The Council and the Dog Control Officer

Last night, at the informal Common Council meeting, Wes Powell, the dog control officer for Hudson and most of the rest of Columbia County, appeared to answer the Council's questions. In November, when the Council was called upon to pass a resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with Powell to provide dog control services in 2019, for which he would be paid $7,200 for the entire year, Alderman Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward) said she wanted Powell "to come in and speak with the Council." Powell appeared last night as requested.

Garriga opened the conversation by explaining that she wanted to be able to contact Powell, but she didn't know how. She spoke of how people in Hudson used Facebook groups to share information about lost and found pets--a practice that more often than not results in the pet being reunited with its humans within a few hours--and said Powell should have a Facebook page, suggesting that would allow Powell to be more involved or involved earlier in the process. He told her he did have a Facebook page: Animal/Dog Control Officer. The photo above is the profile picture from that page.

Alderman Dominic Merante (Fifth Ward) asked Powell to describe some typical "scenarios" of his work in Hudson. When Powell seemed flummoxed by the question, Merante spoke of someone who habitually walked his dog without a leash and asked what Powell would do about it. Although this seemed, to this observer, a little outside a dog control officer's bailiwick, Powell responded by saying, "Contact me, and it will be addressed.     

Audience member Claudia Bruce asked about the volume of dogs Powell dealt with in Hudson in a month. His answer: "It could be five; it could be twenty."

Garriga then said she wanted to create flyers providing Powell's contact information, explaining the need for this by saying that residents of Bliss Towers were now able to have dogs if they could provide a note from their doctor stating that the dog was a necessary emotional support animal. Powell was agreeable to working on that flyer with Garriga.

Before those flyers are ready, if you need to know the phone numbers for the dog control officer, where he can be reached at any time of the day of night, they are 518-794-0225 and 518-399-4008. Meanwhile, license and microchip your dogs, and keep them safe at home and on a leash when not indoors. 
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