Shelter takes in 37 seized dogs

Nearly 40 dogs paced the cages of the Flathead County Animal Shelter on Wednesday morning. The shelter operator said that up until last week, the animals had lived in their own feces.

“The owner had moved into their car because the home was too unlivable,” said Cliff Bennett as he looked over the animals in the Flathead’s most recent hoarding case.

Bennett, the director of the shelter, said he’s unsure if the owner will relinquish the dogs to the county, or work through the legal barriers to try to regain them.

Until the case is resolved, the dogs can’t go home or be adopted.

Flathead County Sheriff’s Office could not be reached for comment regarding the case.

Animal hoarding cases cost Montana animal shelters thousands of dollars each year. Bennett said the Flathead County shelter spends roughly $25 per day, per dog. For the 37 dogs in the latest case, that comes to more than $900 each day.

Flathead County Animal Shelter’s total budget for fiscal year 2016 was $464,040.

“When you’re waiting for owners to either relinquish their rights or the case to end, it could take months, even a year,” Bennett said. “It adds up ... and taxpayers are on the hook for the bill.”

ONE STATE lawmaker is proposing a way that he said will quicken the time between pet seizures and closed cases.

Senate Bill 203 by Sen. Nels Swandal, R-Wilsall, would require a civil hearing within 21 days of the seizure to determine if it was justified, and if so requires the owner to pay to care for the animals.

If the bond isn’t posted or the owner couldn’t afford it, they would forfeit the animals to the county, which could find them new homes.

The bill narrowly passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with a 6-to-5 vote on Tuesday.

Swandal said his bill was similar to another that failed during the 2015 legislative session.

“It’s hard to say if it will pass this time around,” Swandal said. “There’s definitely a concern for the animal owners, but this bill has been amended to add more protections compared to the previous attempt.”

Swandal said opponents of the bill have said it could be expanded in the future to include livestock, creating a risk for ranchers. Supporters of the bill have pointed to its first section which excludes cattle, sheep and swine from the legislation.

Bennett was on his way to testify in favor of the bill last week when he got a call from local officers standing in the home of the county’s most recent hoarding case.

“They said there was at least 4 inches deep of feces — you couldn’t see the floor,” Bennett said.

Bennett said each dog arrived to the shelter with fur caked with feces. He said a professional groomer worked to clean the dogs from Feb. 16 through Monday.

“Some fur was so far gone, they had to be shaved,” he said, nodding to a group of dogs wearing sweaters.

After a veterinarian’s evaluation, one dog was euthanized due to breathing disorders and congestive heart issues, Bennett said.

He said though severe, the most recent case is not that abnormal.

There was a case in 2009, which Bennett said involved 116 cats. The county shelter held onto the cats for nearly a year as the owners fought to take them back, he said.

In 2009, the shelter received 50 huskies that Bennett said had been stored in a camper in the back of a truck. He said the county housed the dogs for five months before the owner gave up the rights.

“When we’re looking at just under $1,000 a day to take care of these 37 dogs now, it makes sense to look for a solution that doesn’t foot the taxpayers with the bills,” Bennett said.

Senate Bill 203 is expected to go before the full Senate for a second reading sometime later this week.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.

— This article has been edited to reflect that Flathead County Animal Shelter’s total budget for fiscal year 2016 was $464,040.