A dog at the Humane Society of Branch County waits to be adopted. Olivia Pero | Collegian
Hillsdale County will have to manage its own lost and stray dogs in two years, when a contract with Branch County comes to an end, according to Branch County Animal Control Officer Ernest Baker.
When the old Branch County Animal Control shelter burned down in 2015, Baker said Branch County was about $100,000 short to finish the building, so it contracted with Hillsdale County for 10 years to house their stray dogs.
“We bring the animals that are not claimed by their owners [in Hillsdale County] over to them [Branch County Animal Control] after a 24-hour holding period here at the sheriff’s office,” said Makenzie James, animal control officer for the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office.
Baker said some of the issues he has with the contract are that the people in charge of the Hillsdale County Animal Control keep changing, and all the Hillsdale dogs coming to Branch County burden his people and the Humane Society of Branch County.
“Basically, through these eight years my people have done all the work,” Baker said. “It’s time to go back, and allow them [Hillsdale County] to do this themselves.”
The number of lost and stray dogs Hillsdale brings to Branch County Animal Control has decreased over the past eight years.
When Hillsdale County first began bringing its lost and stray dogs to Branch County Animal Control in 2007, it brought in 346 dogs in the first year, with 16% of those dogs getting returned to their owners.
Hillsdale County brought in a total of 112 dogs to Branch County in 2024, with 23% of those dogs being returned to their owners.
James said she and Hillsdale County Sheriff Scott B. Hodshire are still working on a plan for when the contract ends.
“We are in the process of weighing our options and making a plan for the future, but as of right now we do not have any definite things to mention to the public specifically,” James said.
When the contract ends, Baker said he will have more time and resources to help the dogs in his county.
“We have two more years left on that contract and then it’s gonna be Hillsdale’s problem,” Baker said. “We can’t keep doing this because it’s too much strain over here.”
Branch County Animal Control works closely with the Humane Society of Branch County.
Jan Nageldinger, shelter manager of the Branch County Humane Society said she and Baker have worked well together.
“Anytime I’ve asked him to go check out something, he always does,” Nageldinger said.
For example, Nageldinger said there was a situation when she and Baker worked together to save 53 dogs.
“It was about a guy who lived in a very dangerous place,” she said. “There’s all these trashy trailers, and they have a compound in there with an armed guard. The only way out is the same way you come in.”
Nageldinger said somebody had called her to help because the dogs were chained to trees, didn’t have shelter, food, and water, and some were dying.
“I talked to him [Baker], and I said, ‘Either you’re going to go there or I’m going to go there, but I can’t sleep at night knowing dogs are dying out there,’” Nageldinger said.
According to Nageldinger, Baker went to the location and busted the man for not having dog licenses among other things.
“Because we worked together on that, we were able to get all of the dogs out,” Nageldinger said. “So it’s really important to work with the police.”
The Dog Law of 1919 partly brought the job of animal control into existence, Baker said. There was a big problem with rabies and livestock damages at the time.
“We created the dog license so that shows when dogs have a rabies shot,” he said.
Animal control officers now fear there are too many dogs because people just keep breeding them, Baker said.
Besides getting their dogs spayed and neutered, James said dog owners should also get their dog a microchip and keep the information on it updated.
A microchip is a device that’s implanted in the animal’s neck between the shoulder blades and has a file in it, James said. She can scan it to get information regarding the owner of the animal, such as a phone number and an address.
“If more animals have microchips, then we would be able to directly link to where they belong to, and that would be a great help,” James said.
Another issue is when animals have microchips, but they’ve been rehomed and the information is not updated, according to James.
“So if you get an animal as a rescue or as a rehome from somebody else and it has a microchip, then we strongly suggest that you update the microchip’s information,” James said. “So if your dog does get lost and is running at large, then we can properly place it back into its home.”
James said dog owners interested in getting services regarding microchips or low cost spay and neuter programs can call the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office at 517-437-7317 and ask for James.
“We do try our best to help people in the community access those resources that are available,” James said.
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