Marsha Looper, state representative for District 19, assembled a panel of animal experts to address animal abuse issues at a town hall meeting held in Calhan Aug. 22. The meeting was packed.Although Rosemary Bakes-Martin, director of the El Paso County Department of Health and Environment, also spoke on Hantavirus, West Nile virus and plague; the majority of attendees were there to hear the panel discuss ways to reduce the number of animal abuse and neglect cases in eastern El Paso County.The panel included Dr. Wes Metzler, director of the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region, Joe Breister from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, John Newsom, district attorney for El Paso and Teller counties, Scott Dutcher, chief of the Colorado Bureau of Animal Protection and Jerry Rineck from SAINT Animal Rescue.Dutcher said eastern El Paso County, as well as southeast Elbert and north Pueblo counties have had problems with animal issues for years.Although none of the 120 agents who enforce state laws regarding animal issues are stationed in El Paso County, Dutcher said locally his office handles close to 10,000 investigations each year. The majority of complaints involve dogs. Horses are second and cats are third.Metzler said the HSPPR supports the sheriff’s office on an as-needed basis in eastern El Paso County. “I have never seen cases more horrendous than what I’ve seen in eastern El Paso County,” Metzler said.Because of the problems, one attendee feared that the county would limit the number of animals per household and extend leash laws in the county. “We don’t need any more laws or restrictions because of a few bad apples,” Looper said.Breister said there is no county law to enforce dogs-at-large calls east of Marksheffel Road. El Paso County Commissioner Dennis Hisey was present at the meeting, and he said he hadn’t talked with anyone who wants to expand the area covered by the HSPPR or extend the leash laws.The sheriff’s office h as trained five officers on evaluating the condition of horses when complaints are made, Breister said.District attorney Newsom told audience members that his office file charges if the officers find neglect or abuse. The difference between a misdemeanor and felony charge is “knowingly” abusing an animal, he added.One rancher expressed concern that someone might file a complaint against his business. He buys calves that have not been weaned from their mothers. “I’m trying to make a living,” he said. “I have money invested. I vaccinate them, and I take care of them, and I want them to live. If you’re going to make somebody in charge (of animal control) of this area, it better be somebody who knows something.”Another individual asked Breister to clarify the extent to which officers can search a property. He said a sheriff’s deputy or an agent commissioned by the Colorado Bureau of Animal Protection can enter a property, even if the entrance gate is closed, and search all buildings, except a private residence, without a warrant. A warrant is required to search a private residence.If an animal is seized, the owner is given the option to sign the animal over to the county. Dogs and cats are taken to the HSPPR, and large animals are taken to six nonprofit organizations that work with the sheriff’s office. The courts determine whether the animals are returned to the owner.Two ranchers said they felt that “people were looking for things to go wrong” and trying to “profit from it.”Jerry Rineck from the animal rescue organization SAINT said he has been trained in how to detect abuse or neglect animal situations.”A lot of people don’t want to call the sheriff’s office, so they call us, and we call the sheriff. We’ve saved about 100 dogs and cats in the last nine months and haven’t worked on any horse cases,” Rineck said. “People drive out to Ellicott Highway, kick their dogs out and think they’ll get along fine with the coyotes.”Many audience members expressed their support of SAINT’s efforts.Looper then tried to reassure the audience that higher tax to resolve this problem is not on anyone’s agenda. “This county likes low taxes, so I doubt anyone wants to pay higher taxes to hire more sheriff’s deputies to solve this problem,” she said.In a separate interview, Rineck said that SAINT is looking for more foster homes until they can get funding for an animal shelter. He also said he had just learned that at least one Petco store in Colorado Springs will sponsor a roundup program for SAINT. Customers will be asked to round up their purchase price to the next dollar to benefit SAINT.Number of calls related to animal abuse or neglect received by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office for District 4 (all areas east of Meridian Road):2005: 493 calls2006: 525 calls2007: 550 calls to dateThe number of actual animal cruelty or abuse cases:2005: 25 cases2006: 43 cases2007: 72 cases
