PORT ANGELES — The Olympic Peninsula Humane Society has agreed to provide local law enforcement with emergency boarding services for dangerous dogs or dogs that need to be quarantined.
Clallam County Sheriff Brian King said the “handshake agreement,” formalized Aug. 7, is “very limited in scope as they continue to reimagine what their operations will look like in the future.”
The Olympic Peninsula Humane Society’s Bark House will not accept surrendered or abandoned dogs at this time, according to a letter from Board President Marti Oldham published on OPHS’ website.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the sheriff’s office had not utilized the Bark House’s services under the new agreement.
“It’s tough to predict,” King said. “There’s not a lot of dangerous animals [in the county], but they don’t come in consistently, either. We might have several months with nothing, and, in the next month, we have four.
“It’s something that we need to have in place for when it happens,” he said.
As of now, the agreement is only a verbal understanding that includes some compensation for OPHS. King said the sheriff’s office is working on securing a formal contract.
The Bark House has agreed to keep about 12 kennels reserved for law enforcement needs, King said, including three specifically designed to hold dangerous dogs.
This agreement “really only addresses one particular piece of the crisis,” King said.
It does not provide a solution for abused, neglected or abandoned dogs, he added.
“People are dumping animals at a much higher rate than before, because there’s nowhere to take them,” King said.
For dogs that can’t be taken to OPHS, King said the sheriff’s office is dealing with each situation on a case-by-case basis.
He said he wants to find a more permanent, reliable solution.
“It’s going to take a lot of people coming together and building this puzzle to see if somebody’s willing to step up in the community and operate much like OPHS did,” King said. “That’s what we desperately need.”
In addition to the agreement with OPHS, King said the sheriff’s office is working on a contract with the Welfare for Animals Guild (WAG).
That contract would allow the county to recognize WAG as an animal welfare organization and give it the ability to operate under county code, allowing it to rehome animals at a greater rate.
The sheriff’s office also will present county commissioners with recommendations for the Animal Solutions Committee members, with the hope that the committee can help find other solutions.
“We look forward to having continued dialogue with all of our animal welfare groups, and we know that their hearts are in the right place,” King said. “I’m optimistic that we’ll come up with a solution.”
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
