Fulton County chairman rides along with Animal Control

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Fulton county and Atlanta officials are trying to hire more animal control officers following a deadly dog attack on young children earlier this month.

Commission Chairman John Eaves rode with animal control officers Tuesday to learn more about the problem of loose dogs in the 77-square-mile county.

Fulton County has 14 officers who responded to 18,000 calls last year. About 6,000 of those calls were dog related and 300 involved dog bites.

“rom January 1 to January 24, we have had 712 Calls in Atlanta this month,” Director of Animal services Oliver Delk said. The city represents 60 percent of Fulton County’s calls.

One of the calls at a West End home came from a Foster owner who said she could not stop two pit bulls from fighting.

A veteran animal control officer removed both dogs from the home with visible injuries.

A city of Atlanta representative was also on the tour. Chairman Eaves said the county is hopeful Atlanta will fund three new officers at an estimate of $150,000 to alleviate some staffing woes. The issue will be discussed at Wednesday's Fulton County Commission meeting.

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