Animal control pledges cooperation

April 2, 2006

DARRELL L. BREESE

Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - It may have taken the starvation death of a horse in Wasilla on March 11 for the Mat-Su Animal Control and Regulation Department and Alaska Equine Rescue to put aside a rift and join forces to prevent similar tragedies from happening.

According to Dennis Brodigan, borough director of Emergency Services, the two groups are mending fences and committing to working cooperatively in the future.

&#8220There has been a disconnect between us,” Brodigan said. &#8220With the drafting of a new version of Title 24 to the borough code and a series of postponed meetings, we lost touch with each other.

&#8220Sadly it has taken the death of two horses to bring us back together.”

Dave Wachsmuth, vice president and rescue coordinator with Alaska Equine Rescue, agreed there was a separation.

&#8220We lost touch,” Wachsmuth said. &#8220We would reach out to animal control and get no response, and we ignored them at times as well.”

According to Brodigan, attempts to bring the two groups together over the years have met with difficulty.

&#8220We tried to set up a series of meetings with them to discuss how we could work together under title 24, but for one reason or another, they kept getting postponed,” Brodigan said. &#8220Animal control wants to work and partner with organizations like Alaska Equine. We will work with any rescue group that is credible and is truly working to rescue pets.”

Despite the renewed spirit of cooperation between the two groups, their first meeting since the death of the horses - scheduled for Wednesday - was postponed.

&#8220In order to prevent senseless deaths, we need to find a way to work within the confines of the borough's codes,” Wachsmuth said. &#8220It's time for use to put aside any differences and get back to working together.”

In addition to re-establishing a working relationship with the equine rescue group, animal control already had made plans to increase its ability to respond to similar cases.

&#8220We were in the process of increasing our field officers from two to four at the time of the horse's death,” Brodigan said. &#8220We also had two weeks of training budgeted for two officers with the National Animal Control Association involving basic and advanced equine training.”

Brodigan is happy with the increase in officers, but added that it is not enough.

&#8220According to national standards, a borough our size should have at least eight full-time officers,” Brodigan said. &#8220In the three and a half years I've been with the borough, this is the first time we've had four officers. I would like to have more, but I don't see any coming under the current budget unless the assembly makes a change before the final vote in May.”

The size of the borough and the disproportionate pet population for a community of 75,000 people also has put a strain on the animal control facility.

&#8220There is a large number of people in the borough that have horses and other livestock. We are the home of the Iditarod and have several kennels with 100-plus dogs,” Brodigan said. &#8220That puts us well above the norm for similar communities and has us squeezing everything into a small facility.”

Brodigan added that his department is working on a three- or four-phase project that would expand the Animal Control building over the next five or six years.

Contact Darrell L. Breese at 352-2267 or at darrell.breese@frontiersman.com.