by Matthew J. Irwin
I would like to use this opportunity to discuss an issue that is very close to the hearts of most people in any community, our pets.
As you probably know, the Presque Isle Police Department has an animal control officer who is responsible for many animal related issues, which include capturing strays, compliance with registration requirements, and the less common but always interesting complaints like, “hey, there’s a bear on my porch!” or “what do I do about the moose in my garage?”
Over the last few months, I have personally handled a couple of issues that I want to share with you. There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned neighborhood feud where one person who owns a variety of cats allows them to adulterate the neighbor’s flower garden. Then the cat owner has the audacity to feign insult when the elderly woman, who owns and cares for the flower garden, wields her cane like a samurai warrior (cats fleeing in every direction like wanted felons) simultaneously using words no elderly woman should be forced to utter. My friends please have consideration for your neighbors when it comes to your pets. Stray cats can be live trapped and taken to the animal shelter causing you unnecessary expense.
For those of you who know our Animal Control Officer Dan Corey, I suspect you, like me, find him to be a mild mannered, gentle soul who simply loves animals and tries to be a good community partner and friendly representative of the City government. However, a major part of his responsibility is to ensure our dogs are properly registered and supervised as directed by State statutes and City ordinance. The law basically states that all dogs must be registered by January 31st of every year or the owner is subject to fine. Officer Corey has used great discretion in his approach concerning this matter, not citing people in most cases until July rolls around. But in line with one of my favorite sayings, “no good deed goes unpunished,” Officer Corey has recently been getting complaints related to his attempts to spare pet owners a fine. I would like to remind you all to:
• Please register your dogs in a timely manner compliant with State statute. You may begin registering your dogs in November for the upcoming year. The dogs must have proof of current rabies vaccinations prior to registering them.
• Notify the City Clerks office or Officer Corey if for any reason you no longer have a previously registered dog. This will allow the dog to be removed from the list of unregistered dogs and eliminate any unnecessary attempts to contact or summons people who no longer own a particular pet.
• Please control your barking dog. (The relationship of pets and owners are kind of like that of kids and parents, others don’t seem to see or appreciate the dog’s cute little habits or his bark quite like the owner does).
• Please contact the Presque Isle Police Department’s Officer Dan Corey with any animal-related complaints, questions, or concerns you might have.
Lastly, I recently adopted a dog and a couple of cats from the Presque Isle animal shelter and saw first-hand the number of animals in need of good homes and loving families, please consider adopting a pet, or donating your time, money, or pet supplies to the shelter’s very worthy cause. The people at the shelter are doing a great job with very limited resources, please help if you can!
Matthew J. Irwin is chief of the Presque Isle Police Department. He can be reached at 764-4476 or via e-mail at mirwin@presqueisleme.us.
