Break-Ins At Dog Pound

DAYTON - One break-in and one attempted break-in to rescue dogs at the Dayton dog pound near the city's water treatment plant recently, said city staff.

On Christmas Eve, a member of the city's Public Works Department noticed the gate at the pound had been pulled back enough to free one of the dogs, said Sal Benavides, the assistant superintendent of the department.

On Jan. 3, another breakin at the pound was attempted. Benavides said someone tried to use bolt cutters to release a dog, but it looked as though the bolt cutters weren't large enough. The dog was held the routine five to seven days and has since been sent to the Humane Society.

Benavides , who has worked for the city for more than 24 years, said similar break-ins at the pound have only happened two or three times over the past couple of years.

Benavides said the city will impound a dog at large when a neighbor calls and complains.

The public works staff must stop what they're doing to collect the dog and take it to the pound.

To get the dog back, owners must pay a $25 impound fee and $7 for each day the dog was held.

Every day, a city employee washes out the dog pens and feeds and waters the animals. The impound fee helps cover this time.

He said the amount of dogs held at any time "goes in spurts," and he's seen as many as six in the pound. As of Monday, there were none.

And if the dog isn't licenses when impounded, the owner will have to pay the licensing fee as well to take the dog home. The license fee is $5 for an altered animal and $10 for unaltered. On Feb. 1, those prices both increase $10 .

And collecting your dog can be even more expensive if there is a citation against it, he said. Citations cost $50 for a first offense and increase in price after that.

The city has been unable to locate the owner of the dog that was released because it did not have a license identifying it, Benavides said, and he does not know if it was the same owner trying to break out the other dog.

He urged owners to remember that when collecting the dogs to try and not be upset with the city because it is usually a neighbor's complaint that lands the dog in