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fir CinresthDve AeftDOin) Sesuii oft
Overcrowding,
Sanitation Lack
Faced by Dogs
Br ERIC WENTWORTH
Mail Tribune Staff Writer
A visit to the Jackson coun
ty dog pound in Medford
shows a real need for correc
tive action.
The county owns the prop
erty, at 2872 Howard ave.
But, as part of Berrydale, it
was annexed to Medford in
May, 1957.
Some 300 dogs are im
pounded there each month, ac
cording to Chris Hagler, 25-year-old
county dog . control
officer. Of these, about orie
third are claimed. The others
are electrocuted.
Lack of Sanitation
All dogs brought to the
pound endure, however brief
ly, overcrowding and a lack
of sanitation.
, The pound itself is situated
behind the small white house
where Hagler lives with his
wife and four children. It is
approximately 100 yards
northwest of the playground
of Howard school.
It consists of an aluminum
shed with outdoor enclosures
at each end, set on a concrete
base. Cyclone fencing divides
it into four pens. The shed Is
unheated.
Hagler hoses the concrete
at least once a day, without
disinfectant, and , the water
bears its burden of filth into
a shallow ditch alongside.
Beyond this, Hagler says,
was once a trench three feet
deep. This trench is now fill
ed to ground level with dung
and sawdust, mushy to the
foot and foul to the nose.
Drainage Problem
The drainage problem i
bad for the entire area. Water
stands in the ditch and in
pools nearby. After a bad
rain, Hagler reports, the dogs
are wading.
Children from the nearby
school come often to visit the
animals, he said.
Hagler segregates the dogs
as best he can in the four
pens. One group include!
"strays," or dogs that from
breed or possession of a col
lar appear to have owneri .
Some Hagler recognizes at
sight. : ,
A second pen Is reserved
for females in heat.
The other two are for
"dogs to go." These are the
death cells.
Crowding too many animals
into one pen is dangerous,
with fights - occasionally fa
tal - the result. Hagler be
lieves that two dogs to a pen
is proper. But there were 35
dogs at the pound Friday .v
: Disease is another danger
from overcrowding. Distemp
er and infectious hepatitis are
especially vicious. Possibly
because of the rapid turnover,
however, Hagler says he has
never seen any real epidemic
break out.
He says he has learned to
recognize distemper symp
toms, and places any diseased
animals he notices in tne
"kill" shed.
But, he admits, "lots get
In there I don't know about
He says veterinarians take
dogs from the pound to pro
vide blood for transfusions.
Hagler kills an average of
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Program Starts
The 1959 Kiwanis Kapers
advertising solicitation pro
gram is under way according
to Fred Morlan. advertising
chairman.
The Kapers, a musical and
minstrel review, "Now and
Then " will be produced Mar,
4 through 7 at Medford High
school featuring the entire
membership of the Medford
Kiwanis club in choral and
novelty acts.
Proceeds from this show
will be used to maintain and
further the under-privileged
children's work in this com
munity.
Captains in charge of the
five general solicitation teams
are Robert Little, Robert
Rix, Jim Ambler, Fred Sears
and John Nuich. A special
committee to call on various
professional groups through
out this area has also been
appointed. t
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1 WESTERN THRIFT .
DOGS AND BOG - A morass of manure lies them, in some places three feet deep. Chil-
directly beside the dog pound pens. The dren from nearby Howard school must walk
pens themselves are hosed at least once a across it when they come to visit the dogs,
day, but the sewage accumulates next to t
chance of getting back a lost
dog," Hagler said Friday.
"But most times they don't
want them.
'"' very year we kill more
dogs."
Dispose of Dogs
He said that more than half
the dogs are brought in , by
owners who wish to dispose
of them. These people, he ex
plained, have found their, ani
on a 1 s vicious or unmanage
able, or are financially unable
to provide for them.
Hagler and his wife keep a
list . of people who want a
dog, and notify them when
one appears to fill their speci
fications. But this means, at
least a few homeless dogs are
spared execution.
Hagler will have worn the
dog control officer's badge for
three full years by the end of
March. His current salary is
$225 a month. He receives the
house rent-free, utilities, tele
phone and an 8 cents a mile
allowance for the panel truck.
