GREENWOOD (KFSM)—At Monday’s (Oct. 3) city council meeting, Greenwood Police will be addressing the issue of the city's stray dog population and how to fix it.
“Our partnership with the [Sebastian County] Humane Society, that has fell through,” Police Chief Will Dawson said. “We've determined that that's not a viable option for us now or in the future.”
Right now, animal control doesn’t have a place to drop off its strays. Chief Dawson said unless an animal is deemed vicious, there’s not much they can do.
“We need a stable location that we can count on to take these animals to,” Dawson said. “We can't wait to pick up an animal, and then call and see if they have space.”
“I don't understand why the humane society isn't taking them in anymore, but if that's going to be their case for a while, then Greenwood needs to do something to have at least a temporary place for them to be,” Sheryl Winberry said.
Winberry said as a dog owner herself, she’d be fine paying more taxes to have an animal shelter in the city.
“They need someone to stand up for them and protect them,” she said.
Over the course of two weeks, Animal Control will typically come across 30 strays roaming around various neighborhoods in the area.
“We're exploring the idea of building a shelter, whether it be a proposal from a local businessmen to offer to build it and then rent space after the first year or for us to build one ourselves,” Dawson said.
The city council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Greenwood City Hall.
Police are urging dog owners to register their pets once a year, so strays can be returned to their owner more quickly.