Animal Control Officer Added to Franklin County Marshall’s Duties

Franklin County now has its own animal control officer.

At their regular meeting Monday night, the board heard from county manager John Phillips who said the county is required by law to have some kind of animal control.

Phillips cited HB685, otherwise known as the Responsible Dog Ownership Law, which went into effect in 2012.

“This is a law that deals with two classifications of dogs, dangerous dogs and vicious dogs,” Phillips told the board. “So as a part of that law, all local governments are required to designate a local animal control officer.”

The county government has, in the past, considered instituting some sort of animal control ordinance, but never has because of public sentiment against the idea.   However, Phillips said adding an animal control officer is not the same as instituting a leash law.

“This is not a leash law, but this is an animal control officer that deals specifically with dogs that can be categorized at least at the dangerous level due to attacks on humans or other animals,” he said.

Phillips then recommended that the duties of animal control be added to the duties of County Marshall Chris Ayers.

The move by the board of commissioners comes after a woman suffered severe injuries when she was attacked by a vicious pit bull in March when she and her family went to buy firewood at a home on SR59.

“I think Chris could actually go and record the incident in a timely manner instead of having to wait months,” said County commissioner David Strickland.

“I think we  should have already done this even without a new state law,” said commissioner Clint Harper. “It just gives us a go-to person that is familiar instead of bogging down our Sheriff’s department.”

After hearing from Phillips, the board voted unanimously to appoint County Marshall Chris Ayers as the animal control officer.