The San Pedro Saga Humane Society along with the San Pedro Town Council (SPTC) began their stray dog roundup on Sunday night, August 12th. A team comprised of Saga personnel, a representative from the SPTC, along with media representatives congregated at the Saga office around 6PM to start the roundup.
At the end of the night, around 10:30PM, some 19 strays had been picked up from all over town, from public areas such as streets, alleys and parks. Saga’s Bill Milstead thought the roundup was very successful, but could have been even more effective. “The Council provided us with a F650 truck and an employee (driver) and we loaded the truck with crates. We went to about five different neighborhoods, picked up about a total of 19 dogs which were then taken to Fort Dog. The first exercise went very smoothly. We did not have any police presence or anybody from the Health Department though. While I’m not sure that that was really necessary, I would have preferred it. The reasons I say this are several. Number one, we didn’t encounter any controversies on Sunday night but if we had, it would have been nice to have a police officer there. And as far as having a representative from the health department, it would have been nice to have them there to observe and see that we did do things professionally. That we did not enter any private areas while seeking dogs.”
Throughout the week, some 25 dogs were rounded up; this included three dogs that the San Pedro Animal Hospital rounded up. The roundup continues as the organizations see it necessary. As of Tuesday afternoon, two of the dogs were picked up by their owners and they paid a $50 fine to the SPTC.
Dog owners are reminded that by law, their pets must either be contained within a fenced area or on a leash.
