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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-03-21-9:00AM-WORKSHOPFILED FOR RECORD r DATE lfr' AT S-IJI O .I_OGM~~_.>~_ II KAREN T~E,.~11:_"a I B AZOSCOUNTY BRYAN, TEXAS NOTICE OF MEETING BRAZOS COUNTY COMISSIONERS COURT WORKSHOP SESSION THE COMMISSIONERS COURT WILL MEET IN A WORKSHOP SESSION ON WEDNESDAY 21 MARCH 2006 AT 9:00 A.M. IN SUITE 115 OF THE BRAZOS COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 300 EAST 26TH STREET, BRYAN, TEXAS. 1. Call to Order 2. Discussion of the Animal Regulations in Brazos County, specific areas of concern and possible solutions. 3. Adjourn The Brazos County Courthouse is wheelchair accessible. Handicap parking spaces are available. Any request for sign interpretive services must be made two business days before the meeting. To make arrangements, call (979) 361-4102. Office of the County Judge • 300 East 26P St. . Suite 114 • Bryan, Texas 77803 • Fax: (979) 361-4503 VOL79 PAGE 1~ COMMISSIONERS' COURT WORKSHOP SESSION MARCH 21, 2006 The Commissioners' Court of Brazos County, Texas met in a Workshop Session in the Commissioners' Courtroom in the Courthouse in Bryan, Brazos County, Texas, beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 21, 2006, with the following members of the Court present: Randy Sims, County Judge, Presiding; Lloyd Wassermann, Commissioner of Precinct 1; Duane Peters, Commissioner of Precinct 2; Kenny Mallard, Commissioner of Precinct 3; Carey Cauley, Jr., Commissioner of Precinct 9; Karen McQueen, County Clerk, Absent. Attached is a list of the citizens and officials in attendance. Attached is a transcript of the meeting. Vol 7 9 Page )4(p. I of 27 BRAZOS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT Animal Regulations in Brazos County Workshop March 21, 2006 Sims: Mr. Cauley you want to lead off? You've had more phone calls than any of us. Cauley: Yes. Some time ago, Judge, in my precinct there have been some complaints relative to dogs. In particular areas, these dogs are biting people and keeping people from going in out and out of their homes and what have you. Upon calling the sheriff, the sheriff seems to be unable to do anything about these dogs simply because we don't have an ordinance of any kind regulating dogs unless they bit somebody or unless they are rabid. For what I understand, there isn't much that we can do. My concern is that I didn't want to happen, specifically in my precinct or in the county, what has happened in the county North of us with the lady on the lawnmower. So, it's for that reason that I ask that this Commissioner's Court consider doing something relative to regulating dogs. Each of you have before you research done by Rod Anderson relative to what we could and could not do. You also have information in your package relative to what they are doing in Austin. You will also see the parameters of what we can do as a Commissioner's Court. I guess the thing we need to do is kind of decide what is best for us and how do we implement. Sims: Ok. Any other comments from up here? Mallard: I just wanted to ask Mr. Anderson that it appears in the statues ...I've tried to read over it and tried to understand it as best as I could and it appears that the animal is presumed innocent until proven guilty. In other words usually it is an after the fact situation when you go through it. So I don't know that there such a thing as a preventative part of it. Anderson: Right. The only preventative type measure, if you would I guess, is just taking some action to limit the dogs or animals running at large and taking action ...if you were to limit them running at large you could take action before they actually got off of their property and bit someone... just the fact that they maybe got off their property. So that may be the only way you could take some kind of action before they actually injure livestock, injure a person, actually do something. In place right now are state laws that govern if they are off of their property and they are threat to livestock or that kind of thing then you may be able to take some kind of action against them. If you Vol 7 K Page I T7 Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 2 of 27 want to do something more preemptive than that then it's a matter of regulating them even running at large period. Mallard: So we do have that capability of regulating animals at large? Anderson: That's correct. You have that ability under the Range Control Act, you also have the ability under Chapter 822 which allows you to hold or call a countywide election regarding registration and regulation and animals at large. That kind of thing. So it's kind of two different approaches to it; either by election or under the Rabies Control Act, you have the authority to regulate it. That's what Travis County did when they enacted theirs. They went under the Rabies Control Act and the authority they had to regulate it that way. It appears that they don't require the animal to be registered but they do have provisions that required the animals to be kept from running at large. Their's seems to be kind of a complaint driven system that if there is a complaint then they'll investigate it and handle it that way. If there are no complaints I don't know that they are actually out there looking for animals running at large but it seems to be just the way I read their statutes. I haven't talked to anyone over there specifically but it seems to be kind of a complaint driven system that they have. Mallard: And I assume that that is the way that most ordinances seem to operator is there are some that they will have enforcement go out and confine but most of it is complaint driven, I assume. Anderson: I would think probably so. Cauley: There is one thing ...I know that we do have work dogs in this county like cow dogs and we don't want to penalize people who use their dogs in that profession at what have you but somehow we've got to strike a balance between the two. Because it seems that I have the most problems because when I fist became a Commissioner, I had problems with pack of wild dogs chasing school children off the bus. So we need to do something other than what we are doing now to insure the safety and welfare of the people in the county. Basdekas: Judge, sir? Sims: Yes sir, name please? Basdekas: Demetrias Basdekas, 709 Old Reliance Road, Bryan, 77828. I live in a rural county outside the city limits and what has been our experience over the last twelve to fifteen years here is that from time to time there seems to be a cyclic type of occurrence, people have the habit or they find it convenient to dump dogs and other animals in rural counties. And we are the recipients of that and sometimes that's a problem. The same concern deals with, also Vol Page 149. Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 3 of 27 extends to wildlife. And we have had experiences where we were unable to get any help from whoever is supposed to provide it to us. I think if you address the service that Commissioner Cauley cited and he came close to addressing things outside the city limits, I urge to consider... and I plead with you to consider the problems associated with pet dumping, dogs of all kinds, to rural county areas where we who live there have to deal with it and it is sometimes hard to get help. Thank you. Commissioner Peters I specifically request that you listen to this. You're my Commissioner. Sims: Short of a leash law...does Travis County have a leash law out in the rural area? Anderson: I haven't studied their ...I didn't go back and look at it specifically... yes, it requires that they can not run loose and be stray dogs. I think you have different levels of restraint that you can go to here. What you are referring to as a leash law where the dog is actually physically restrained on a leash in a fence, that kind of thing... when I read Travis County's and that's why I say it more complaint driven ...it seems like their restraint is that they are requiring the owners to keep those dogs on their premises. Which out in the rural area, a large setting, a hundred acres, you may not have to have a fence but those pretty much stay on your premises and there would be