Upson County has run into a bit of a problem when it comes to having a county wide leash law. Commissioner Steve Hudson told the rest of the Board of Commissioners at last week’s meeting that after researching the current ordinance, he found it covers 99.9 percent of the problems the county may deal with when it comes to nuisance animals. However, the main problem comes from the fact that the overwhelming majority of people who make a complaint and are subpoenaed for court do not show up.
Animal Control Director Smart Web told the board that everyone who files a complaint is subpoenaed to testify in Magistrate Court, yet when they or the witnesses, do not show up, the judge dismisses the case. Web told the board at that point his hands are tied.
“Until I get somebody to help me and my staff with this issue, the nuisance ordinance is going to be dead,” said Web. He continued that the only way to try the case without having the person, who made a complaint, is if the incident happened to him or one of his staff members.
Hudson noted that the county needs to come up with a way for people to keep their animals on their own property, and if they get off, to be responsible for them and have them on a leash. However, he is unsure of how to make that happen.
County Attorney Ed Trice stated the best way of making it successful is to get with the Magistrate Court and work something out, such as possibly having Web and his staff be the ones to make the complaint themselves. He told the board he will do some more research to figure out the best way to go forward from this point.
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