Richmond County Animal Services Director James Hill appeared before the Augusta Commission on Tuesday to take responsibility for his employees leaving a dog trapped in a cage for almost three days.
Hill also said he’s taken steps to ensure that traps that have been put down to capture dogs in bite cases are checked daily.
A dog attacked a member of former Commissioner Marion Williams’ church Jan. 1, as she was taking her garbage can to the street. She fell and broke her arm, and the dog bit her all over before a neighbor intervened.
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Animal control was called and brought a trap out to catch the dog., but another dog was trapped instead of the vicious dog, and nobody from animal control came back to check the trap for three days.
The lady tried to call animal control but got no response, and the sheriff’s office dispatcher said they couldn’t help her either. In desperation, she called Williams who finally got someone to get in touch with Hill.
At Tuesday’s commission meeting, Hill said, “In the recent incident, it was system failure on our part for not checking that trap that was set until we actually got a call to go out there and pick it up from that Thursday to that Sunday.“
During that period, animal control officers should have gone every day patrolling for the dog or checking the trap, he said.
“That was not done. So, in house, what we’ve done now is we’ve increased our review of the traps, and at the executive level which means I get involved. Anytime a dog trap or a cat trap is set for a quarantine for a dog bite, I get involved to ensure there’s separate levels to make sure we get that done on a daily basis.”
In January, animal control investigated 455 complaints and picked up 405 animals, Hill said, as part of an overview of the department he gave commissioners Tuesday.
In 2020, the shelter took in 3,937 live animals, found homes for 2,433 and euthanized 1,518, Hill said. The department also investigated 6,243 complaints with a staff of 18.
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Commissioner John Clarke said, “I realize everything is not perfect, and there are fallible parts. I can understand overlooking a trap and not going back when a vicious bite has occurred. I can’t accept the fact a dog stays in that cage for three days unattended.”
Hill said protocol is to put food and water in the cages.
“Of course, that’s not going to last for three days, but for 24 hours, it definitely will,” he said.
“I understand ya’ll went out and located the owner,” Clarke said. “Was any citation given?”
“It was,” Hill replied, adding he didn’t think he should say anymore because it’s a legal case now.
After the meeting, Williams complained that animal control did not pick the vicious dog up and quarantine it even after locating it in
its owner’s yard.
“Hill, the director told me if they find the dog in the yard, they can’t pick the dog up if the owner doesn’t cooperate,” Williams said.
But they can go to court and get a judge to issue an order to have the dog picked up and quarantined, Hill said in the meeting.
“I’m disappointed,” Williams said. “I’m still disappointed.”
Sylvia Cooper is a contributor with The Augusta Press. Reach her at sylvia.cooper@theaugustapress.com
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