TDAC Establishing New SOP Surrounding Dog Bites, Jurisdiction
BY JOHN P. BOAN
News Editor
Standard operating procedures surrounding aggressive dogs and how to handle jurisdictional questions are in the process of being updated, according to a Jan. 6 meeting of the Trenton-Dade Animal Center Committee.
Emily Richards, Director of Animal Services for the Trenton-Dade Animal Center (TDAC), said the department is working to update its 83-page standard operating procedure (SOP) manual to better address local needs as they become apparent.
“We’re updating it as we go,” Richards said. “This is a new organization, so that as things arise, we’re modifying the document to best fit the scenarios that we will encounter in our small, rural community.”
Destiny Mcculigh, Kennel Technician at the current animal control building, plays with Maple, the longest tenured four-legged resident at the facility. Maple first arrived in October of last year. Those interested in adopting Maple can do so by going to the Trenton city government website and searching under the Animal Control Department.
The document is based upon the Athens-Clarke County Animal Control SOP and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ national guidelines for animal shelter SOP, Richards said. Among updating best practices for animal handling and cleaning, she said, changes to the Trenton-Dade Animal Center procedures manual will specifically include language to reflect state requirements following dog bites–including a mandated quarantine timeline–as well as procedures to help ensure local, taxpayer-funded animal control services are only being used by Dade County residents.
“We are funded by the taxpayers of Dade County, and we don’t want to be serving people who live outside of that boundary,” Richards said. “We’re very small, and we have a lot of Alabama and Tennessee and a lot of other Georgia counties where animals could cross over, so we really want to find the best way to enforce this jurisdictional boundary.”
Establishing a comprehensive local SOP is important for multiple reasons, Richards said, the most of which is ensuring consistency in all day-to-day operations.
“It’s important to have this framework document because it is a guideline for every animal situation you can encounter, whether that’s an injured animal coming in from the field or how to clean the kennel for a litter of puppies,” she said. “It’s important to have everyone doing the same thing every time not only for transparency’s sake but for proper care of the animals and for efficiency in running the organization.”
In addition to discussing updates to the local SOP, the TDAC Committee also briefly touched on the progress of the proposed new Trenton-Dade Animal Center facility. According to Committee Member Alex Case, plans are still being drafted for the building.
The Committee reviewed the recent addition of a county animal control officer under the Dade County Sheriff’s Office. Both the Sheriff’s Office and the Trenton Police Department have authorized one animal control officer apiece, with the two officers schedules to be staggered so that one officer is always on duty county-wide.
The next meeting of the TDAC Committee is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Jan. 20 at the Commission Chambers in the Dade County Administrative Building.
