MONROE - Residents of Monroe, let's say a cat starts hanging around your back porch one day. Or a dog wanders into your yard, lost and looking for scraps.
What should you do? That question is posed all too frequently by citizens - and the answer bears repeating.
First, when finding a stray animal, don't feed it - unless you're in the market for a new friend and ready to adopt. And you're sure the animal doesn't belong to someone else. Per city code, any person who feeds or shelters an animal seven consecutive days or more becomes its owner.
Also, don't take it to the Green County Humane Society. The shelter doesn't take surrenders, or strays, directly from citizens.
Your first call should be to police dispatch at 608-329-2400, even if you suspect the animal is ownerless and you want to take it in. The same is true if you suspect an animal is being neglected or abused.
Animal control in Monroe is done through cooperation between police and the Green County Humane Society. But the city doesn't have "animal control" in the traditional sense with a designated and trained law enforcement officer on staff and a city-controlled shelter for stray animals.
"I think something the public does not understand is the City of Monroe does not have animal control," said Fred Kelley, chief of police. "We have no animal control officer."
Instead, the city has worked out a system with the Green County Humane Society to capture and care for stray domesticated pets.
The city currently pays a flat fee of $35,000 annually for the Humane Society to house stray cats and dogs found in Monroe at its shelter for the seven days required by law. An owner can claim the pet by paying for the time it sat in the shelter - $30 per day for the first three days and $110 for four to seven days, plus a redemption fee of $15 to $25 and payment for any necessary shots and medical expenses.
After seven days, if no owner comes forward to claim the pet, it goes up for adoption.
But first, a police officer has to verify that the reported stray is a) not vicious or feral and b) was found within the city.
The Humane Society, by law, cannot make those judgments. And neither can citizens.
"We aren't animal control," said Rachel Schardt, Humane Society board member. "We have to adhere to the same laws as any other citizen. We can't circumvent the law."
After an officer determines the animal's domesticity and origin, the officer will either take it to the shelter or arrange for it to be taken there.
Doing animal control this way is a challenge, according to Kelley. For starters, his officers don't have the formal training in animal control to qualify as humane officers. They also have more pressing police work to do.
Ideally, Kelly would like to hire a part-time officer dedicated to animal control calls, but so far the city hasn't given him the money to do this.
For now, the cooperative system with the humane society is the best option.
"If we had no humane society, we would have nothing," he said. And, he's quick to point out, "animal control is a demand from the populace."
Schardt says that even though the Humane Society is constricted in what it can do in terms of animal control, the organization can point people to resources - for instance, on how to control a population of feral cats, or where to find a home for a surrendered pet. The shelter is a no-kill facility, so animals placed there remain until a suitable home can be found.
"People shouldn't be afraid to call the shelter. We're there to answer questions," she said.
The phone number for the Green County Humane Society is 608-325-9600. More information is available on its website, www.greencountyhumane.org.
What should you do? That question is posed all too frequently by citizens - and the answer bears repeating.
First, when finding a stray animal, don't feed it - unless you're in the market for a new friend and ready to adopt. And you're sure the animal doesn't belong to someone else. Per city code, any person who feeds or shelters an animal seven consecutive days or more becomes its owner.
Also, don't take it to the Green County Humane Society. The shelter doesn't take surrenders, or strays, directly from citizens.
Your first call should be to police dispatch at 608-329-2400, even if you suspect the animal is ownerless and you want to take it in. The same is true if you suspect an animal is being neglected or abused.
Animal control in Monroe is done through cooperation between police and the Green County Humane Society. But the city doesn't have "animal control" in the traditional sense with a designated and trained law enforcement officer on staff and a city-controlled shelter for stray animals.
"I think something the public does not understand is the City of Monroe does not have animal control," said Fred Kelley, chief of police. "We have no animal control officer."
Instead, the city has worked out a system with the Green County Humane Society to capture and care for stray domesticated pets.
The city currently pays a flat fee of $35,000 annually for the Humane Society to house stray cats and dogs found in Monroe at its shelter for the seven days required by law. An owner can claim the pet by paying for the time it sat in the shelter - $30 per day for the first three days and $110 for four to seven days, plus a redemption fee of $15 to $25 and payment for any necessary shots and medical expenses.
After seven days, if no owner comes forward to claim the pet, it goes up for adoption.
But first, a police officer has to verify that the reported stray is a) not vicious or feral and b) was found within the city.
The Humane Society, by law, cannot make those judgments. And neither can citizens.
"We aren't animal control," said Rachel Schardt, Humane Society board member. "We have to adhere to the same laws as any other citizen. We can't circumvent the law."
After an officer determines the animal's domesticity and origin, the officer will either take it to the shelter or arrange for it to be taken there.
Doing animal control this way is a challenge, according to Kelley. For starters, his officers don't have the formal training in animal control to qualify as humane officers. They also have more pressing police work to do.
Ideally, Kelly would like to hire a part-time officer dedicated to animal control calls, but so far the city hasn't given him the money to do this.
For now, the cooperative system with the humane society is the best option.
"If we had no humane society, we would have nothing," he said. And, he's quick to point out, "animal control is a demand from the populace."
Schardt says that even though the Humane Society is constricted in what it can do in terms of animal control, the organization can point people to resources - for instance, on how to control a population of feral cats, or where to find a home for a surrendered pet. The shelter is a no-kill facility, so animals placed there remain until a suitable home can be found.
"People shouldn't be afraid to call the shelter. We're there to answer questions," she said.
The phone number for the Green County Humane Society is 608-325-9600. More information is available on its website, www.greencountyhumane.org.