no action taken even though you didn't have an actual fence that kept them in, they are on your premises. You also have voice control as a way to restrain dogs. Kind of what Commissioner Cauley was mentioning while ago where you have work dogs and that kind of thing. That's another way that the animals can be restrained is if they are under actual voice control at the time to where they don't actually have to be on a leash but they are under some type of restraint. In Travis County their enforcement takes place when they get off the premises of the owner and there are complaints about that. So yes it requires them to be restrained on the property of the owner but I'm not sure that it's real specific that you actually have to have a restraining fence as long as they are on that owners property, they are not going to be...it's not going to be in violation of the ordinance the way that it appears. Sims: Well I can tell you of one case that I know of that when I was a Commissioner that it did happen out there. Nothing ever happened because the neighbor could care less. What happened is the bull got out. It ran through a fence into the neighbors pasture. Well, he takes his cow dog and of course he sends that cow dog in to get that bull back and that cow dog does a great job. He brings that bull back. He rounds him up and pushes him back through the gap in the fence where he had gone through. Now then, if someone had driven up he would have been off of his property. That dog would have been off of his property. Anderson: Exactly. Vol -18 Page I ~1 Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 4 of 27 Sims: Of course he was under the voice control of his owner because he was trying to get that bull back in and he did do a good job and he patched the fence and everything was fine. But there are some real tight things that can happen. Anderson: And that's why when you look at this, especially in a rural area, that is why I think you may want to consider these different levels of restraint and what you want to consider restraint. And voice control when you have hunting dogs or working dogs. A lot of these dogs can do what they need to do under voice restraint, they don't actually have to be on a leash. So, it's how strict you want to keep it. Sims: I think the biggest problem we're having out there is when people just leave dogs running wild, they pack up and when they get packed up good dogs loose their sensibility, they get with the leader of the pack and whatever the leader of the pack is going to do, they are going to do. That is the seriousness. Mr. Basdekas did make a good comment, we get them dumped at the end of the semester as you guys at animal control known better than anybody that they dump them wherever on the way out of town. If they are going to take a job in San Antonio, on 21 on the way out of town, they just drop them off. They don't want to mess with them anymore. They can't, all they have is an apartment in San Antonio and they just don't have any way to keep up with them. Cauley: There are some other things too Judge; there are some people out in the county who have dogs that are not restrained and to a large extent or not voice controlled who are running wild and I think these are the dogs that are creating most of the problem. Not the hunting dog, not the cow dogs or work dogs or what have you, it's some individual citizens who have maybe an acre or so who raise these dogs and they don't have any type of restraints on them and the dogs just wander at will and they are dangerous. That's another part of the situation. Sims: Let me ask a question and I don't know how far animal control takes this but you chain up a dog out in the yard and don't pay any attention and maybe you've got water out there for them and you feed them and all this good stuff. They've got a small back yard and they've got a dog chained to a tree. How close does that come to that that dog is abused? Stepp: Legal. Sims: Legal, ok, thank you. That's what I needed to know because you know from time to time you take a look at a poor old pup that's out there and the sun's beating down and there's no place to get. Got water and I'm assuming they're feeding him because there's an empty pan out there that had dog food in it at one time but he's on a chain about as far as from here to Mr. Cauley. Vol ~ e- Page 150 Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 5 of 27 Stepp: The other part of that would be that we would require that they would have some shelter for them as well. There would have to be a dog house. Standard under a tree to have some shade but he's going to need a dog house as well. So, food, water, and shelter. Sims: Ok. That was my concern; when is it that you are treating that dog badly just on a short chain as far as from here to Mr. Cauley. Stepp: That's a good length of chain. Wassermann: I'll make a comment to that. That's the kind of dog you have to fear if it every gets loose. Because it is restrained, it is protected, it is going to protect that environment and it's been, to me, mistreated. I raise dogs, I'm sorry but I do, and its been mistreated and once it gets loose it is going to be the worst kind you can deal with. Stepp: You are very correct. A chained dog tends to turn into a mean dog. Wassermann: Right. Because it is being mistreated. Stepp: And if they are ostracized from the rest of the pack and dogs are social animals and therefore if they are out by themselves then they are not being socialized properly. Wassermann: Correct. And I got to Producer's Co-Op on Saturday morning and I'm not threatened walking by twenty pickups with unleashed dogs in the back, `cause those are those voice controlled dogs; those are well trained. If he can ride on the back of a tool box in wet weather and never slip off that's a smart animal. But I don't feel threatened by those dogs and they just look at you when you walk by and you look at them. Because I know they are well trained. But those are work dogs and he's trained to just jump on that truck when that vehicle starts and he goes where that truck goes and I'd hate ...I don't think we could ever impose a leash law in this county that would stop that particular thing. I just don't think you can in the rural areas. I think it's too...yes? Sims: Yes ma'am, you're name please? Pineda: Crystal Pineda. I came in about ten minutes late so I apologize if I am speaking to something that was already addressed. I live out in the Benchley area and I have two dogs that are on runner; they are like fifty to sixty feet runners and I've been out there for a little over two years and my dog at the backyard with a fence ...we live on about an acre and my runner is fine. I Vol 7 9- Page 15/ Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 6 of 27 don't have problems with it. My dog's tied up. Well, I had a stray dog that kept coming over. I called animal shelter and they couldn't help me. I called the sheriff's office and they couldn't help me. That dog just kept coming over, kept coming over. The sheriff s office told me, "Is your dog in heat?" I said, "I don't know. She's eight months, I'm not sure." "Well, she might be in heat." And I said, "Well, that's not my problem `cause she's on a runner. The dog that's coming in..." I kept fixing fences, fixing fences, well that dog learned how to jump a fence. We saw it with our own eyes. And now my dog is expecting puppies. What am I going to do? Animal shelter it's twenty dollars a head for a puppy. I don't want the puppies. My dog is full-blooded, I wasn't ready to breed her and now she's going to have mutts. What am I going to do with them and I thought that I was under some type of protection. I couldn't find an owner. The dog is gone and yes my dog is no longer in heat but I could never catch him. And that's what they told me, "Catch the dog. Try to turn him in, try to turn him in." I could never catch the dog. I mean where does that put me and you know I put some great expense into the runners and to the shelter. My dog's got patios. I mean I put lots of expense into maintaining my dogs and they're in my yard. With their shots and going to the vet and everything else. Now I'm let with a dog expecting and I don't know what