Great Danes pester golfers at country club

Much like the environmental officer, the county’s new animal control officer had an eventful first month, as revealed in his report to the Health and Welfare Committee.
David Hennessee, who began his duties May 1, related a number of incidents, including an ongoing problem with two large Great Danes which have been wandering around McMinnville Country Club.
‘We’ve been having a go-around with the Great Danes at the country club,’ Hennessee said. ‘They get on the golf course and they’re getting golf balls and running off with them. They’re digging holes.
‘We got a call a week ago yesterday. They were having the industrial tournament at the golf course, and the manager called and said they had caught one of the Great Danes and had it out there at the club.
‘So Joey (assistant animal control Joey Williamson) and I got in the truck and went out there and they had it tied there in front of the clubhouse. So we loaded it up, and it took all three of us to get it in the truck.’
Hennessee said there had been two notices left at the home of dog owners Mike and Brooke Hale, but said Mr. Hale reacted by saying if the country club didn’t want the dogs on the property, they needed to put a fence around the country club.
Hennessee said Hale confronted him on the way to the animal control center and demanded his dog back.
‘I told him he couldn’t have him,’ Hennessee said. ‘I told him we had a complaint call on the dog at the country club and we had to go pick him up.’
Hennessee then informed Hale that he would have to wait until they got to the animal control center and it would cost him $40 to get the dog back, a $15 boarding fee and $25 pickup fee, explaining once the animal was put in the truck the $15 boarding fee applied.
‘When we got out there he paid us the $40, loaded his dog up and left,’ Hennessee said. ‘I called the guy at the country club and told him we had done all we could do. They’re ignoring our warnings. I told him he would probably have to take some kind of legal action.’
In addition to the Great Dane issue, Hennessee reported the animal control center has handled a wide range of problems and a large number of animals.
‘From May the first through yesterday we’ve had 77 dogs and 52 cats,’ Hennessee said Tuesday. ‘We had dropped off dogs and dropped off cats. We had four dogs returned to owners, and no cats returned. We had six dogs adopted out and six cats adopted out. Animals rescued, we had three dogs and we had 20 cats.
‘Animals euthanized, we had 62 dogs and 11 cats,’ Hennessee continued. ‘Animals in quarantine, bite cases, we had 1 dog. The number of animals we had on hand as of yesterday, we had nine dogs and 15 cats.’
Hennessee said the calls have been numerous.
‘We had 249 calls and we answered 249 calls in a five-week period,’ Hennessee said. ‘The total money brought in was $545.’
‘Sounds like you have been busy,’ said committee member Teddy Boyd.
Commissioner Bill Yancy asked Hennessee how the fuel crisis was affecting his department.
‘We’ve been doing double duty on the trucks,’ Hennessee said. ‘Two of us go in one truck and let one sit a little while. Right now we’re averaging about 300 miles a week. We know the budget’s real tight this time of the year, so most everything we’re spending we try to get it OK’d with John (County Executive John Pelham) , or Linda (director of accounts Linda Hillis), before we do.’
Hennessee also asked committee members to consider increasing fees at the shelter, noting local fees to recover an at-large animal picked up by animal control are considerably less than some neighboring communities.
‘At Murfreesboro when they come to pick the dog up the first time, for the owner to get it back costs $100,’ Hennessee said. ‘We charge $15 a day board and $25 pickup. In Murfreesboro first offense is $100, second is $300, from what I’ve been told. It gets their attention real quick on these dogs running loose.’
Yancy said the committee would check with county attorney Larry Stanley to see what the procedure would be to change the fee structure here. Hennessee said people are frequently bringing in unwanted litters, leaving animal control with the responsibility of euthanizing them.
‘Charge them something,’ Hennessee said. ‘People need to spay or neuter their animals. We get a lot of calls from people just wanting to get rid of their dogs or puppies. It just seems like this is a losing proposition. People need to be more responsible.’
‘People just don’t seem to care,’ said Yancy.