Hackles raised over dog law changes

Several local veterinarians and Flathead County’s top health official are questioning a revised county dog ordinance that eliminates a requirement for dogs to be vaccinated for rabies.

The county commissioners on Tuesday heard the first reading of the revamped ordinance but did not discuss the proposed changes. They are scheduled to take a final vote at 9 a.m.  Jan. 28. Public comments will be taken at 8:45 a.m. that day.

County Health Administrator Joe Russell said he hadn’t been provided a copy of the revised ordinance that axes the rabies requirement for licensing dogs in Flathead County.

“I’m possibly losing a very important public health program,” Russell said. “The veterinarians know [about the change] and they’re not happy. We have the rabies virus in our county.”

The county Health Department received 120 reports of possible human exposure to rabies in 2014, Russell said. Most of the reports stem from contact with potentially rabid bats. 

Veterinarian Mark Lawson of Glacier Animal Clinic told Russell and Flathead County Animal Shelter Director Cliff Bennett in an email he finds it “incredulous that the county commissioners have thought it wise to license dogs without proof of rabies vaccination.

“In this litigious society in which we live, I can’t help but think that such changes could possibly lead to lawsuits and legal culpability of Flathead County, especially since striking these rules goes against the recommendations of the National Compendium for Rabies Control,” Lawson wrote.

The issue of liability also surfaced at Thursday’s Flathead County Health Board meeting. Board member P. David Myerowitz maintained the county has “an absolute right” to require animals be vaccinated for rabies.

“What would the liability be if a child were bit by a dog which hadn’t been vaccinated?” Myerowitz asked. “Who do you think that child’s parents would sue — the owner of the dog or the county which took the requirement off the books? The protection lies in having the law on the books, not removing it.”

Commissioner Pam Holmquist, who serves on the Health Board, defended the revisions, saying she believes the intent of the changes was to handle dog control as a shelter policy rather than an ordinance.

“I think there is misinformation that we don’t care about dogs or cats getting rabies vaccines and that’s not true,” Holmquist said. “We are just suggesting it be done through a policy.”

Cynthia Karsten, a resident in shelter medicine at the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, was at the Health Board meeting for another matter, but weighed in on the controversy, stating rabies vaccinations are important from both a public health and animal health standpoint.

“The shelter never sets the rabies policies anywhere,” Karsten asserted. “It’s not the shelter’s job to set the policy. It’s a backwards way to do it.

“It’s a system that’s not broken, so I don’t see why it needs fixing,” she said.

Margaret Gordon, a veterinarian who does work for the county animal shelter, agreed with Karsten. She told the Health Board she doesn’t believe a shelter policy for rabies vaccinations would be very effective.

“Most vaccines are done in private practice,” Gordon pointed out. “The bulk of the population will not come into contact with a shelter policy.”

The commissioners last year directed the County Attorney’s Office to update the county dog ordinance so that it better aligns with state animal control laws.

Deputy County Attorney David Randall, who presented the revised ordinance to the commissioners on Tuesday, said the old ordinance “extended quite far beyond what we’re allowed to regulate.”

Randall said the County Attorney’s Office received input from the county animal shelter and health department as it streamlined and revised the ordinance in a number of areas.

He acknowledged that Russell wasn’t given a copy of the changes regarding the removal of the rabies vaccination requirement for dog licensing, saying it “fell through the cracks.

“He [Russell] was provided with a copy as soon as it was realized he didn’t have an updated one,” Randall said.

Many Montana counties, including Missoula and Cascade counties, have dog ordinances that require rabies vaccinations as a condition for licensing.

“It doesn’t appear other counties have taken the same steps [as Flathead County] to conform with the state statute,” Randall said, adding that the Flathead County Attorney’s Office has yet to find a state law provision stipulating that counties require rabies vaccinations.

“It’s pretty unique that Montana doesn’t have that provision,” he continued. “Most states do have that provision and counties [in those states] would feel more comfortable in having local ordinances” requiring rabies vaccinations.

The commissioners’ decision to revise the dog ordinance came about after Russell presented a proposal to consolidate dog licensing between the county and city of Kalispell.

Kalispell’s dog ordinance does require rabies vaccinations for dogs over 4 months of age.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com. Reporter Ryan Murray contributed to this article.