By Pam McCollum Clise For Peninsula Daily News
CRUELTY TO ANIMALS has been a punishable offense in Jefferson County for well more than 100 years.
In the 1890s, a poundmaster was included on the Port Townsend city staff.
By the spring of 1893 the position was abolished and combined with that of street commissioner. The combined office paid $75 per month.
In 1903, the local newspapers carried stories of horses, cows and other livestock being cruelly treated and the perpetrators, when known, were taken to court and often fined for their offenses. The cases often involved wandering livestock.
A tax on the ownership of dogs was being collected by this time in the city.
The job of poundmaster was once again separated from other staff positions, yet the job was hard to fill for a long time.
In January 1905, Marshal Furlong went searching for James Crane to see if he would accept the position of poundmaster. When Furlong met up with Crane, he offered him the job along with a bookkeeper and a stenographer, complete with typewriter.
Furlong was greatly relieved when Crane accepted.
The Port Townsend Leader reported that Crane was seen the next day “practicing roping a stump at 40 feet with a new lariat.”
In October, Crane went on to other jobs, and an ex-policeman, A. Haverson, was appointed poundmaster. New ordinances were put in place to assist the pound in rounding up stray animals.
In March 1910, a state Humane Society was organized in Olympia. Within two months, people were calling for a Humane Society to be formed in Port Townsend.
The new society and laws would protect animals from mistreatment. Horses were especially prone to be abused, starved and overworked — until they were mere bones.
Humane Society
By July 1911, Jefferson County was the only county of its size in Washington that still did not have a Humane Society in operation.
Mrs. Henrietta Maynard, an excellent game hunter and protector of domesticated animals, hopped on the bandwagon and soon met with state officials. She provided the credentials needed to form a countywide Humane Society, and by September, the new society was in the formative stages.
Although systems were now in place for the protection of animals, public mention of Humane Society efforts was not found for many years after 1916. It appears that the city took over from the Humane Society.
In 1920, the chief of police requested the hiring of a dogcatcher for a one-time shot of four days at $2.50 per day.
There were 34 licensed dogs within the Port Townsend city limit at the time, and some 50 more needed licensing enforcement or to be rounded up.
In 1950, there was a city pound in existence that had an annual operating budget of $150 — barely enough to feed the animals on a short-term basis and to cover destroying unwanted dogs.
Complaints about dogs roaming and becoming a menace had greatly increased. Animals were being abandoned near the city limit.
In December 1952, Mayor Anderson and Councilman Dennis Sullivan met with a man from Port Angeles to discuss how to organize a new Humane Society.
On Jan. 30, 1953, a group headed by Sullivan and Councilwoman Edna Avery — who was reported to hate cats — obtained the articles of incorporation for the Jefferson County Humane Society’s second evolution.
The theme of the new society was “to aid, protect, and defend the defenseless.”
First contributor
Sullivan was the first to contribute to the new society, while Avery was the first president.
Although originally backed by the city, sufficient funds from both city and county governments were lacking due to budget constraints.
Sullivan contributed a great deal of his own money and labor to build a new “shelter” facility on Hastings Avenue near Howard Street.
On Feb. 4, 1954, Avery reported that the animal shelter was ready but that it still needed a poundmaster and a source of ongoing funds. Plans had been discussed to have a police deputy act as poundmaster.
The Humane Society raised preliminary funds until — much later in the year — the city established an annual contribution to the society as well as minimal funds for operation of the shelter.
By 1962, the Humane Society contribution from the city was up to $1,600 per year. Sullivan and his wife, Mary, monitored operations of the shelter while Gene Cline was the on-site manager. The Sullivan family and Cline kept the shelter going for more than 20 years.
In January 1974, the city assumed responsibility for animal control services. The Police Department began to oversee the shelter, which ended the Humane Society’s long stint of stewardship.
In addition to animals being adopted into new homes for a small fee, unwanted dogs and cats were sold for research or killed.
Sid Klink managed animal control services during this time.
Mayor Brent Shirley contracted with Bayshore Enterprises to take over animal control in 1983. Bayshore was a nonprofit organization that trained developmentally disabled people for the workplace.
Paula Thurston was the first manager of the new privatized animal control center and was later able to hire Bonita Flagg to assist her.
A few disabled staff members along with volunteers worked under Thurston and then Flagg.
Through research, fresh points of view were presented, which led to new local ordinances for more humane treatment of the animals in its care.
The shelter was open four days each week, and over the course of the first year of operation, the number of licenses sold increased by 36 percent.
Programs included a Pet-to-People therapy program at the local nursing home, help with pet food for low-income seniors and enhanced foster care.
The shelter served all of East Jefferson County. Flagg became manager in 1985 when Thurston returned to school.
In 1991, the county proposed taking over operations, and a cooperative contract for animal services between the city and county was struck.
Bayshore ceased to manage the shelter when it became Jefferson County Animal Services in May 1992. Flagg was hired by the county to continue her service with the shelter. She stayed until 1998.
Soon, a new facility was built in its current location off Jacob Miller Road. Flagg was a major contributor to the design of the shelter.
She and others dedicated the new building to Dennis Sullivan for his tireless work with animal services.
Animal services became much more than just picking up and housing stray or mistreated animals. It involved the community, answered questions, assisted with low-cost spay and neutering, as well as helping people find veterinarians and boarding kennels.
To help continue along these same lines, volunteers created the Jefferson County Animal Services Auxiliary in 1992. They sponsored a number of activities, including raising money, providing information and assisting with adoptions.
The auxiliary transformed itself into Olympic Mountain Pet Pals in 2004. This organization currently raises funds for its pet spay and neutering program and its feral cat trap-neuter-return program, and it helps with emergency medical assistance to those in need of funds.
The animal shelter is considered a nonmandated activity by the county, and due to budgetary constraints, the funding of the shelter has decreased yearly as funds are shifted to mandated functions.
The county wanted a public-private partnership to continue to fund and operate the shelter — and in 2008, a new nonprofit Humane Society of Jefferson County was formed to ensure that the animal shelter could continue to operate and the animals would receive the best possible care.
Third evolution
This third-evolution Humane Society is currently paying for clerical staff for the shelter, medical treatment, toys, leashes and collars, food and necessary equipment to support the animals. It is also working on an education program for children.
Humane Society staff and a group of wonderful volunteers perform all of the activities at the shelter under the auspices of the sheriff.
In addition, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has two animal control officers enforcing state and county animal-related laws. This joint effort between the Humane Society and the county allows efficient operations to take place.
Just 100 years from the formation of the original Humane Society in Jefferson County, another has stepped up to play an important roll in animal services.
The Jefferson County Humane Society encourages people to view its website, contribute time and/or funds and to become involved on some level. This is needed to carry on the long tradition of animal services and care in Jefferson County.
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Historian Pam McCollum Clise’s column on Jefferson County history, Back When, appears in Peninsula 3rdAge on the last Thursday of every month.
She can be reached by e-mailing pamm@olympus.net.
Her next Back When installment will appear March 31.
