The day began with a trapped cat. Joe Hunt called up an address on the laptop computer mounted between the seats of his city-issued van and rolled out of the parking lot of Tacoma’s Sector Four Police Substation.
A couple of blocks away, he found the address, a woman, and a steel trap containing a long-haired black cat. The woman wanted to keep the trap – she’s caught five cats, a couple of possums and a rat with it so far – so Hunt pulled another container out of the van and transferred the cat, leaving behind the trap. It took all of two minutes.
“All right, you’re good,” Hunt said.
“Awesome,” the woman said. “Thank you.”
A few years ago, it might have taken Hunt a couple of days to pick up the cat. When he worked for the Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County, he had to cover more ground. But Tacoma, like other cities and towns in Pierce County, started its own animal licensing and control operation in 2006, after the Humane Society got out of the business to concentrate on its core mission.
Now Hunt, who went to work for the city, can respond to calls much more quickly. The average response time for a priority call is eight minutes, he said. Examples of priority calls include reports of a dangerous stray dog, a dog hit by a car, or a police officer or firefighter who needs help with an animal.
Potentially dangerous dogs receive the highest priority.
NEW RULES FOR DANGEROUS DOGS
In December, the City Council approved changes in the city’s animal control ordinance aimed at cracking down on potentially dangerous dogs and so-called problem pet owners. Since then, the city has used the ordinance to move five dogs from Tacoma to Pierce County, Hunt said. At least one dog was euthanized under the ordinance and another might be put down soon, he said.
Four patrol officers work under Hunt, who is field supervisor and also works patrol. One office assistant fields the phone calls and dispatches them to the officers. They cover Tacoma and Fircrest. The town contracts with Tacoma for animal licensing and control. The officers receive an average of about 20 to 30 calls per day.
It took longer than expected to get the department up to full strength, and there was a frustrating delay in getting uniforms for the officers, officials said. But now that it’s up and running, there are few problems, they say.
“It used to be that not a week would go by without someone complaining” to the mayor and council members, Mayor Bill Baarsma said. Residents were frustrated by a lack of service, he said. Calls still come into the city, but now they’re routed to the animal control officers and problems are addressed, he said.
“It’s a sea change in terms of improvement,” Baarsma said.
Two customer service employees initially worked on the licensing side of the operation, but the duties are now spread throughout the department, said Jodie Trueblood of the city’s tax and licensing department. Animal licensing accounts for abut 20 percent of the department workload, Trueblood estimated.
Last year, Tacoma spent $439,557 on animal control and $204,340 on animal licensing, the city reported. It collected $437,732 in license fees and donations.
PUSH TO GET PETS LICENSED
About six months after it took over from the Human Society, the city tried using door-to-door canvassers to boost the number of licensed pets but found it produced mixed results.
As an informational campaign, it was effective, Trueblood said. But it didn’t result in many license sales, she said.
Tacoma is planning a new campaign this spring. Ads on bus shelters and transit buses will promote the mandatory licensing with a soft-sell message about how a license can serve as a pet’s ticket home if it gets lost. Utility bill inserts will notify pet owners about the city’s licensing rules.
Pet owners who don’t license their animal might end up talking with Joe Hunt, or one of the other animal control officers.
One day this week, Hunt’s morning included picking up the trapped cat, collecting a stray Rottweiler that arrived on a woman’s porch at 5 a.m., herding a loose pit bull back to his home.
After depositing the cat and the dog at the Human Society, which still serves as the city’s shelter, Hunt hosed out the van and headed back out, this time to check on three dogs whose owner recently had a stroke and was having a hard time caring for them.
He rang the bell, but no one answered. He walked over to the fence and greeted the dogs.
“They’re looking a lot better,” Hunt said.
Jason Hagey: 253-597-8542
blogs.thenewstribune.com/politics
ONLINE DATABASE
Curious how many other people have cats named Mr. Snuggums? Wondering whether your neighbor’s roving pit bull is licensed? Check out our searchable online database of Tacoma pet licenses.
POST YOUR PET
Submit a photo of your pet along with the story behind its name to our new pet names photo gallery.
To submit your photo, go to www.thenewstribune.com and click “submit” under the “reader photos” icon at the bottom of the page.
Put your pet’s name in the “title” box. Make sure you include your pet’s age and breed, your name and what town you’re from.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.