Island County adopts kennel-license update; public urges funding for second animal control officer

Island County commissioners voted June 9 to adopt ordinance C36-26, updating private and commercial kennel licensing to align the kennel quiet period and enforcement hours with the county’s existing noise ordinance.

The ordinance was introduced by Sheriff Felicci as a housekeeping change to remove conflicting language and to bring kennel-specific noise enforcement into consistency with the county noise code. During presentation the sheriff said the primary change was an adjustment of the enforcement hours and that inspections under the kennel code will focus on animal conditions while building and permitting matters remain with planning.

Public commenters asked the county to use the ordinance moment to commit funding and staffing to animal control. Cinnamon Hudgins, executive director of WAIF, said one ACO cannot cover both Whidbey and Camano islands and urged the board to add another officer: "Will you reconsider adding an additional ACO for the safety of the community, for the of the community, pet owner support, and the lives of homeless pets?" Hudgins also presented a population-based estimate that, excluding Oak Harbor, roughly 15,000 dogs live in unincorporated island communities and noted WAIF is investing $5,000 to boost licensing compliance.

Other volunteers and rescue-group leaders described heavy reliance on unpaid volunteer hours to trap, reunite and shelter animals while the county’s ACO staffing has been reduced. Summer Bolen, founder of Bring Them Home Whidbey, said volunteers are doing thousands of hours that previously helped free the ACO to take enforcement actions.

Commissioners questioned whether enforcement under the kennel licensing code was already possible and where fees would be collected. Officer Gordon and the sheriff said kennel inspections and some enforcement activity had already occurred but that the county still needed to implement an online system and clarify which department would collect kennel and license fees. The sheriff said he would bring a fee plan to the board for review and the board scheduled a work session on July 15 to address fee collection.

Commissioner Jenny moved to adopt ordinance C36-26, the motion was seconded and the board approved the ordinance. The board and staff agreed to return with fee-collection details and an implementation schedule for the licensing system.

The ordinance will be added to Island County code as amended; fee structures and the operational rollout are scheduled for further discussion in a July 15 work session.