Improvements are starting to be made in the Marion County Animal Control Program.
Board Chair Steve Whritenour has announced a Facebook page has now been launched to post photos of found dogs and those eligible for adoption. The address is Marion County Illinois Animal Control. The animal control officer will not respond to complaints sent to the Facebook page.
In another improvement, Animal Control Officer Ken Ferguson now has a direct phone line to report problems with dogs. It is 730-227-1759. That’s 730-227-1759. In the past, calls had to go through the sheriff’s department.
Meanwhile, the County and Community Relations Committee will meet Monday night at six to finalize plans for a temporary facility to house dogs that are picked up by the dog catcher. The plan is to only hold the dogs for 14 days to determine if the owner can be found. What still needs to be worked out is how the county will handle the dogs after 14 days. The committee also needs to decide if they want to start picking up and holding dogs from the smaller communities in the county currently without any animal control service. By state statute, the county is supposed to provide animal control to all residents of the county.
