MOULTRIE – County commissioners received news at their Feb. 6 meeting that Courtney Azar, the executive director of the Moultrie-Colquitt County Humane Society, has put in his resignation.
Azar was appointed interim executive director Dec. 1, 2022, and his appointment was made permanent on Feb. 20, 2023.
“We’ve got a couple of folks that they’re looking at in terms of replacement. It’s just a recurring issue with the leadership over there. It’s short-lived,” County Administrator Chas Cannon told the commissioners. “We may just have to eventually look at bringing it into the county or in the city. We’ll just have to kind of continue to look at it and go from there.”
At the opening of the same commission meeting, a resident got up and appealed to commissioners for help about an animal control issue.
Mark Scheuring of Treefarm Road told of an incident that happened in October where his cat went missing and in his search for his pet, a neighbor told him, “Yeah, I saw your cat and I also saw the two dogs that killed your cat. Two big ole German shepherd dogs.”
The neighbor told him that he was not the only one that had lost a pet to the dogs but they had also killed three dogs and four cats that the neighbors owned. He said when he went to his other neighbor’s next door to him, they said, “Those dogs are a nuisance. They come over here and they steal our child’s toys out of the yard.”
Scheuring added that he had seen their child and the child was about 3 years old, which concerned him because he was afraid that the dogs might attack the child one day.
“They didn’t just kill my cat. They ate my cat,” he said emphatically.
He told the commissioners that he had called both animal control and the sheriff’s office and he felt like no one wanted to do anything about the situation. He said that he emailed the executive director of the Humane Society, detailing everything that had happened, asking for help and never heard back.
He said that in November he was finally able to meet in person with Azar and tell him what was going on and to voice his concerns about the animals. He said that Azar was familiar with the owner of the dogs and told him, “Those aren’t just regular dogs. They’re trained police dogs.”
Scheuring went on to say that the dogs were not penned or chained up and that there was only a partial fence on the dog-owner’s property.
“Now, the dogs are chasing cars on our road. So, I’m asking for help. I’m asking for help to see if we can get these dogs removed. I’d like to see them euthanized, myself. If they come in my yard, I’ll do it for him but that’s beside the fact. Georgia does have a dangerous dog law and I think that falls under it,” he said.
When Commissioner Paul Nagy asked him what else Azar had told him, he said, “He said that he would look into it and get back with me. This was November 3rd.”
County Attorney Lester Castellow asked him if Azar had ever discussed with him why the Humane Society wasn’t enforcing the dangerous dog law.
“I mean it starts with a very simple process. An animal control officer gives a notice to the owner. And it has been determined, based on this information, that it’s a dangerous dog. And they have the right to appeal,” Castellow said.
Georgia law includes in its definition of a dangerous dog: “While off the owner’s property, kills a pet animal; provided, however, that this subparagraph shall not apply where the death of such pet animal is caused by a dog that is working or training as a hunting dog, herding dog, or predator control dog.”
The code also outlines the process of determination of whether a dog falls under the definition as: “Upon receiving a report of a dog believed to be subject to classification as a dangerous dog or vicious dog within a dog control officer’s jurisdiction, the dog control officer shall make such investigations as necessary to determine whether such dog is subject to classification as a dangerous dog or vicious dog.”
It goes on to state that the dog control officer will mail a dated notice to the dog’s owner within 72 hours if the dog is deemed to be a dangerous or vicious dog. The notice will include a summary of the control officer’s determination and state the owner’s right to request a hearing within seven days after the notice is received.
“I would like to know what Mr. Azar is doing, if he’s done anything,” Scheuring said.
Cannon asked for Scheuring’s phone number and told him that he had just texted Azar to see what was going on. He then asked Scheuring if he lived in a residential area and he responded in the affirmative.
“So, Lester, by that definition, he would have to have them penned up if it’s in a residential area, is that correct?” Cannon asked Castellow.
Castellow responded, “Yes. Whether it’s in a residential area or not, if the dogs have committed certain acts and that’s reported, then the animal control officer’s supposed to make an investigation and determine if that’s happened and give that owner notice that they’re a dangerous dog and that they must keep those dogs penned up,” he said.
Melissa Lawson, the county clerk, got Scheuring’s phone number and assured him that they would schedule a meeting with him and follow-up.
During the course of Scheuring giving his contact information to Lawson, Cannon said that Azar had just texted him back and let him know that he would contact Cannon the following day on the matter.
“I’ll just ask Mr. Scheuring to bear with us because there might be some delays in taking care of that action just based on some personnel issues going on at the Humane Society in animal control. We’ll get something done as soon as we can,” Cannon said.
Scheuring responded, “That’s fine, that’s fine. As long as I know something. If the issue’s being addressed, I’m good with it. But to be in the dark and not know, that tells me that somebody doesn’t care.”
In September of last year, Azar told the county commissioners that the organization was running at a deficit of $9,000 a month and, since the beginning of that year, 528 dogs that were picked up had come from the county and 205 came from the city.
When asked, Moultrie City Manager Pete Dillard responded to Azar’s resignation with: “The Humane Society Director job has become exhausting both physically and emotionally. The city and county do not want to take over the Humane Society. Interviews are being held and very good candidates are applying.”
The Moultrie-Colquitt County Humane Society, which was founded in the 1980s, is a 501c3 non-profit organization that both the city and county governments contract with to provide animal control services to all of Colquitt County and its municipalities.
“The nationwide excess of dogs being returned or turned into shelters means the rescue groups who use to take Moultrie’s pets are overloaded and overwhelmed,” Dillard said. “The solution is a community being more responsible with their pets and people who are kinder, more considerate and supportive of the individuals who work at the Humane Society.”