Commissioners hear about issue with pack of wild dogs on Kirklands Creek
Jessica Webb
editor@thesmokymountaintimes.com
“If there’s something strange
In your neighborhood
Who you gonna call?”
If it’s ghosts, then you know who to call, but if it’s a wild pack of dogs on the loose and you live in Swain County, you can’t just pick up the phone.
Last Thursday, Jan. 13, Swain County Board of Commissioners heard from Amy Vasquez, a resident on Kirklands Creek who asked what the status of the county’s animal control program is?
The board adopted an ordinance two years ago but in part because of the pandemic it is just now moving forward with readying a site for the animal shelter.
“I’m here today because we have a situation on Kirklands Creek…several dogs have been prowling around and killing people’s pets, and we have no one to call,” Vasquez said.
“I believe they are feral,” she added. “They are coming out at night and killing people’s pets, and it’s a shame.”
Vasquez said she has even found someone who could trap the dogs but then there’s nowhere to take them.
County Manager Kevin King reported that the county is in the process to start building the shelter. “Our crew is scheduled to go out there later on this spring and start the process,” he said. “Hopefully, the building will be done within the next six months, and then we’ll get personnel and vehicles in place.”
Commission Chairman Ben Bushyhead, who spearheaded the effort for animal control in the county, acknowledged it’s “been a long process and hard” but said, “I think we are going to get it done.”
Commissioner Kenneth Parton emphasized the pet owners had rights to take action into their owns hand on their property, i.e., shooting the dogs.
“I want everybody in the community up there to know they have the right to protect their animals, and if they want to, I would suggest they do that for sure,” he said.
Vasquez said that’s the message residents have received but said not everyone is in the position to do that.
Later in the meeting, King told the board there has been a “hiccup” with the site for the shelter, which is planned across from the county’s convenience and recycling center on Hwy 19, where a few trees have already been cleared.
The issue, he explained, is with two town water lines on the site. He told the board he has been in discussion with the town to resolve the concerns and hopes the building can be constructed on a section of the property to avoid any issues. He was hopeful the site will still work.