The changes — spurred by a county judge's ruling earlier this
year that the state law the county cited in trying to have a German shepherd destroyed was unconstitutional — would give
animal -
control workers a legal means for ordering a dog killed.
Orange County kills 10,811 dogs and cats each
year but that number could be cut by more than a third if commissioners make widespread changes in their
animal control department, a committee says.The group has recommended a new
animal control ordinance that would allow
animal control to handle pet adoptions and let
workers ignore anonymous complaints about barking dogs and stray cats.
Dr. Hetts and Estep have for many
years lectured both nationally and internationally to a variety of professional and lay groups, including veterinarians, veterinary technicians, veterinary students, groomers, kennel and day care owners, pet sitters, dog trainers, breed and breed rescue groups,
animal shelters, humane societies,
animal control agencies, mediators (regarding barking dog problems), and more recently public service
workers who are likely to encounter dogs (e.g. postal carriers, delivery people, meter readers, etc.).