Tribe to charge fees for animal pickup

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s fairly new Animal Control Program has been cracking down on animal owners over the past two years and last week they announced they are now charging owners for each day their pet is held at the tribe’s animal shelter.

“You have five days, and then I find a place for it,” said Animal Control Officer Jennifer Herne.

The charge is $15 per day.

Herne said that while she never patrols looking for stray or neglected dogs she receives dozens of phone calls a week from community members complaining about nuisance dogs.

“They’re digging in people’s garbage, pooping in their yard, pooping on their sidewalk, pooping in their flower bed,” she said. “It’s hard and very stressful. I don’t want to euthanize dogs but when I get complaints about these five dogs (for example) digging in someone’s garbage – that’s no fun to have dogs digging in your garbage.”

Herne has seven kennels but is confiscating 5-10 dogs per week. Some dogs are picked up by their owners while the others are adopted, sent to rescue groups, or euthanized. Pit bulls, Herne said, are the most common dogs at her shelter and at all shelters.

“I don’t want to euthanize them,” she said. “Sometimes I’m forced to because I don’t have any other options for the dog.”

On Tuesday alone, Herne received 14 calls of complaints about free-roaming dogs causing a nuisance. Many dog owners don’t realize their dog is being a nuisance in the neighborhood.

“If I had a dollar for every person who told me their dog doesn’t leave the yard, I’d be a millionaire,” said Herne. “I’ve never picked up a person’s dog on their property yet. I don’t do that.”

Herne said that while people in Akwesasne don’t believe in tying their dogs up or keeping them indoors, spaying and neutering would alleviate much of the community’s dog problem. Dogs in heat attract male dogs from miles away.

In February, the tribe will co-sponsor a spay and neuter clinic, paying half the cost for community members to have the procedure done on their animal. Check community notices in the coming weeks for more information. Jennifer Herne can be reached at the tribe’s community building, at 358-2272.