Shame...Shame... Mike Price Clay Co Auditor.....Why Blame the Sheriff

The County Auditor's report did not blame the Sheriff or Sheriff's Office.

Mike Price didn't place blame anywhere other than on departmental policies, some relating to its relationship with the Sheriff's Office, that need refinement and updating.  There are simply too many gaps, too many undefined or unofficial processes, to prevent some of the questions - legitimate ones - that have been raised about Animal Control.

He did make a recommendation the county ask that another deputy be assigned the duties of investigating animal complaints, but that's because of some animosity that has developed between the officer currently handling those duties and the folks at Animal Control.

Michael S. Mann

michaelsmann@comcast.net

Mike, I think it's about time to shut this nut out of our discussions. He has more identites than Sybil at this point. And I am fed up with his "English as a hobby" approach to the language. I don't think he has anything of any value to contribute.

Lily's Lore "I don't ever want to be rescued And I don't ever want to be saved I got a feelin' that I'm gonna be alive forever Dancin' on the edge of a grave..." Jim Steinman

Don't be so fast to past judgement, lilystore..Mlke has a office to run for. I just read  Mr. Price's report it seems to be one sided. But anybody who has a mouse for a picture is just a sweek anyway.

I have read the report too. Let me first say, the auditor did a report on the illegal dumping and he didn't blame anyone either. So that is of no surprise to me that this would be the results of their audit/report either. It does lend credence that we are woefully underserved by the State Attorney's Office. I think the Sheriff has some internal problems on many issues that have been talked about on the blogs, and this just adds to the list. 

Again you need to refer to the Fl State Statutes for direction.

The Watsons are charged under FSS 828.13

828.13  Confinement of animals without sufficient food, water, or exercise; abandonment of animals.--

current charges are still pending deposition.

The FSS defines animals that are siezed by the Sheriff's office and the procedure that follows.

828.073  Animals found in distress; when agent may take charge; hearing; disposition; sale.--

(1)  The purpose of this section is to provide a means by which a neglected or mistreated animal can be:

(a)  Removed from its present custody, or

(b)  Made the subject of an order to provide care, issued to its owner by the county court, any law enforcement officer, or any agent of the county or of any society or association for the prevention of cruelty to animals appointed under s. 828.03,

and given protection and an appropriate and humane disposition made.

The Sheriff's Office seized these animals and the Watson family charged. So what happens then:

(a)  Lawfully take custody of any animal found neglected or cruelly treated by removing the animal from its present location, or

(b)  Order the owner of any animal found neglected or cruelly treated to provide certain care to the animal at the owner's expense without removal of the animal from its present location,

Evidently the animals were removed from the location. So what happens next.

(3)  The officer or agent of any county or of any society or association for the prevention of cruelty to animals taking charge of any animal pursuant to the provisions of this section shall have written notice served, at least 5 days prior to the hearing set forth in subsection (2), upon the owner of the animal

The Watsons were charged under FSS 828.13 it is in the court records.

What are the responsiblities, again those FSS gives us good direction.

(4)(a)  The officer or agent of any county or of any society or association for the prevention of cruelty to animals taking charge of an animal as provided for in this section shall provide for the animal until either:

1.  The owner is adjudged by the court to be able to provide adequately for, and have custody of, the animal,

2.  The animal is turned over to the officer or agent as provided in paragraph (c) and a humane disposition of the animal is made.  

Well lets see what paragraph (c) says,

(c)  Upon the court's judgment that the owner of the animal is unable or unfit to adequately provide for the animal:

1.  The court shall order the animal to be sold by the sheriff at public auction, and shall provide in its order that the current owner shall have no further custody of the animal and that any animal not bid upon shall be remanded to the custody of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Humane Society, the county, or any agency or person the judge deems appropriate, to be disposed of as the agency or person sees fit

Or the court could have ordered the animals destroyed, or that the animal requires destruction or other disposition for humanitarian reasons or is of no commercial value.

The court could fine the Watsons for the care and control of the animals as follows resulting in additional monies to the taxpayers:

Upon proof of costs incurred by the agent or officer, the court may require that the owner pay for the care of the animal while in the custody of the agent or officer. A separate hearing may be held.  

I diagree with the assessment that they are of no commercial value for those animals.  And that county employees are just allowed to take them home or animal control law enforcement officers can just keep them.

Links to just 2 stories I could provide more.

This involves 30 or so animals seized.

 http://www.sptimes.com/2004/11/05/Hernando/Rescued_animals_star_.shtml

Check out these prices for seized animals.

http://www.polkonline.com/stories/030404/loc_animals001.shtml

At a minimum the Watson's should have the charges dropped in court. I think it would benefit them to know the results of this report and they should give it to their attorney before their upcoming court date.

The report did not address the story by Folio Weekly "Dog Gone" nor the need for 6 animal control personnel to take home vehicles.