I'm going to do. You know? I mean what is there to do? I'm out in the county and...hopefully she has one puppy. But what happens, I don't know. Where does that leave us? Sims: I take it you want to become a breeder of this breed of dog of your... Pineda: No. We just wanted to breed her once maybe and then we were going to actually we have people that want to breed her and they want the puppies for themselves. So I was going to plan on breeding her once and then that was it. And my other dog is fixed. He's not a problem. They're not the same breed. But she's in the back and he's in the front. I don't have any problems. They get walked, we take them to the park quite often so they are not bound to the runner but they don't have an eight foot leash either. They get to run forty, fifty feet and they are happy, healthy dogs. They're pets for my children and for me and that's what I want. I want to be able to have my pets but I maintain my pets. Sims: Ok. Thank you. I understand our problem that we have out there; we got a lot of space out there that a lot of dogs are running in...go ahead, Carey. Cauley: I don't know how this would fit but I in consultation with the authorities on this Chapter 286.031 where it authorizes the Commissioner's Court to `adopt ordinances or rules requiring registration of a dog or cat and provide for a penalty for a violation of such rules.' Would that be something that would be too restrictive? Sims: A registration? Vol -7 Y Page 15.z Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 7 of 27 Cauley: Yes. And then as Ms. Pineda has said that if this dog is causing problems and he's not registered, then the sheriff or the animal control people have a right to something about it. Would that be right? Mallard: No, it just means that they are registered. But in general most people register their dogs. However the bad dogs are the dogs that have been dumped out there, won't have a tag, or the people won't register them and those are the ones that, in general, cause the problem. Cauley: Well, I'm saying that at least you could pick him or her up and do whatever needed to be done. This is what I'm saying that you would have some authority to take care of those dogs that don't have a tag or anything at all. That's all that I'm saying. I don't think that we can enact anything that would be a cure all for something that would bring some relief anyway. Mallard: We just have to fund it and it will cost two or three times more than what... Cauley: Well, it's already funded. We got a hundred and forty thousand dollars that we are spending plus we've got a truck in Bryan and one in College Station and we're paying for two officers. Mallard: But that is a certain level of service that we are paying for today and the level of service that I understand you're trying to say we need to go to is going to be a whole lot more than what we're paying for now. Cauley: Well, there may be some additional. My problem is how much is that woman's life in Thomdale worth? Sims: We're not belaboring that, believe me. That's true but how many dogs do you think we have that are running wild. Cauley: I don't know. Probably zillions. I'm exaggerating. Sims: Yeah, probably twenty-fie thousand out there that we don't even know about. Because they go back in the woods and hide and they're out in these pastures and from time to time I'll see two or three of them running together when I'm riding a road or two. Mallard: And before those dogs escaped from that pen where that lady was killed, they were not in violation because they were in a pen. So it's a tough call. How do you know before hand if something bad is going to happen? Cauley: I know. You don't know when you're neighbors are gonna do something. I just know that the longer... there's nothing that I can do and I would think Vol 7 L Page f 53 Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 8 of 27 that the collective wisdom of this body is much more than I could bring to the subject. That's why that it be considered. Mallard: I don't think you're wrong, I just think it's going to cost us a whole a lot more money than what we're paying now in order to get that level of service. That would be my guess. Sims: Yes sir, Jim. Mann: Let me just give you some quick figures here in talking about cost. From January 26`h until last Thursday the Sheriff's Office logged one hundred and ten man hours on animal calls alone. That's a hundred and ten man hours that we could contribute to suppression of residential burglaries. So there is a cost associated with that as well. Sims: What constituted those man hours Jim? Can you give me a brief rundown, I mean what it is you do out there when you get a call. Mann: Our contracts with the City of Bryan and College Station require us to respond to the initial call, to assist and determine if there is something that those contracts will accommodate and if it is then we have dispatch contact either Bryan or College Station, whichever is appropriate for animal control services. In those services, we'll run into dog bites and Sims: Possible rabies? Mann: Right, Rabies Control Act. But it does not cover animals at large. A lot of calls that we're getting that we roll up to are dogs that are intimidating to other persons. Haven't bitten them and haven't attacked them but these people feel intimidated by the presence of these dogs that are running loose. So we don't have any authority to deal with that and that's the bulk of the calls that we're on. Most of these calls that we go out on, we're probably averaging forty-five minutes on a call. We're trying to figure out who the dog belongs to and see if we can make contact with an owner and tell them the problems that we're having and do as much as we can with it. But as far as being able to take a problem dog and get them to the shelter, we don't have any means of doing that. Sims: Right. Mann: Unless other than The Rabies Control Act or something like that. Mallard: Is there any way to know whether these dogs are actually owned by somebody or whether they are just at large roaming or...? Vol ? 9 Page /.54. Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 9 of 27 Mann: If someone in the area knows where the dogs belongs and without any kind of tag or anything like that to try and follow up on. All we know is by word of mouth of the people living there. Mallard: But, in general, do you think that most of the dogs probably belong to someone? Mann: That's hard to say. Most cases, probably so. Mallard: Probably so. Ok. Peters: Rod, can regulations be written similar to what Travis County is where it is complaint driven and where it might exempt working dogs and hunting dogs that are actually out working or hunting? They happen to be at home and are a nuisance to somebody else but they are not in the process and that owner needs to address that and either chain them or put them in a pen or something like that. But when we get nuisance calls, that's really what my concern is. Whether the dog has been dumped out or whether it's just neighbor that lets their dogs run free and they just keep on aggravating other people. Can we write that regulation to kind of address those issues but where we won't go overboard and actually have somebody out there that's looking for something to do and find a dog just out? Anderson: I certainly think that you can. Patti was just showing me something here a while a go. It was something that I questioned from a while back about what the county actually has in place. The county may actually have something in place. Candy wasn't able to find it the other day when she went back ten years or so but it may be older than that. But the county may already have some kind of nuisance regulation or registration regulations in place. I think that's what the city does. They require their registration and it's done by the veterinarians, is that right? When you go in and have the animals vaccinated for rabies. Stepp: The licensing, the authority of the Brazos County Animal Shelter and it is a county license. It's not just the City of Bryan and the City of College Station that have a license. I would think that would be with your registration that you're talking about it and it is implemented