Dogs can make great pets and raccoons look sweet and cuddly, but sometimes they can become a nuisance and require the police to capture or neutralize them.
The topic of bothersome animals arose during the Board of Police Commissioners’ July 6 meeting.
Commissioner Doug Blanc explained that he recently read online about a loose dog that attacked another dog in its own backyard, something about which the homeowner has contacted police regularly. He wondered if the Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) had noticed an increase in calls about such off-leash animals causing disturbances.
“We do routinely get a number of dog-related calls, whether it be barking dog, dog running at large or potentially dangerous dogs. We tend to respond to the dangerous dog ones rather promptly for the safety of the public,” said Deputy Chief Rick Johns.
Meanwhile, the police refer all dogs-at-large calls to the Saskatchewan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
Johns added that he hadn’t heard whether there had been an “unreasonable increase” in calls about dangerous-dog incidents.
Raccoons and the mayor’s office
The mayor’s office recently received several calls from a homeowner who had captured raccoons in her attic and didn’t know what to do with them, explained Commissioner Clive Tolley.
The homeowner initially called the police and asked for an officer to shoot the pesky critters, but the agency told her it would not send an officer because members must fill out lengthy reports if they discharge a firearm in the city.
The community’s conservation office also refused to send out an officer, while city hall’s pest control officer was unsuccessful in capturing the animals, forcing the woman to purchase traps and capture them herself.
“And she’s yelling at me on the phone (saying), ‘Well, what am I supposed to do with these raccoons? I’m going to bring them down to your office and let them loose,’” Tolley said with a chuckle.
“… we get some pretty strange phone calls at the mayor’s office. And a lot of them I know how to answer; I mediate them. But I didn’t know what to tell (the homeowner).”
Raccoons can quickly go from being cute baby pets to acting like destructive pests, he remarked. He recalled how his father-in-law once shot an adult raccoon and adopted the three baby kits as pets, before they eventually grew up and became disruptive, forcing him to take them to a farm.
Tolley then wondered if the police service could offer people advice when handling such situations.
Johns acknowledged that whenever officers fire their weapons in public, they must inform the Saskatchewan Police Commission and write a report about why they did so. He noted that officers may fire their guns if they come across a wounded animal on the highway and must euthanize it.
Meanwhile, a predation officer works for the City of Moose Jaw and has the authority to “dispatch animals that are a nuisance,” he continued. There are also private exterminator companies, while veterinarian clinics may help homeowners as a last resort.
“It’s an unusual situation. Maybe not so unusual in the rural communities, but a little more so in the city,” Johns added with a smile.
The next police board meeting is Thursday, Aug. 10.
