All bark and no bite has not worked for animal control, and an advisory board has recommended putting more teeth in county codes to encourage pet owners to comply with licensing requirements and other laws.

Clark County commissioners and the Vancouver City Council, which contracts with the county to provide animal control services, will be asked to approve higher fines for certain violations and make other code changes recommended by the nine-member Animal Protection & Control Advisory board.

Clark County Animal Control Manager Paul Scarpelli made a presentation Wednesday to county commissioners, and he’s scheduled to meet with the city council in early May.

Under the proposal, owners of unlicensed dogs or cats would be fined $100 instead of $25 (currently the fine is waived if owners immediately get a license; under the proposal, a portion of the fine could be waived.)

A first-time fine for animal cruelty would increase from $100 to $250; a “running at large” fine would increase from $50 to $100.

Scarpelli and Pat Jollota, a former Vancouver City councilor who chairs the advisory board, told commissioners they hope raising the fines will be an incentive for pet owners to comply with animal codes.

Scarpelli stressed that he’s not looking to make money from violators. He just wants people to license their pets and be responsible owners so his office doesn’t get so many calls.

Approximately 18,000 dogs and 6,700 cats are licensed in the county.

Based on national statistics on pet ownership, an estimated 16 percent of dogs and 5 percent of cats in Clark County are licensed.

“We really have no idea how many domestic animals are out there,” Scarpelli said.

Commissioner Tom Mielke said dog and cat owners should know that the county has licensing requirement.

He said he can’t think of any jurisdiction that doesn’t require pets to be licensed.

“I’m not even a dog owner, but I know that,” Mielke said.

Commissioners seemed surprised to find out taxpayers are footing emergency veterinarian bills (a total of $14,400 last year) and shelter costs ($156,499 last year) for pet owners who abuse or abandon their animals. Commissioners budgeted $1.7 million for the next two years for animal control, and since licensing fees don’t cover the cost of the program, the commissioners have to use money from the general fund.

Tough economic times have added to the demand for animal control services, Scarpelli said, as people can’t afford to care for animals.

On Tuesday, animal control officers responded to one apartment to pick up a dog that had been left behind by owners who’d been evicted. Another call was from a woman who couldn’t afford to buy feed for her horses because her mother, who had lived with her, had died and her bank accounts had been frozen. The officers thanked the woman for calling for help and gave her a voucher for grain and hay.

The voucher was from Ripley’s Horse Aid Foundation, a volunteer nonprofit neglect-prevention organization.

Horses are a separate issue; there are no licensing fees, but representatives from horse organizations said Wednesday that “backyard breeding” has contributed to a big increase in the horse population. While officials guessed there are 25,000 horses in the county, representatives from the horse groups put the number at 45,000 and said the county should start issuing stud licenses to rein in irresponsible breeders.

Animal control officers told commissioners they frequently respond to calls about horse neglect and find starving horses hidden in stalls.

Shrinking staff

But even before the recession, animal control caseloads were increasing 5 percent a year.

Meanwhile, the number of officers has been cut.

In April 1976, the county established Clark County Dog Control.

“They had four officers and one clerk,” Scarpelli said. “I have four officers and two clerks.”

The animal control staff has shrunk from a high of 11 in 2004 to six. (The county has cut 270 positions since 2007.)

Scarpelli, finance manager of the county’s Community Development department, picked up the additional duty of animal control manager last year, so he doesn’t count as part of the animal control staff.

In 1976, the Dog Control program responded to approximately 4,400 calls.

Last year, the office received approximately 27,000 calls.

The officers respond to calls in unincorporated Clark County, the city of Vancouver and the town of Yacolt.

Those calls were regarding: eight coyotes, one rabid bat, 42 venomous snakes, 2 giant land turtles, four alligators, one iguana, 187 guinea pigs (rescued from an illegal breeding operation in a garage), 35 mice or rats, eight llamas, 47 fighting roosters, hundreds of horses, dozens of cows, goats, sheep, rabbits, hawks, seagulls, 100-plus raccoons with distemper, thousands of dogs and cats, and a 250-pound pot belly pig that required eight people to lift.

“We’re not just dog catchers,” Scarpelli said.

In addition to higher penalties, the advisory board recommends increasing a $1.50 agent transaction fee to $5 to encourage more pet-related business owners to become licensing subagents.

Other recommendations include charging owners more to reclaim their pets from a shelter, so a first-time cost to retrieve a pet would increase from a minimum of $40 to a minimum of $70 to recoup more of the transportation and boarding costs. If a person loses a pet a third time, the retrieval fee would be a minimum of $130.

Stephanie Rice: 360-735-4508 or stephanie.rice@columbian.com.

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