Should Lincoln County have a county-wide animal control officer? Town officials, law enforcement officers, animal control officers (ACO) and others gathered with Lincoln County Commissioners and County Administrator John O'Connell March 14 in Damariscotta to discuss the possibility.

Selectmen from five towns have rejected the idea, while selectmen from four or five other towns have expressed an interest and those from six towns are still unsure. Regardless, many of those attending the meeting in Damariscotta agreed there are significant flaws in the current system.

Several of those at the meeting said the state mandated training is “poor,” the expense for towns is high and yet officers are not paid adequately.

Also, county officials wanted to determine the amount of time expended on animal control in the towns and the types of services that are required.

“The biggest problem towns have,” Bremen resident Hank Nevins said, “is you've got an animal control officer one year and (he/she is) gone the next year.” Nevins said he supports the idea of a county ACO, and recommended that officer work through the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.

Some in the town office meeting room agreed, recognizing the benefits of having a person who could respond to all of the animal-related calls in the county. However, others said it would be difficult for one person to oversee all of this work. The need for animal control in individual towns is sporadic, but collectively it translates to a significant amount of work, according to statements made at the meeting.

Bristol resident Mike Witte is an Animal Damage Control officer for Lincoln County, through the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. He is certified to handle situations involving wild animals, in addition to solving domestic animal problems.

“One animal control officer could probably not keep up with the number of calls that are transpiring in those towns every day,” Witte said, adding that ACOs often deal with situations that should be handled by law enforcement officers, such as domestic disputes. Travel time across the county and paperwork involved in each case also must be considered.

Witte recommended that at least two ACOs serve the county, if such a program were to be implemented. It is a 24/7 job and ACOs are not restricted to an eight-hour day, he said.

Betsy Pratt, director of the Lincoln County Animal Shelter, agreed. “I think education is a big thing,” she said of educating officers. Due to a high turnover, officers do not have adequate training to handle certain situations, she said. “There are so many questions that a lot of people just don't know the answer to.”

Wiscasset Police Sgt. Kathy Williams, who often responds to animal-related problems in her line of work, also recommended two county ACOs, who could work in collaboration with the sheriff's office. It is a 24-hour, seven days per week schedule, but, “I've gone a week or two and get nothing. And then one day, get 15 calls.”

Witte emphasized a need to have some support from law enforcement in a county animal control system. Local officers often encounter situations that are not restricted to dogs, cats and livestock. He also said it is not always easy for ACOs to predict what sort of situations they will encounter. A situation involving a loose dog could also involve neighbors disputing about property rights, for example.

Animal Control Officers are required to receive 20 hours of training through the state, according to Witte. However, that training is available only once per year through the Department of Animal Welfare.

Witte said that in addition, ACOs are supposed to have a six-hour in-service program, but that has not been available through the state. “The training is poor, to say the least,” he said.

A sheriff's deputy could assist a county ACO team, according to Boothbay ACO David Pratt. This would help out in a lot of situations, as local ACOs do not understand certain aspects of state law. He added towns are burdened with humane issues, such as cruelty and mistreatment, which should be handled by state animal welfare officers.

“There's five (officers) in the entire state,” he said. “So, there ain't no way they can possibly respond to every single one. So, they always get the animal control officer to go do it, who really, truly is not trained to do that.”

Pratt said local ACOs are responsible for just a handful of situations, including dog licenses, animals at large, rabies emergencies and dog bites.

A couple of individuals at the meeting separately recommended the county could split an animal control system into municipal groups, given the size of the county. Pratt said there are a lot of issues that need to be considered, not the least of which is state law on animal-related tasks towns are responsible for handling.

The meeting showed there is some interest among towns to explore the possibility further. Pratt and others at the meeting agreed to gather more data to help determine functionality, cost and governance of such a project. It is anticipated there will be another meeting in the near future to continue the discussion.