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Animal Control On The Prowl

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 12, 2007

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TAMPA - Howard Bethel didn't want to give up his dogs, but faced with hundreds of dollars in fines and perhaps thousands of dollars in veterinary bills, he loaded six of the pets into the white van.

Bethel didn't even live at the address where the dogs were. His son had adopted them, either taking them off the streets or taking them off the hands of friends. He thought he was doing a good thing, but the canine family grew to seven dogs, and that was just too many to handle.

This morning, Hillsborough County Animal Control officers prowled the neighborhoods north of Hillsborough Avenue in East Tampa, looking for strays or citable animals.

They stopped at the home 37th Street and East Grove Avenue. Bethel was in the yard, raking. Seven dogs were in the yard, chained or in cages. Officer Ken Vetzel, who grew up on these streets, told Bethel he could face sizeable fines since none of the dogs had current tags or rabies vaccinations. Bethel said he couldn't take care of the dogs, including one puppy recently adopted.

"We don't even have a name for him yet," he said.

He agreed to surrender six of the seven dogs. Hoss was the only dog on the lot at the end of the day. Vetzel issued a citation for no current tags or shots, but if Bethel gets tags and shots, he won't have to pay the fine $190 fine.

Bethel was reluctant to give up the animals. "But I've got no choice."

Three vans with two officers each cruised the neighborhoods from Hillsborough to Hanna avenues and from 32nd to 50th streets. Officers were scheduled to talk with elementary school students at nearby Hope Preparatory School in the afternoon to explain how not to become a dog bite victim and to offer tips on how to take care of the family pet.

But for most of the morning, the big white vans crossed paths, each looking for animal code violations.

""We're going street by street, door by door," said investigations manager Pam Perry. "We have had numerous issues in most of this area."

Driving through the streets, Vetzel and Perry could recall houses they have visited before. One was that of an old man on oxygen. They told a caretaker to take care of a dog in the backyard whose chain was wound tightly around a tree. Unwind the chain and make sure there is a shelter, they advised. No citation.

They checked on a pair of yapping dogs on Henry Avenue and were remembered by Debra Torres, who said she had lived there 37 years. Her dogs had all their paperwork in order and proof of vaccination. Vetzel had cited her three years ago.

"I'm glad you're doing what you're doing," she told Vetzel and Perry. "You're doing a good job."

Javon Bryant had two dogs in his backyard. One was his.

One didn't have shelter, and neither had registration papers or current vaccinations. He and a roommate, Lemuel Burton, got citations that totaled almost $600.

"You got to renew dog papers?" he asked. "What kind of … is this?"

"Enjoy your day," Vetzel said as he hopped into the van, heading to the next stop.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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