Since the information about the animals has been made public another complaint has been made with the county attorney concerning practices of animal control.

Lets see what one county is doing to prevent and help control the animal population instead of buying cars and letting the people take them home, and giving away animals.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-115neuter,0,7178555.story?coll=sofla_tab01_layout

Well, I'm not impressed but maybe some policies will be changed. In the meantime the complaints keep rolling in.

You know, guys, in the old days when I was getting paid to write a complete news story, I could have dealt with some of these questions left over from my attempt to just steer along some information in the blogs.  But I've got a job which, in its own weird way, is working full-time to apply for another job.

Price's report was specific to the incident in which the 52 animals were either seized or relinquished.  The Folio story and other complaints weren't mentioned, though some were explained by parts of the County Auditor's report.  There is some question about whether or not the animals were "seized" as opposed to "relinquished" and, in a legal sense, that determines who is responsible for their care and disposal.  Price pretty much said, in this case, that the system at Animal Control and the Sheriff's Office is broken and needs to be fixed.

Next will be the County Manager's report and recommendation to the Board of County Commissions of policy and other changes at Animal Control.  I'll be interested to see it once it's finished, and expect to see Animal Control become more professional as a result.

Michael S. Mann

michaelsmann@comcast.net

Mike thanks for steering along some good information on the blogs.

I appreciate your full time efforts on working to be the next District 3 Commissioner. In my opinion you're badly needed and to provide some common sense integrity type approach to Clay County's government. I think its been out of control along with animal out of control for quite awhile. You need to stay focused on your primary task at hand.

I think the FSS clears up the questions of "seized" or "relinquished". I think the legislators were quite clear when they made those laws.

To be more specific in the above post:

(4)(a)  The officer or agent of any county or of any society or association for the prevention of cruelty to animals taking charge of an animal as provided for in this section shall provide for the animal until either:

2.  The animal is turned over to the officer or agent as provided in paragraph (c) and a humane disposition of the animal is made.

That to me would mean "relinquished" and if so, refers to paragraph (c). After all if a law enforcement officer showed up at your home equipped with a gun, even worst a Taser, a crew removing evidence from your property, and a piece of paper to sign, while informing you that you are under arrest per the FSS as defined in the court documents. I think it would be easy to see which way this was going.

I think I would question the condition of the animals if the officer in fact did give an animal to someone before the evidence was turned in to the proper custodian of that evidence. For the record they are considered property by fl laws. 

I would further state if the owners of those animals decided they were unable to care for those animals and freely "relinquished" them to animal control by the way of the Sheriff's dept it seems they were acting in good faith and should have not been charged. But disposed of in a humane way such as animal rescuers, adoptions for proper placement or if diseased or of very poor health destroyed.

The animal control director said they were under court order for auction or adoption when she spoke to Marsha according to her post. So I was assuming they were obligated to follow the laws as defined in the FSS.

I would also question the high turnover rate of employees at Animal Control and the reasons for such a high turnover. It may lead to the core of the many complaints and problems, which might be management issues. Of course those are harder to remove than plaque as has been stated on the blogs.

I will be interested in seeing the County Manager's report to the board and the investigation by the Sheriff's Office.

Maybe the County Manager will follow the cue of the other county and deal with the problems instead of additional cost to the taxpayers of just killing animals by way of some new policies and a different direction for the county. In the meantime it seems they will be collecting fees that should offset the cost to the taxpayers by the way of permits and license. Although the Commissioners will encounter opposition they need to do something in Clay County as well. 

Thank goodness the human turnover at Animal Control isn't as high as that of the animals.  It did catch my attention that the County Auditor mentioned that Animal Control has the highest turnover rate of any department in Clay County government.

Management could well be the problem, but there are many other reasons that could at least contribute to that.  Pay scale, watching animals die at the rate of about 8,000 a year (that's about 22 animals per day, 365 days per year, being euthanized), relatively poor working conditions, etc.  Whatever is leading to the high turnover rate certainly hasn't been remedied by management, though.

I'm hoping Fritz Behring puts together a comprehensive package to remedy all of the Animal Control problems.  I don't trust him to, because he's in government, but he's done enough to earn a little hope for now.

Michael S. Mann

michaelsmann@comcast.net

I haven't had a chance to read the report, or even all of the comments above - I will - but I want to tell lily that your "English as a hobby" comment was great.  I don't want to go all NikoMom (remember her?) on anyone, but . . . k9, how 'bout grabbing a dictionary once in awhile.  Try mixing in a complete sentence if correct spelling is asking too much.  Presentation of the message is half the battle.  In case you're wondering - you're in the hole.

