Dogs run wild in Middleburgh

4/14/2021

By Patsy Nicosia

Unlicensed and unvaccinated dogs are running loose in the Town of Middleburgh.
Feral cats too, Dog Control Officer Joe Durma told Supervisor Wes Laraway and councilmen Thursday, but don’t expect him to do anything about them.
Some people, he said, are having trouble getting into the vets’ for rabies vaccinations.
But plenty others just don’t care—and he ran through a long list of loose dogs he’s picked up and, when he can, returned to their owners.
“We have a lot of folks in town, they’re dogs aren’t vaccinated,” he said. “We had a dog bite on Main Street…she had some serious injuries.
“We had two dogs loose on Grove Street, one dragging a chain. A Husky on River Street that caused quite a stir…a pit bull in Hunstersland…”
Many of the dogs aren’t wearing any ID tags, Mr. Durma said.
When he can, he posts found dogs on the Schoharie County Animal Resource Info page on Facebook.
“I don’t get it,” he said. “You love your dog so much you can’t put a tag on it?”
Though he also gets animal welfare calls—for example of dogs left alone during the week while their owners are at work in the City—he said he’s not an animal welfare officer.
Those calls should go to the State Police or Sheriff’s Office.