Linn task force to fix animal control policy

Linn County officials are forming a task force to try to overhaul the county's animal control policy.

The group will look at county procedures for handling animals, try to clarify the county's relationship with the Cedar Valley Humane Society, look for ways to better cooperate with the City of Cedar Rapids and explore the possibility of requiring licenses for pets.

The county is short on animal control procedures, Public Health Director Curtis Dickson said, and the Cedar Valley Humane Society has been left to fill the void without much oversight.

“There are no real oversight measures in place,” Dickson said. “We don't have policies and procedures for animal bites or for dangerous animals or how animals are going to be processed.”

The Humane Society, an embattled institution whose co-directors were fired by its board in September, receives $60,000 per year from Linn County Public Health. The Humane Society sends a monthly report to Public Health.

Most Public Health departments have a panel that reviews whether an animal is dangerous, but Dickson said he isn't aware of one for Linn County. With the firings and turmoil at the Humane Society and records lost in the flood, “No one knows much of anything,” he said.

A task force of up to 17 people will be appointed by the Board of Supervisors and the Board of Health, Dickson said, including a veterinarian, the Humane Society, Kirkwood Community College, and Public Health.

“What we're going to try to do is get it approved by the two boards by the end of the month, go into operation in February, maybe report by June our findings and recommendations,” Dickson said.

Cedar Rapids has its own animal control and care operation, and Marion contracts with the city for those services.

Marion used to use the Humane Society but since March 2008, when Marion police raided the shelter and seized records on its billing practices, Marion has used the Cedar Rapids shelter instead.