District Animal Control Meeting Feb. 10, 2011

Here's the low-down on what happened at last night's District Animal Control meeting in a quick, easy to read format designed to keep you well-informed.

• Animal Control Officer Paul Neidmann reported that in the month of January four animals were redeemed, three were sold as pets and one was euthanized.
• Brought in from Bethany: A total of one cat and four dogs, 29 phone calls required response, which included many concerns about horses in the snow. Eight calls were handled by phone or referral.
• From Orange: One cat, one dog. 21 calls came in, 15 were handled by phone.
• From Woodbridge: Two cats and two dogs, all abandoned in town. 23 calls, six handled by phone.
• The board asked if Neidmann could provide details of each call, however, Neidmann responded it would take a lot of paper as each event is written up as a separate report. As an alternative, Neidmann will write up an occasional report of daily activities to be published in the local paper so that residents can be more fully informed as to what DAC's job entails.
• Neidmann reported on the Sun Gold barn collapse and stated that all horses are doing well.
• In the past few days, two dogs were signed over and both were quickly adopted, which was very good as both were considered hard-to-place animals.
• The board stated there was confusion over which organization was to pay certain veterinarian bills, DAC or AARF (Amity Animal Rescue Fund) especially with regards to a cat that needed special tests for an eye problem. The organizations said they would look into it as they believed those bills had already been paid.
• Karen Lombardi, who was formerly the Regional Canine Control officer for the state at what is now the DAC facility, has been re-commissioned and will be working on a per-diem basis at the shelter as an animal control officer.
• The DAC budget should be ready by the March meeting. The budget will reflect operating the facility as it is, and if anything changes (i.e. towns opting to leave the district) it will be later changed to reflect that.