Resident tells Sumner County committee of problems with animal control pickup and events

A Gallatin resident told a Sumner County committee she experienced and documented multiple instances where animal control did not respond to calls or was not present at scheduled events.

Cathy Arlen, who identified herself as living at 231 Chip Away Drive in Gallatin, described several incidents she said occurred after the committee’s last meeting. Arlen said that on one occasion county police brought a dog to a local shelter because animal control personnel did not take custody, and on another occasion a person seeking help at an animal-control event said there was no one there to open the door at 3 p.m.

Arlen told the committee she has records and asked the county to ensure expectations about animal-control services were met. “We probably saved the dog's life,” she said of an instance when neighbors took custody after no animal-control staff appeared.

Committee members asked that citizens first contact the sheriff’s office and allow the office time to resolve complaints; if the issue was not resolved within a month the committee said it should be brought back for review. One committee member explicitly requested that the sheriff’s office respond to three named instances by email before the next meeting so citizens could receive answers earlier.

The sheriff’s representative said that none of the specific complaints had been reported to him and that he would investigate if provided details. The committee did not take formal action on the animal-control complaints at the meeting but asked staff and the sheriff’s office to follow up and to provide responses to the citizen complainant.