THOMASVILLE- The Thomas County Emergency Services Committee met on Monday afternoon at the new Southside Station, where they received an E-911 report, showing an uptick in the amount of animal services calls received.

Melany Harper with E-911 proved the Committee with a call log summary, showing the number of calls E-911 has received since January. The call log divided up the calls into various categories, including dogs at-large, bites, vicious dogs, a dog case (concerned citizens about the welfare of a dog), animal cases and wildlife.

E-911 received 54 calls about dogs at-large, 8 bite calls, 25 vicious dog calls, 60 dog case calls, 16 animal case calls and 3 wildlife calls in the month of July.

The number of calls concerning dog bites were alarming to the County Commissioners, who in previous years had rarely heard about the number of bites actually occurring.

Commissioner Mark NeSmith asked Harper if the number of dog bites had grown since the Commissioners took over animal services from the Humane Society.

“We used to not even see half a dozen calls a year,” NeSmith told Harper. “Were they not recording these calls, because I just can’t imagine that we’ve jumped that much.”

County Manger Mike Stephenson was able to provide insight to the Commissioners.

According to Stephenson, the Health Department has confirmed the Humane Society was not reporting bites to them as required by law.

“They (the Health Dept.) knew it was happening, because they would find out about bites after the fact,” Stephenson told the Commissioners. “They were not being turned into them, because in January and February the number almost doubled from the reports they were given in previous years.”

Stephenson said although the Heath Department’s previous records were inaccurate, they are now satisfied by the way things are going.

“They were having a hard time doing their job, because they rely on prompt information,” Stephenson said. “They appreciate everything 911 is doing, because they are sending in those reports immediately.”

NeSmith had further questions about the call log, which differed vastly from the reports received by the Humane Society.

“I don’t recall ever seeing a vicious column when we received reports from the Humane Society,” NeSmith said.

He asked Harper what constitutes a dog as being labeled vicious.

Harper explained it is all about the information they receive when a call is logged.

“This is about a dog being aggressive toward someone, or maybe attacking someone riding a bicycle,” Harper said. “They may not have bitten anyone yet, it’s just about their aggressive behavior.”

Stephenson added that there are very specific requirements a dog has to meet before they can be labeled as vicious.

NeSmith asked Stephenson and Harper what happens if an owner disagrees with their dog being labeled as vicious.

Stephenson reminded the Commissioners there is an appointed board owners can appeal to, but since January, they have yet to receive any appeals. If owners do not appeal and cannot find a space to properly quarantine their dog, the dog is then impounded to the current Animal Services facility.

With no further questions, NeSmith thanked Harper for the report and their diligence in fielding so many calls.