SALEM, Ore. — Local counties are trying to smooth down some flying fur.
In an attempt to avoid having more animal rescue operations fail and leave behind abused, neglected and suffering critters, the Oregon Legislature in 2013 passed a law requiring rescue organizations meeting a minimal threshold to register.
What it didn’t do was include guidelines for how the registration should work, and hence each county has been determining its own enforcement. Since there is no uniform program statewide, compliance has been sporadic and uneven, according to some county dog-services officials.
It began more than three years ago, in early January 2013, when more than 140 abused and neglected dogs were found in cages at a warehouse on Pueblo Avenue just east of Interstate 5 in Brooks.
Three board members of an organization named Willamette Animal Rescue were charged with more than 100 counts of animal neglect after Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies with search warrants seized the malnourished and ill dogs from the building. Numerous complaints preceded the search warrant and execution.
Almost all of the dogs seized had ribs showing, suffered from ringworm, mange, eye infections, parasites and bite wounds. One had a broken leg, and though many were kenneled, others roamed free and the stench from the warehouse was overpowering.
Alicia Marie Inglish pleaded guilty in June, after five trial postponements, to 10 counts of first-degree animal neglect, 10 counts of second-degree animal neglect and two counts of identity theft. Original criminal charges numbered close to 48 counts of animal neglect.
Marion County Circuit Judge Dennis Graves presided over the case, and Inglish was sentenced to 90 days in jail and given five years’ probation. Two other women involved with the organization were charged with neglect as well. Merissa Marie Noonan pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years’ probation, and Amada Oakley, secretary of the Willamette Animal Rescue, pleaded guilty and was given four years’ probation.
In its zeal to prevent a repeat of the Brooks case, the Legislature passed SB-6 with an emergency clause for immediate implementation in July 2013. The bill, in addition to increasing the punishment for animal neglect in the first degree to a maximum of five years’ imprisonment, $125,000 fine, or both, also required that animal rescue operations register in their communities.
Though some counties have been slow to implement the registration component of the law, local officials estimate Marion County has one of the highest compliance rates in the state.
Sonya Pulvers, shelter program specialist with Marion County Dog Services, said a dozen rescue operations in the county have paid the fee and registered with Marion County. All meet the criteria set forth in the new law: the rescue must take in 10 or more animals annually and solicit donations to continue its operations.
Included on Marion County’s list are some of the biggest rescues in the Mid-Valley as well as some of its smallest: the Turtle Ridge Wildlife Center; Willamette Humane Society; Woods Creek Pit Bull Rescue; Coalition Advocating for Animals; Rudy’s Heavenly Rescue (a limited-number hospice for dogs); A Home 4 Paws; the Marion County Dog Shelter (yes, it has to register with itself); Second Chance Salem; Lucky Love Rescue and Green Acres Farm Sanctuary.
There is a fee attached to the registration, and costs $75 for one year, $125 for two years or $175 for three years.
Pulvers said pet owners who’ve adopted from other rescue organizations in the county shouldn’t panic if they don’t see their shelter’s name on the list. She said there are several reasons why an organization might not be shown as registered, and none, she believes, are an attempt to be intentionally unlawful.
“I don’t think rescue owners are necessarily trying to avoid the registration,” Pulvers said. “I think it’s really a case of some of these smaller groups not knowing that the law has changed and that they are responsible to register. We’re working hard to reach these smaller groups and let them know so that they can comply.”
Officer Mindy Bray with Clackamas County Dog Services said five organizations in Clackamas County have registered, and one smaller rescue group complied after being sent a second letter. Mike Bezner, acting Clackamas County Dog Services Manager, said a couple of other nonprofit rescues in that county decided not to accept donations after being sent the initial notice, so that they no longer met the criteria for registration.
BJ Andersen, executive director of the Willamette Humane Society, which has complied with the new law, said the registration has had unintended positive consequences for WHS. She said it has forced her organization to become more dedicated to ensuring that the staff gets pictures up of all new animals within 24 hours of their arrival at the shelter.
“We changed our shelter software so that it generates a daily report and identifies any animal that has not been photographed within the required first day,” Andersen said. “Everything else it required, we were already doing. It’s a good thing.”
