Animal Control Office Changing Its Spots ‘Community Service’ Agency Shifts Workload, Gets New Image

Lu Tickle won’t be wrangling horses anytime soon.

The Kootenai County Animal Control officer chased two loose horses running through the streets near Post Falls last week.

While hoofing it, Tickle stepped in a hole and twisted her knee.

“This is better than a dog bite,” Tickle joked Tuesday.

Sheriff Rocky Watson hopes that in the future Tickle and fellow animal control officer Johnnie Gandolfo won’t have to worry about wandering wild animals or loose livestock.

For years, animal control officers have responded to loose moose, deer, horses and geese, along with a continuous stream of neighbors’ complaints about barking dogs.

The sheriff’s department, which oversees animal control officers, is trying to ease the load and soften its image.

Watson said he’s working with officials from the Idaho Fish and Game Department, state brand inspectors and others to help with large animal problems. That help will free up his officers to respond to the growing number of calls from neighbors concerned about leash laws and barking dogs.

Meanwhile, the department is trying to soften its animal control image. Officers’ uniforms have been changed to plain tan shirts and brown pants.

There’s no mention of the sheriff’s department on animal control officers’ trucks. These officers don’t carry guns, just pepper spray for dog attacks and a stainless steel “bite stick” for dogs to chew on instead of them.

Both Tickle and Gandolfo are trained veterinary technicians and make less than a deputized officer.

“We know what to do when an injured animal is hurt,” Tickle said. “We’re a community service organization now.”

Watson says the changes have shaved $20,000 from the animal control office’s $80,000 annual budget. That money is being used to increase deputies’ pay.

The department is also trying to loosen the county’s leash law to allow dog owners outside city limits to be able to walk their dogs without a leash.

“There’s a reason people live in the county,” Watson said.

Meanwhile, they hope to have every veterinary clinic able to sell dog licenses by Oct. 1, freeing up time for their department as well as making it easier for the public, Watson said.

Licenses have increased to $14 for a non-neutered dog and $7 for a neutered one, he said.

“It’s not the economics,” Watson said. “It’s so we can return the dog to the owner.”