through the veterinarian's offices. Anderson: I think that's one of the ways you accomplish the nuisance situation is by requiring the registration or licensing out in the county. That way you know who these dogs are supposed to belong to. That's why I found the Travis County one a little strange because they didn't require registration yet they were going to prohibit the animals running a large and strays and that kind of thing. I think what I envision there is you pick up a dog, it's not required to be registered so now you don't know who it belongs to, nobody claims it Vol -7 8' Page 155 Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 10 of 27 within a certain length of time and then the dog is destroyed or something but there was no requirement that that owner ever license the dog or keep those kind of things up. I think that's how you determine if the dog is a stray because they are not registered, they don't have any kind of tags on them, that kind of things. Seems to me like if you require them to be licensed and tagged no matter where they then when they are picked up you know that this dog...here's where it belongs, here's who you call. Certainly, I think that is kind of a first step and I would think that you would want to have them licensed before you go declaring them a stray and you just find them out there and destroy them . But certainly the nuisance part of it is where you get into the enforcement of it, I think. I think we need to look a little further and see if there is something like this in place that the county can use already use to try to curb the situation. I don't know how far back this went. It's not the full ordinance or order and this one does seem to be nuisance related so where it occurs if there is a nuisance and prohibits and animal to be a nuisance. Peters: But once you had the registration I guess it would be similar to what they have in the two cities is obviously if a dog is found and doesn't have a tag then it's considered a stray and then it's at the shelter for a certain length of time for somebody to claim it or it's adopted or destroyed. Anderson: Then you have your provision about what you are going to do with that animal, how you are going to dispose of the animal, that kind of thing. But also through the registration and licensing the statutes allow you to charge a fee for that particular service so that's where you can generate enough to cover the cost of doing the registration and help with the control of the animals to some extent. You do have the authority to establish fees for that registration or licensing to help cover the cost of the program to implement it. Sims: And Patti the animal shelter has been doing that for years. We're going to miss a bunch though. Most of those that have just dropped off. McLeod: Judge, this probably goes back to Volume R, it probably goes back to the mid-seventies. Karen is going to go look. Sims: Ok. Thank you. But I think the biggest problem is that those dogs that ...much as I hate to say it, they buy a dog, they love them, they got them out there on ten acres of ground and for the most part they are running on their property and then all of a sudden a couple of more dogs congregate out there and one dog says to the other one, "Let's go five miles down here, I want to show you these sheep we can chase." You know, I'm using that but that's basically what happens with a pack of dogs. Anderson: Other dogs. Vol '7 F Page / Sep Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 Sims: Other dogs, that's right. Yes Patti. 11 of 27 Stepp: One of the things that you were talking about, I know the dogs are what ends up being the problem and everything but you're also talking about a level of responsibility for the owner. Sims: I agree. Stepp: And you can pass laws and regulations all you want but it's going to come down to how responsible the owners are. This lady is obviously a very responsible pet owner. Someone else has not been responsible and you can pass laws expecting people to be responsible but when they choose not to then you have other issues there. Sims: Yes. I understand. Peters: Part of that responsibility when that dog gets picked up and taken down to the animal shelter and they have to pay the bill to get that dog back out. They may become more responsible for their dogs, you know. Stepp: That would get their attention. Peters: I think that's a good deterrent. Cauley: Mr. Jeanes? Jeanes: I was just concerned about the rural land owners that have dogs. Probably have more dogs themselves than a city person would. I've got one or two at the house but out in the country I'll probably have three or four dogs out there for different... one's a pet and the rest of them might be working or whatever. But requiring going into a vet to get this type of registration done is a costly experience. The county may not get all that money but it cost probably at least a hundred... for me to take care of the two I have is a hundred twenty-five to a hundred and fifty dollars a year just for the vet bills. And that includes the registration. But when you go into a vet, they are going to get that. I can give rabies shots myself out there in the country. Sims: But they are not registered? Jeanes: Do what? Sims: But they are not registered? Jeanes: But they are not registered. So that is something that we need to keep in mind that registration may not need to run through a veterinary clinic, it needs to be geared toward somebody that has multiple dogs that takes care of them Vol -7 8' Page / 57 Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 12 of 27 themselves. They feed them, they take care of them and they give them the shots and they do the vet work that needs to be done on them. Cauley: Will they own them if they bite somebody? Sims: That dog has no owner when they bite somebody. I can guarantee you. Peters: I mean if they are not registered and they get picked up then if you don't go claim them then they are going to be disposed of. That would be the value in registering your dog is that if they get picked up, they know who to contact. Mallard: But the key to what you're saying is when they get picked up. We're not doing that now. Peters: I know. Mallard: So we to know if we are going to be willing to fund that level of activity in the county. Is that what we want to do? What it would take to either have the two cities ramp to deal with that or for us to go and do it ourselves or through the sheriffs office or though a separate animal control to figure out what those cost are. Peters: Well, the sheriffs office is already dealing with it. They got deputies out there and when they get a complaint they send a deputy out to check it out and then if...right now we don't have the ability to go pick up those dogs but we are funding money like Commissioner Cauley said that could be used for personnel to do that. We are already budgeting that. And we're already dealing with it; it's just that we can't deal with it to the degree that when we have a nuisance problem out there we are not able to that next step of picking those dogs up and doing something else with them to get them out...to take them away from the problem. I don't know that it would cost us a lot more than what we're already budgeting for that right now. Mallard: Well, it may not but I guess we need to discover what those cost are to provide the level of service that we would like. Peters: And I think it should be complaint driven. I don't think we should be out there and somebody's got a dog running loose and it's not bothering anybody well, so what. When it becomes a problem and they're running loose well then that's when we need to deal with it. I think that's probably the way...that's the way it is right now. Yall don't go out unless somebody complains? Mann: That's correct. Vol 79- Page 158" Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 13 of 27 Peters: But we really don't have a mechanism to take care of that problem if there is a nuisance out there. I mean our contract with the Cities of Bryan and College Station only deals with bite dogs. You know, something that's really happened, rabies, or something like that. So we don't have anything for just a dog out