Letter: Second animal control officer will save money

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Editor,

Island County commissioners, Sheriff Rick Felici and taxpayers concerned about how much money a second animal control officer might cost us all (and yes, my wife and are are 30-odd year local taxpayers too) need to look at how much money not having a second animal control officer to promptly respond to emergency calls could cost us.

King County, almost next door to us, on Aug. 28, 2025 agreed to pay a $21.5 million to settle claims by pit bull attack victim Gyongyi Bazso Maas, her husband Mike, and their children, after more than 75 calls about dangerous dogs over a four-year period went ignored. Such settlements are not rare. Only last week Ashland, Ohio paid $17 million to settle a similar case.

What if sheriff’s deputies just shoot dangerous dogs? Such a case just this month cost the city of Loveland, Colorado a $675,000 settlement. This was relatively low. The record payout in a wrongful law enforcement dog-shooting was $1.26 million.

Properly funded, staffed and equipped animal control officers are not a luxury. They are a necessity for a safe, prudently managed community.

Merritt Clifton

Greenbank