Cross threading a bit, but islander has a point (even if he was rough in his presentation) about whining and moaning in the blogs.  I know we're coming up on a year here at the blog site, and being original all the time is rough, but personally, all the vendetta crap is making the site a bit boring.  Congratulations to the hardcore group that presses on with good, stimulating conversation despite the BS being floated here by a few.  It's funny, lily, how the muckrakers seem to come to the battle poorly armed.

Looking forward to reading Mike's report and joining you guys for some great conversation.

Bill.

Thanx, Bax. I appreciate your kind words. These people who mangle the English language have no idea they are subverting their own ideas, such as they are.

However, NikoMom is beyond me. I have never heard of this character. I just googled it but I didn't see anything that enlightened me.

And you're right, the muckrakers always seem to be the ones who bring a knife to a gunfight. (FYI, the only novel I ever read where that tactic worked out OK was a Jack Reacher tale called One Shot.) I just love thrillers.

Speaking of the one year anniversary, I wonder if MCS has any special plans for that. (Hint, hint, Johnathan.)  Honestly, I din't know it has been going on this long.

Do you have any idea what a "sweek" is?

Lily's Lore "I don't ever want to be rescued And I don't ever want to be saved I got a feelin' that I'm gonna be alive forever Dancin' on the edge of a grave..." Jim Steinman

This animal control in Bradford Co is just a nice way to say death row. I had a cat go missing while I was away the saturday before new years and couldn't get ahold of anyone at animal control until wednesday after new years. Tracy said my cat probably went out with a rescue group to south florida early that morning. With the holiday she didn't hold that cat long enough. My husband and I raised that cat from birth and very upset that we can't find our cat. Tracy doesn't want to help people find thier pets, I think she enjoys sticking the needle in them. Animal control here is just disgusting and needs to have caring people run it instead of killers. I was looking at the website today and saw a male black cat so I went down there, mind you she was suppose to call me if any black cats were brought in and she never did. This black cat was not mine but could have been and its time is up in two days, so she never tried to contact me about this black cat at all. The county took animal control back over because they didn't want to pay their share when the city had it and people came in and found where they had not paid for many months almost a year if I recall right, so county took control and all they know how to do is kill kill kill. Why can't she tell me which rescue group got my cat?

So, you raised a cat from birth, you didn't have any identifiation on it and when it got away you blame animal control for not bringing your cat back to you. This is their fault how?

Did the cat actually end up there? You don't know but you blame them for not calling you every time a black cat shows up. How long are they supposed to do that for? Do have a picture of this cat so that they could at least be reasonably sure it is yours?

Look, you and Spot an k9trainer need to get a grip on reality. The reality is that it is a cat. Not a child, not that important because there are thousands of them out there and the fact is that is only a cat.

Maybe you shouldn't have a cat, obviously you didn't do a very good job of taking care of this one. Look I'm sorry, but if you really want to do something useful, take the money that it would have taken to feed that cat and feed a child that is hungry. You might change the world for the better.

In the mean time, why didn't you adopt that cat you looked at that only had 2 days left? I mean, it isn't like you didn't have an empty spot at the cat dish.

MikeH

Can we talk about something other than animal control?  I believe the horse was killed, then resurrected and killed again multiple times now.  Get over it, get a life and move on.  If you cant go find a Dr. Phil and get some couch time.

Was the Horse really kiiled or still running,I think it just starting at Animal Control Wait until the State Attroneys done.

Please don't tell me they have taken a poor defenseless horse that is abused or neglected under the pretense of rescue. Then he is supposedly stolen and given away. And now he has been beat to dead.

What happened to cruelty to kindness at the Sheriff's Office?

Actually this one is a cat of black color and it is/was in Bradford County. Had to switch horses. pretty soon we'll be discussing Escambia County.

These people are driving me crazy with their rants. It's really more like a gimme putt but you get the idea.

Maybe I should have been down here as cat when I was a kid. I would have gotten fed better. 

MikeH

Lawyertosue,

Is the SAO reviewing animal control?  If so it will not be hard to predict the outcome.  They will take the high road.  Now lets see Liposuction or Botox….neither one.  Take me like I am old worn out with a few rolls and some crow’s feet around my eyes.  I know I am no day at the beach or a box of chocolates.  So how about guns the S&W 44 magnum the most powerful handgun in the world.  It is one of my favorite handguns next to my S&W 357 magnum.  You just can’t beat those old wheel guns.  They may only hold 6 rounds but they don’t jam like an automatic if you have a weak wrist when pulling the trigger.  I can remember the day when we could step out on the back door step and set up a target and fire a few rounds off.  Now that every body and his brother have moved in I can’t even walk out to get the newspaper in my boxers in the morning or turn up a little Allman Brothers or Molley Hatchet and sit around a fire in the back yard without the neighbors calling the law.  What happen to the good ole days?

the Good Old Boys of Clay Co Govrment,but the Yankees have come down and are being a little bit smarter at there game, just ask Chisty Fitzgerald and its going to be Animal Control next.Bang Bang