By Cecilia Chan
Independent Newsmedia

Last August Glendale police seized 50 abused and neglected dogs from a home near 67th and Peoria avenues.

Arizona Humane Society was contracted to care for the animals as the woman appealed the seizure through a hearing process. The post-seizure hearing, which follows state law, took more than seven months and saddled taxpayers with a $100,000-plus tab for the cost of care.

"That was a significant hit to our budget," said Police Chief Rick St. John, who proposed the city adopts its own animal cruelty and neglect ordinance to the Council at last week’s workshop. "Those animals were housed for over seven months because we followed the state process. The owner followed the rules and took the maximum amount of time to file all the paperwork throughout the process and we filed our paperwork within 24 hours. We were waiting for the owner and her actions took over seven months."

It costs the city $50 per animal per day for its care, the chief said.

The city ordinance proposed would shift the cost of care for animals involved to the owners and shorten the civil appeal process.

"This proposed ordinance is not intended to remove due process rights of people that have their animals removed," the chief said. "Rather it cleans up the process. The process is a burden to the pet owner, the pets themselves and certainly to the city and our budget when it’s extended like that."

Currently when an animal is seized in Glendale, an owner posts a $25 bond to go through the hearing process.

The proposed ordinance would bump that bond to $500 per animal and requires pet owners to post the bond within five days of a seizure if a hearing is requested. A hearing must be requested within 10 days.

Once Glendale City Court receives a request for a hearing, it must hold the hearing within five days.

The ordinance also provides for an expedited appeal by special action where an appeals judge can shorten the length of time to file certain paperwork, the chief said.

The chief also explained the $500 was not an arbitrary figure and was in line with what was in place in other Valley cities such as Phoenix.

If an owner appeals a judge’s ruling and drags the case past the 10 days, which are covered by the bond, the city pays for the care, Chief St. John said.

Shortening the hearing process is also good for the animals.

"Talking with Arizona Humane Society, for that one particular case, when animals are seized and housed at Arizona Human Society for that long, they become conditioned to that environment and it’s harder to adopt them out at the end of an adjudicated case," Chief St. John said. "Those animals are now used to the conditions to they are living in, which are good conditions but they are not in a family condition. They don’t have the freedom of a yard, they don’t have people petting and caring for them and loving them the way that an animal should."

The chief said the animals are essentially caged most of the time and are given the necessities such as medical care, food and water. He added the Human Society does the best job it can but it is a huge undertaking for the nonprofit on top of all the other services it provides in the Valley.

"We want them out of there as quickly as we can for the benefit for the pet owners, for the benefit of pets and then, of course, the impact to our budget would be significantly reduced by doing it the right way," he said.

He added these cases are not common and in a vast majority of the time, pet owners do not want their seized animals back.

The chief said the department in the current fiscal year handled approximately 40 cases where animals were seized. Of that number, two, including the woman with the 50 dogs, requested a hearing and the department was notified last week a third pet owner has requested a hearing, the chief said.

Councilwoman Lauren Tolmachoff asked what happens if an owner is unable to post the bond.

The chief said the owner then forfeit the rights to the animal.

"This is a no-brainer," said Councilwoman Joyce Clark, who said she estimated the department paid $105,000 for the care of the 50 dogs.

The chief said in actuality the bill should have been $400,000-plus but because of Arizona Humane Society, the department paid significantly less but more than the $105,000.

"The is probably long overdue," Councilwoman Clark said. "Taxpayers should not absorb the burden of paying for people charged with neglect of animals. It is a no-brainer and I am willing to vote for an ordinance in support of this."

Councilman Ray Malnar said he, too, was in favor of having the chief move forward with language for the proposed ordinance, which will be brought back later for a council vote.

Proposed Animal Cruelty and Neglect Ordinance

• Makes animal cruelty and animal neglect a Class 1 misdemeanor under city code

• Requires the posting of a $500 bond, per animal, on filing for a post-seizure hearing

• Provides for expedited trial court proceedings

• Provides for expedited appeal by special action, thereby expediting final resolution of cases

Source: City of Glendale.