there. Like Ms. Pineda said if you got a dog out there there's a nuisance that's causing her problems, we don't have anything we can do with that. That's what I think we need is maybe some regulation that we can do that. Wassermann: Chief Mann, add to what he saying. Walk us through what's happening right now as far as procedure. I know, because I'm reading it but... Commissioner Cauley I'm getting a lot of calls too. South part of the county. More and more everyday; three last week. But you get a call to the dispatcher about a dog out there some where that's causing a problem... take it from there; I want to hear exactly what happens. Mann: First let me remind the court that we have two contracts. One with Bryan and one with College Station. Bryan is a flat fee contract where with College Station they charge us a rate when we come out. When we get the call, we'll go out and we'll talk to the persons involved and see if we can figure out where the dog belongs and so forth and as long as it fits the situation and it's covered under these contracts or if it's something we're empowered to act on...for instances there are thing that are not covered in the contracts that we can act on. If it's a dog that's chasing livestock, well then that's something that we have a statute that we can enact and enforce. If it's an abuse case or a neglect case we can enforce that. If it's a dog bite case, we can do something with that. If it's something that we can deal with ourselves then we will handle it. If it's something that the contract with Bryan or College Station then we'll call them or contact dispatch to contact them to come out. The contracts prohibit the residents from contacting Bryan/College Station directly. The contact has to be initiated by us. Wassermann: Do you have a copy of the contract that we are operating with just the City of Bryan? Are you from Bryan? Female Speaker: I'm from Bryan but I don't have a coy of the contract. Mann: The only difference in the two contracts between Bryan/College Station is we are paying a vet an annual fee and the other one is a call for services. Wassermann: The reason I asked that question ...I'm reading here and it says a definition and it says, `Animal Control Service'...let me read you this. It says, "Animal Vol 7 8 Page 159 Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 14 of 27 control services shall mean the services provided by the city necessary to effectively carry out an animal control program for the client." That's us. "These services shall included but not be limited to the humane capture, stray, unrestrained, homeless, abandoned, or unwanted animals and the humane transportation of captured animals to the animal shelter." Mann: That's right but what is lacking there is the authority for them to be able to provide that part of the service out in the county in dealing with strays. To my knowledge unless Karen... Wasserman: This is a copy of the contract with the County of Brazos and the City of Bryan, Texas. Cauley: But there's no law... Mann: They can't enforce a stray law we don't have. Cauley: This thing that was filed on August 91h, 1985, I'm going to read this provision and this may be the life saver. It says, "No person shall own, keep, or harbor any dog or cat over four months of age..." This is within Brazos County, "...unless such dog or cat is vaccinated and licensed. The provision of this section does not apply to animals owned by licensed research facility or held under a veterinary clinic facility or government operated animal shelters or commercial boarding kennels." And it says, "All dogs and cats shall be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian in accordance with Texas Rabies Office. A certificate of vaccination shall be issued to the owner of each dog or cat vaccinated. Each owner shall also receive a durable vaccination license tag indicating the year in which it was issued." McLeod: When I have mine vaccinated I get a city tag and a county tag. I get the necessary paperwork. Mallard: It says it they need to be vaccinated and if they are or they aren't but it doesn't say that we have to pick those stray dogs or can pick up those stray dogs. Cauley: Uh-huh. (positive) No. Mann: It does authorize us under order of responsibility. Cauley: It does give some teeth to the fact that if they are out there and they don't meet these provisions, the sheriff or the animal control authority does have the authority to pick them up; according to this new thing that we've found that was passed in '85. Vol ? g Page l &C9 Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 15 of 27 Anderson: I think it was passed in '85 and kind of just been... Cauley: Lying dormant? Anderson: More or less. I think the veterinarians are probably doing the registrations and that kind of thing. Is something in here that can be enforced and it deals with stray animals but it looks like they require all of them to be licensed and vaccinated for rabies by a licensed veterinarian. It requires the county license and tags to be used. This would include all animals out in the county too. It does provide for picking up stray animals if they are deemed to be a stray. Cauley: A nuisance. Sims: So if a call comes in to the sheriffs office and it is a stray or what we deem as a stray then depending on which part of the county it's in we would call one of the cities and have them come out and pick it up? Anderson: It allows them to be picked up but there is the question as to who is responsible for doing that. Jeanes: What does the animal shelter charge if somebody brings in a stray animal? Sims: I don't know. Patti may be able to answer that. Wasserman: Use to be about forty dollars. Stepp: Animal shelter doesn't charge anything for a stray animal they only charge for drops if owners own the animals. It's twenty-five dollar. McLeod: Doesn't the county get charged for... Sims: We pay per day for housing those animals. Jeanes: That may need a little publicity because there are probably some people out in the county that are the impression that I was that if I take a dog over there to the pound, I'm gonna have to pay them to take it. Female Speaker: But I took one over there a few years ago and they asked for twenty dollar donation. They called it a donation. Wassermann: I did. I had that happen. Vol 7 K Page /6/ Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 16 of 27 Jeanes: That was a couple of years ago. And that's what I was told when I called on the phone. To bring a dog in there is a charge to put him in there. You have people out in the county that if they didn't have to pay put a dog in there it would save us money because they'd probably take some of those dogs in if they could pen them up and they would find a way to do that. Sims: It's not going to save us money because we're paying per day. Jeanes: Well true but if they bring them in they are not on the sheriff's payroll or the shelter's payroll, they... Sims: They are not collecting them but at $13.00 a day it doesn't take long to add up. Jeanes: But we're going to be paying that anyway. Sims: Well not if they wouldn't bring them in we wouldn't be paying it. Nichols: I have a question. If someone does call and it's a dog in the rural area do you scan for the chips to see who they belong to? Because I live in a rural area and we live on a creek area with a lot of brush and whatever. My dogs have the chips in the neck and when they are out running, I don't want a collar on them because they can get hung up. That happened to a friend of ours dog. It was running and got caught on something and it couldn't get loose and it died. When mine are out running, they don't have their collars on but they have chips. And I have their tags but if somebody just calls because the dog is running across their property or something, do you not scan them to see who they belong to so you don't have to go through all the taking them in? Stepp: My experience is based on working in the City of Bryan. We're not doing the animal control like what you're describing. We will not necessarily scan ...what we're looking for is visible tags on the collars of the animals. I read where the shelter does scan animals that are impounded and that