Constantine: Poor dog bite response a symptom of larger problems

September 16, 2009

Summary

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King County Council Chair Dow Constantine issued the following statement regarding delays in responding to dog bite complaints:

Since September 2007, when the members of a Council-initiated citizens committee described conditions in King County’s animal shelters as “deplorable,” I have worked with my Council colleagues to fix the shelter and the system. I am outraged by the recent report in the Seattle Times that King County Animal Care and Control (KCACC) officers are failing to respond promptly to dog bite reports—and are blaming their poor performance on the County Council’s direction that they improve animal care.

King County Animal Care and Control (KCACC) officers are failing to respond promptly to dog bite reports—and are blaming their poor performance on the County Council’s direction that they improve animal care.

I have gone head-to-head with the Executive’s office for the past two years over its inability to fix the problems at KCACC, and over the agency’s refusal to provide detailed information to the Council. It is time for people to stop defending this broken institution and join the Council in moving forward to the only acceptable future—one where citizens receive prompt, competent service, the public is made safe from dangerous dogs, and the vulnerable animals in our custody are treated humanely and given a chance at finding new, permanent homes.

I disagree strenuously with Animal Control management’s decision to de-emphasize dog bite responses. No such direction was ever given by the Council. I also question why KCACC has never once addressed the issue of dog bite investigations in its required regular reports to the Council.

According to Council staff members, KCACC does not keep detailed employee records and cannot substantiate its claim that resources have been shifted from dog bite investigations to other animal control functions. These systems need to be improved. An audit of KCACC’s performance, management, and data integrity functions that was requested by the Council will be completed in three weeks should help in that process.

Despite our clear policy guidance, King County Animal Care and Control has demonstrated a frustrating inability to keep Council members apprised of problems within the system. The dog bite investigation issue was not addressed in Animal Control’s July annual report to the Council. Animal Control representatives also declined to appear before the Council’s Government Accountability and Oversight Committee this morning.

Over the past two years, Animal Control has demonstrated a continuing pattern of resistance to reform and failure to disclose information in its dealings with the Council. This May, I joined my colleagues Reagan Dunn and Julia Patterson in calling for a switch to a community-based sheltering system, given the failure of the public system to do the job.

I have also advocated for and co-sponsored legislation to:

—Enact policy changes designed to make King County Animal Control a model animal control services agency (May 2007).

—Require the Executive to respond to all 47 recommendations of the citizens committee and make regular weekly progress reports to the Council (October 2007).

—Create a program bringing local volunteer veterinarians into the shelters to improve animal care (April 2008).

—Provide a one-time increase in funding to bring in hire new staff, bring in part-time veterinarians, step up adoption and volunteer efforts, and improve shelter conditions (April 2008).

I also was the prime sponsor of whistleblower protection legislation, which should encourage employees to step forward with reports of misconduct or animal neglect (June 2009).