

“So we can work (with the City) on that, so let’s try to work (with them) on this, too,” she said last year. “You know, for our whole community…somebody’s going to be attacked, whether it be county or city; it’s happened before, the … young boy who was killed. It’s gonna happen. And then you’re gonna be on the backside of it. And then you’re really going to pay it out the nose. I mean, you really are. Somebody’s gonna get hurt.”

Current animal control operations

Roach said he and Johnson, have been working together, since Johnson was hired as the Breckenridge Police Chief earlier this year, to get the situation under control. He said they are trying to make the situations more fluid with their front-line guys handling the situations so they are not tied up for hours trying to figure out what to do with an animal.

Johnson said the police department and the sheriff department have entered into an informal agreement and discussed guidelines on things the City can do to assist the County with regarding animal-related issues. He said that when the County and City do formalize the interlocal agreement on animal control, it will be picking up where they left off.

“So we’re trying to get something in place between us,” Roach said. “…Obviously, it didn’t get here overnight. We’re not gonna fix it overnight. But it seems to be at least angling to a way where we can get something temporarily done with an animal until we can figure out a more permanent solution the next day.”

Roach said he believes that if the city and the county government leaders can come together and get on the same page, especially with some funding and get an a permanent agreement in writing done, it will help push the situation forward. “I think we’re going to be able to work together to figure out a solution,” he said.

Cutline, top photo: Stephens County Sheriff Kevin Roach and Humane Society member Stacey Donaldson talk to the Stephens County Commissioners about animal control issues in the county. They addressed the commissioners court at the Dec. 11, 2023, meeting. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)