would be a way to identify the animal and get it home. It would not necessarily prevent the animal from impounded. At that point the animal is being picked up. Nichols: But wouldn't that save a lot of hassle if you just scanned them? Female Speaker: Is there a hand held scanner? Stepp: There is hand held scanners and we have emergency situations where an animal is actually been injured and we do scan the animal to see if we can get a ticket to the veterinarians to try to get some care for it. But as a matter of Vol -79- Page / (ez Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 17 of 27 procedure, we do not scan every animal every time we pick it up. We often times do not have call to that. The customer service that you are asking about would be if we scanned the animal and found a chip then we would need to have the time to try to locate the owner, drive the animal home, try to find the owner, and possible call information to patch that microchip to the licensing agency. So there is a lot of steps there that required some time and that's something that we don't normally have a lot of. Nichols: Both of my dogs are adopted from the animal shelter and there was a girl there that had a hand held scanner and she said, "He's got a chip in his neck." And I said, "Oh, that's good." And she said, "Let me show." And she ran that across there and my name and phone number came up on that. So why you... Mallard: Because they are out running wild they are in violation so they need to go to the shelter so you can pay your fine for not keeping up with your animals. Nichols: No, I'm talking about in a rural area. Mallard: Yeah, same thing. The rules would be similar. Nichols: Well if they don't have a chip ...they may not be registered but if they have a chip you know they are registered. Stepp: The microchip in and of itself is a good way to identify the animal, the microchip is not written into the ordinance and resolution. Cauley: What would preclude us from making an addendum to this including the microchip? Anderson: The license expires and the microchip stays in the dog forever. Mallard: Also, the problem is the dog was out running wild or out running and he got out of your property and is running somewhere else so there in lies the problem. The ordinance says that thou shall not have your dog running without some control in somebody else's property. Stepp: Commissioner Mallard, the caveat to that is that if you have good information to get that animal home we can take the animal home with a citation. That would be a possibility too. Mallard: So you wouldn't necessarily have to go to the shelter? Stepp: No. Mallard: Ok. That would be even better. But if you don't know that the tag is still current, you have to somehow verify the chip being still current. It's not Vol 7 ~ Page /(013- Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 18 of 27 perfect. So do want to do this? We're not going to take any action today but is that something we need to pursue to find out what the cost would be. It may not be anymore but it may be, we need to find that out. Wassermann: A real responsible dog owner and I have to admit that I'm a dog breeder... and I won't tell you how many I have ...but they are all penned or kenneled. Never get out unless they are on a leash with me. But I give them all of their shots and to sell a puppy, I have a notebook in a plastic bag in my kennel for when I give a dog a five in one which use to be a seven in one, I record the date but I take the sticker off of that vaccination bottle and I stick it on there by that dog's name and the date of birth. I do that every time I give a shot. I also give the rabies shot. I put the same thing in there. I even have a nephew that is a vet but I can't afford him so I give all of these shots myself. I see puppies to everybody anywhere and they look at that record and they say that's what breeders are told to do. If you do all of that and you give those series of shots ...if I took everyone of those dogs, I've had as many as thirteen in a litter ...to a vet an had everyone of those vaccinated three times before I sold them, I'd have to sell them for a lot of money that I don't do. I'm not in it to make money but that's what a responsible dog owner does. All of mine are penned. They never get out unless I'm with them. Again, that's public education; we're never going to get everybody to do that just like you said. I've got dogs that run wild though my neighborhood everyday. And I know who owns them but nothing can be done. Butler: I think the problem in the county is not going to be with the people that own the dogs, it's going to be with the people that say that dog doesn't belong to them, and the one's that are running straight. Those that are running straight, no one is going to claim them no way. Because they think they have bit or something, those will be the ones that need to be picked up. Because we even have trouble sometimes getting animal control to get a dog. Sometimes they take them in and sometimes they don't. Sims: Well you call animal control to come pick up a dog and that dog may be gone by the time they get out there unless you sit there and watch it. Butler: Sometimes they have picked them up and sometimes they say they need the owners consent. But we got the legal papers on an eviction notice that says everything has to be gone from the house. If the owner is not here sometimes, they left with everything in the house, then that is the only choice we have is to call animal control. Sometimes they won't pick them up and sometimes they do. Cauley: Are these within the city or the county? Butler: They would be within the city. Vol -/9 Page / l~ Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 19 of 27 Mallard: So they are abandoning their property as well as their animal that they may have? Butler: Yep. Cauley: It is in this ordnance that if it's abandoned, it's supposed to be picked up. Butler: We just had one last week that they didn't pick up. Haven't had those troubles before as long as we give them a copy of the eviction. Sims: Folks, we got challenges. No doubt about that. Kirk: Judge is there any way to know if this has been vacated or not? Is this still in place? McLeod: In my time that I've been here, I don't think it has. Because that's why the vet is still charging five dollars for a tag and they say when you get your animals vaccinated you have to get a city tag and a county tag if you live in the city. And I have both. So I don't think it's been vacated. Peters: Patti on your computer system... when a veterinarian gives them the rabies shot, do they plug it into the computer and then it comes up down there that it is current or is there any kind of... Stepp: Are you talking about the animal shelter? Peters: Well, either one, the animal shelter or... Stepp: What happens, and you have to remember I have been away from it for about a year and a half now but they still do have a licensing coordinator that they do get the information from the veterinarian once or twice a month so they can go ahead and keep their records updated. So they can attach owner information with each license issued. The veterinarians do send vaccination information to the animal shelter to go ahead and implement that licensing program. Sims: Any other question, any other comments? Kirk: It clearly states in Judge and Commissioners that, "Any dog or cat found to be a stray or nuisance may be impounded by any citizen in the Brazos County Animal Shelter. We assume it hasn't been vacated then... Stepp: That would be without a fee? Kirk: It doesn't say anything about a fee here. Vol ?K Page 1105 Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 20 of 27 Mallard: As I understand it, they are not charging a fee if you have a stray and you bring it in to them. They are not charging the person that brought it in a fee. Stepp: What the definition of a stray is...if somebody has been feeding it for three years, they don't consider that a stray animal. Sims: They're not a stray anymore. Pineda: I had a stray, I believe, that got in my fence somehow and I guess he couldn't find his way out. It had a collar but it was real tight, it started to go into the skin. And I started