EL DORADO — The continual flouting of a city ordinance has prompted the hiring of a new animal-control officer in Smackover, Mayor Bobby Neal said.
Neal said Charles Hartsell, owner of Hartsell Pest Control in El Dorado, was contracted recently to help remedy the city’s loose-dog problem.
Hartsell also is contracted to do animal control for Felsenthal, Huttig, Calion and Union County.
Neal said Hartsell willstrictly enforce the ordinance dealing with loose dogs, directing him to forgo warnings and issue citations immediately.
“These dogs were taking us over,” Neal said. “We have warned and re-warned these people, and they just keep turning [dogs] loose. We’ve picked up dogs before and gave them back to the owners. Then they’ve turned around and let them out again.”
Hartsell said he issued three citations on his first day.
“People are not putting their dogs up,” he said.
Hartsell said the absence of a leash law in the county emboldens people to drop off dogs, particularly pregnant females, near the county line.
He said abandoning a dog in the county can result in an animal-cruelty citation, which carries up to a $1,000 fine and up to a one-year moratorium on animal ownership.
Neal said many unwanted dogs are dropped off in Smackover.
“A lot of them are strays people from outside the city have dumped out,” he said.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 16 on 12/29/2012