Central Oregonian

New date set for animal control ordinance

Deadline pushed back to July 1 to provide more time to educate the public

Jason Chaney

After its approval by the Crook County Court last fall, the newly-formed county animal control ordinance was set to take effect next week.

However, the county court and the Crook County Sheriff's Office recently decided that the April 1 date was too early and pushed it out to July 1.

The new ordinance spells out the requirements for dog licensing, vaccinations, as well as enforcement details and licensing fees.

The time between the approval and start date for the ordinance was intended for educating the public on the new animal code as well as working out the details of who would sell the required dog licenses and rabies shots. In the end, both the County and Sheriff's Office felt more time was needed.

Sheriff's Office Operations Commander Russ Wright said the time will primarily be used "for more education" and "to better develop a new data system."

Of those two, education is the primary concern for Wright because it increases the likelihood that people will follow the ordinance.

"The goal is compliance," he said. "Rabies vaccinations are number one. Licensing is number two."

To facilitate that education process, the Sheriff's Office will host five town hall meetings throughout Crook County. The first of those will take place on Tuesday evening in Prineville. Others will follow in Powell Butte, Post/Paulina, Juniper Canyon, and Ochoco West.

"A lot of these meeting locations are where we respond to a lot of animal complaints," Wright said.

According to Wright, the town halls will help the public by making them familiar with the changes the ordinance will bring, as well as "explaining the implementation process and enforcement strategies." Wright added that each meeting will include an open forum for asking questions about the new code.

Crook County Judge Mike McCabe said the County Court fully supports the later start date for the ordinance.

"It's going to give us some time to do some additional education as well as time to come up with additional vendors to sell the licenses and rabies shots," he said. "It gave us time to get it done right."