thinking that it was a drop off, somebody dropped this dog off and it's been here. It was skinny, it was real thin but it was the collar. Well, we cut the collar off and I just put him on the other side of my fence. If I would have known that I could have dropped it off...and I called and they said it was like a twenty fee. If had known, I would have dropped it off, but I can't feed another dog. I should be more than just a member at Sam's with how much food I buy. I couldn't feed it. But it found its way in and it feed itself and I just put it over the fence. Stepp: Unless they've changed the policies down there just recently, they had provision for stray animals to be dropped off. The governments have all stepped up to provide fare for those animals for that thirty-two hour stay period. So unless something has just changed and I'm not aware of it, there was only an owner's render fee. Sims: I think you're right Patti, I don't think there is a fee to surrender strays. Of course once you get them in there and you scan them and there's that chip, it ceases to become a stray. Stepp: That's right. Sims: I mean it may not belong to you but it's not a stray. Kirk:May I ask this question then; if a citizen brings an animal to the shelter, does the shelter then charge the county a daily fee? Sims: We have to keep them seventy-two hours and then they are disposed of if they can not find someone to take the pet or take the dog, adopt or whatever. Kirk:And that fee is thirteen...? Sims: Thirteen dollars and something a day. Mallard: But what else are you going to do? We have to do something that's humane and try to deal with the animals that we have so that's part of it. Vol ? 8' Page R06 Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 21 of 27 Butler: How would you tell a stray from a regular dog? Say someone brings in four dogs and said they were strays, they were on my property. Mallard: They are a stray. Female Speaker: If you got close enough to that dog to pick it up, it must not be a stray. Nichols: Not necessarily because I've had dogs come to my house and just... Mallard: Well, is it better to do that or is it better to take them out into your back yard and turn them loose? Cauley: I guess it wouldn't make me any difference. Mallard: If we are going to deal with the animal problems that we have then we need to offer that so at least people can bring them in and then we don't have to go to the expense of going out trying to find them and have somebody else bring them it. So I'd rather have citizens... some people are going to bring them in that's really their dog? Maybe, that's ok. Let's deal with it. I think this is a less costly problem to deal with than animals at large that people are not going to take care of or they are strays. Either way I think we should go ahead and deal with it in that manner and allow them to bring them in for free. Otherwise, they are just going to turn them loose and then we got a problem with people getting bit. I'd rather pay that thirteen dollars a day than to have a child being bit by a stray dog. Cauley: I think from what we are saying ...and I think everybody is a little bit afraid to say the word ...these animals have to have a tag. Let's just face it. We can go around and around the bush if you want to but they need to be registered and have a tag. And if not, then who knows what's what? Sims: Patti, let me ask a question; what would happen if a dog out in the county is messing around in my chicken coop and I pick this dog up and take it...fully intending to not have to pay to bring this stray dog to the animal shelter. Again, as I say, there is a chip that tells them who it belongs to and where it lives. If it's not a stray because it has a chip with a name embedded in that dogs body then they would not charge me but they would call the... Stepp: If you had a stray dog on your property and you chose to take him to the shelter because you wanted to get the dog off your property there should not be any fee for any fee. You can drop the dog off. As a matter of their daily procedure, they go through the kennels once or twice a day and new dogs that are coming in to see if they have the chip... Vol -79 Page 1lo7 Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 Sims: And contact a owner, hopefully. 22 of 27 Stepp: They would attempt to find owner information that would be attached to that chip whether it was with a county licensing, whether it was through the manufacture of the chips, some people register them on a national level which might be a way of tracking the owner and try to get the owner's information and contact the owner. Once they find the chip, they usually keep the animals for as long as ten days to try to find the owner. Sims: When they've got a name. Stepp: When they've got a name. Then if they get the owner and the owner comes in and redeem the animal and take the animal home, you may end up with the animal back on your property at some point in time. Mallard: But they paid a fee to get that animal back. Stepp: They paid a fee, yes sir. Sims: Sure. Anderson: You have to also realize that these are assumptions, Patti no longer works there. Sims: I know she doesn't. I know she doesn't. I understand that but she knew what happened before she left and I was just trying to gather that in. Wassermann: What does a chip implant cost? Stepp: Ten dollars at the animal shelter. Veterinarians provide it also and they charge for the office visit and other fees but with the animal shelter it's just ten dollars. Sims: Something that needed to be discussed and now we need to solve it. Peters: Well, we just need to find out what the cost are going to be... McLeod: We've already got a regulation... Mallard: Yeah. Regulations are pretty much there, we just need to find out what the enforcement is going to be. McLeod: Patti, do you know when the animal shelter was created? Mallard: I couldn't tell you for sure. It's been like twenty, twenty-five years. Vol '7 S Page 169 Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 23 of 27 Anderson: I think it was shortly before this was done because this is about the same time that the City of Bryan did their ordinances or redid their ordinances with the shelter. I want to say this was all done just about the same time frame; in the early eighties. McLeod: Well, if you look at the agenda, it says a revised Brazos County Animal Control ordinance. Anderson: And I think this was done in conjunction. The cities did some things as I recall at that time and...I was with the City of Bryan at the time and I think we did a remake of the city ordinances then and was working with Cathy Bice at the animal shelter. I think that was just being formed. I wasn't involved with the county part of it but... Stepp: I believe a lot of it probably has revolved around the life of the program because College Station, Bryan, and Brazos County all fall underneath the same license program. Sims: Yes sir, sheriff? Kirk: I think Mr. Wassermann read part of our contracts earlier and it did mention something about strays in our contracts. Wassermann: It says, "Necessary to effectively carry out an animal control program for the client, service shall include but not limited to the humane capture of strays, unrestrained, homeless, abandoned, or unwanted animals, and the humane transportation of captured animals to the animal shelter." Sims: Pretty well spells it out doesn't it? Kirk: You got a statute and a contract. Wassermann: I hope this is the right one, I don't know why I'd have a wrong one. Kirk: College Station's reads the same way. Mallard: It's just a different funding mechanism. If we do have the strays, we need to operate under that contract and I guess the sheriff's office would be in contact with whichever department and ask them to collect the animals. Sims: Yeah, I'm assuming that is not the way Bryan/College Station understand the contract? Is that correct? Vol -?-9 Page 167 Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 24 of 27 Male Speaker: We entered into the contract with all intentions whatsoever to help in any way we can. The procedure is set up so that the sheriffs department responds first and I believe that is very important so that they can control their cost. If any citizen in the county who call us directly, they would have no means whatsoever to control their calls. Sims: Agreed. Male Speaker: If a deputy with the Brazos County Sheriffs Department calls us, we respond. Peters: And by doing that; if that citizen out there can catch the dog then they can catch the dog and take care of rather than having to call Bryan or College Station to come out... Sims: Or the sheriff s office. Peters: ...yeah, the sheriffs department. By them going out first and checking out the situation, it gives that option if the dog can be caught ...if they wanted to deliver it to the animal shelter. Is that right? Kirk: Right. Mallard: Ok. So does that help you Chief Mann as far as maybe how we can modify what we're telling our deputies. Mann: Oh absolutely. It fills that gap on it that's in place now. We're going to go out there if we're called. Bryan/College Station won't be called out unless we determine that this was in the contract and they need to come out. Now yall haven't had a chance to sit down and talk about this ...I would assume that if yall had a scanner and get a call out and find out who the owner is and try and get it back to the owner. Mallard: Yeah, I guess if that's possible if it's not. Still at that time then we can offer the information that the individual that found the stray, if they wish to take it to the animal shelter or we could ask the responding city department from Bryan or College Station to come out and collect the animal. Mann: When we work or those contracts, I don't think it was College Station's intent or Bryan's intent to come out and round up every stray we got out in the county. Even though, the way it's written, it looks like we could certainly do that. I don't think that was there expectation and we certainly didn't have that expectation at the time because we didn't know about this 1985 statute. So I don't think it would be proper for us to expect that we are going to call Vol 7 g' Page 170 Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 25 of 27 them out every time that there is a stray out there if there is another way to handle it. Wassermann: Well in this contract Chief Mann it says, "City agrees to respond only to cause initiated by the client." Mann: That's correct. Wassermann: And it also says, "City agrees to provide rabies control services to client for all client reported animal bites and scratches carrying in areas located in Brazos County as defined by the geographical area of the two." And it says, "City will provide animal control officers and dispatch them on a 24 hour basis for initial bite investigation or for the capture of a biting animal for state mandated rabies quarantine observation." Then it divides the two areas and it says, "City will provide animal control officers and dispatch them when one is on duty or for routine non-emergency calls. Twenty-four dispatching will be provided only when an animal has been captured in a trap and animal is injured or when an emergency situation arises." So you are still initiating it. Mann: That's correct. It has to be that way. Wassermann: Yeah, it's in here. Mann: Let me just say this, they've gone above and beyond what they contracted with when we've faced some unusual situations. They have worked with us and they've been very helpful. We want to make sure we continue to work with them. Sims: Yeah, they are a good partner, both of them, they sure are. Wassermann: And it says that "Brazos County Sheriffs Department as the client agrees to be the first respondent to all calls for animal and rabies control services. And client agrees to assist with the apprehension of any animal in appropriate situations." That's all in this contract. It's well written. Kirk: I think Commissioners and Judge that I would like to point out that this also provides for issuance of the citation with the fine not to exceed two hundred dollars. If a violation occurs it's under the owner's responsibility. So if we did actually know the owner and they were running as a nuisance, we could return the dog and issue a citation. Vol -7 9' Page 171 Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 26 of 27 Mallard: Do you think that's happened in the past and we just really didn't know that we had that capability of issuing a citation to an owner? Kirk: This is the first I've seen this. Stepp: I can maybe answer that. When we had the county animal control under myself over at the animal shelter, we did issue some citations. We didn't issue a lot of citations because establishing the ownership of an animal was difficult out in the county. In the city you can kind of follow them and they will go home but in the county they kind of run a little bit more. But there were some citations issued that were turned into the JP courts. Sims: Any other questions or comments? Cauley: Well I'm just happy that now we do have something that we can use to help alleviate the problem in the county and do a better job of taking care of the welfare of our constituents out there. I'm just thankful for that. I guess the only question is do we need to do any fine tuning to this ordinance or what we have heard here today? Sims: And do we need to take it back through court and if we do fine tune it then amend it. Cauley: That's what I mean, amend it. McLeod: Revise it. Anderson: That would be the thing to look at; to use this as a tool and decide if there are other options available now that we didn't have in 1985. Maybe things we might want to change or strengthen part of it. I think it's a tool to work with and there are certainly other things you can do with this if you so desire. There are certainly some important provisions in here that can be used against the owners that are not responsible. Mallard: I guess we just need to verify and I don't know if some of this information that you've given us is after this date. In other words there may be some more current information that would somehow be in conflict with the law that went into effect in '85. So we just need to verify that it's still enforceable. Anderson: And I will check and make sure of that. Kirk: So as a matter of clarification, we will not enforce this at this particular point in time until we... Vol ? K Page 17A Animal Regulation Workshop 3/20/06 27 of 27 Sims: Let's give Rod enough time to see if there are any conflicts between the new and the old. Is that ok Rod? Anderson: Sure. Sims: Ok. Peters: I would think that would be as far as writing any criminal tickets. As far as picking dogs up, this should be able to handle that part of it. Writing tickets might be a different story; you'd want to confirm that the law the way it stands today would be all right with what was written back in '85. But as far as getting dogs picked up, I'd think we should be able to do that under this '85 ordinance. Mallard: I think there were several items in here mentioned that it was a maximum fine of a hundred dollars. One of those I think you said was two hundred dollars. It gives us the power to go above the hundred dollars. Stepp: I would just change it and let the court set the fine and then that way it's whatever the court decides and you don't have people going back and changing it. Sims: Give me some council here; would be ok to appoint Mr. Wassermann and Mr. Cauley to work with Mr. Anderson and carry this on down the road so that it can be on a court agenda in the future to either ratify or amend whatever we have here? That's up to our attorney to give us some council on that. Ok. Is that all right? Mallard: Sounds good. Sims: Ok. All right. Anything else on this subject? I think we're headed in the right direction and have good council on this thing. I'm glad we found this '85 resolution. Is there anything else having to do with animal regulations in Brazos County specific areas of concern and possible solutions? Any other comments? All right, I will adjourn this workshop session. Thank you for coming. Vol 7 8' Page 173 The foregoing minutes of the Commissioners Court Workshop held March 21, 2006, have been examined and approved in open Court this the to4l' day of , 20U,, in Bryan, Brazos County, Texas. 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