His wife, Fern, who helps
with many of his duties at
the pound, receives $20 a
month for 10 months of the
year. Hagler said she has also
been allowed to keep the 25
cents a day boarding fees paid
by people who pick up dogs
Many Duties
He drives the truck as much
as 2,400 miles a month
Among his many duties be
sides managing the pound are
collecting license fees, im
pounding unlicensed dogs, re
ducing damage by dogs to
livestock shooting the mar
auders if necessary - and in
vestigating claims of those
who have suffered livestock
losses caused by dogs. '
These claims are made
against the dog license fund.
; Demand on Hagler's time,
both day and night, are
heavy. He will answer calls
tfrom farmers reporting mo
lesting of livestock, or from
town constables asking him
to come pick up a stray ca
nine, at all hours.
."When farmers call me late
at night they know I'm not
very busy," he says, "and
they know I have no excuse
not to come.".
This winter he spent the
early hours of both Christmas
and New Year's mornings out
in the fields. He has yet to
take a vacation in the nearly
three years he has worked.
Handle Whole Operation
Hagler and his wife must
handle the whole operation
practically alone. The one
exception is a boy who helps
with killing and cleaning the
ditch on Saturday mornings.
Despite the Hagler's indus-
HOMELESS DOG - Chris Hagler, Jackson county dog control
officer, carries one more orphaned canine to the pound.
Some 50 dogs a week are empounded, over half of them
brought by owners wishing to dispose of their charges.
Hagler himself keeps a beagle and a dachshund at his house
as pets.
50dogs a week, most of them
on Saturday morning. He
electrocutes them with two
wires in the "kill" shed, next
to the pound. - '.
Killed in Week
- Those killed during the
week he hauls to the garbage
dump at Camp White. Satur
day's bodies go to a tallow
company. "The tallow com
pany has to have fresh dogs,"
Hagler remarks.
Dogs brought to the pound
are kept several days, and
are advertised in the Mail
Tribune.'
"People have a pretty good
Small Worlds
Around Us
By Lynn M. Watkins
Odd-Looking Timber Doodle
Looks Down-Sees Up
It's not surprising that the
oddest looking American land
bird should have such a ridic
ulous name as "timber
doodle."
Had Mother Nature made
the slightest miscalculation
in placing the eyes in the
woodcock, she would have
missed the head entirely, as
the woodcock's eyes are. at
the very top of the head, and
placed back farther than
would seem necessary.
Perhaps Nature was experi
menting, and came up with
a good idea, for the wood
cock can see up at the same
time its head is down, and
the extreme down position is
the normal feeding posture.
The eyes are beautiful, very
large, coal-black, soft and
gentle, and used mainly for
watchmg for danger rather
than for food location.
Stout. Dumpy Body
The woodcock's body is
stout and dumpy as if the bird
were hump-backed. It is just
about the oddest looking fea
thered creature of any marshy
swampland,, or woodlet. The
woodcock has hardly any neck
at all, giving the body, the
humped appearance. The tail
is very abbreviated; the legs
are too short, the bill is too
long, and a complicated se
ries of zigzag markings dec
orate the feathers on the un
derside of the squat body.
The upper body cover is
brown, with markings so
cleverly arranged as to make
the bird just about invisible
on the leaf-covered' forest
floor.
This odd-ball of the iwood-
lands has more names than
it can shake a feather at,
such as Big-eyes, night-part
ridge, hookum pake, Labra
dor twister, whistler, timber
doodle, and of course, wood
cock. It is a member of the ,
snipe family, and because of
its delicate flesh is hunted
as a game bird. When alarm
ed it springs straight up into
the air for several feet, flies
but a short distance and again
seeks cover.
Feeds at Night
The woodcock feeds most
ly at night, probing in rich,
soft soil for earthworms, or
other soft bodied insects, with
its sensitive bill. The lower
section of the three-inch bill
is somewhat shorter than the
upper half; the uppe r, or
longer part, is exceedingly
sensitive, acting like a flexed
finger in probing in the soft
earth.
The nest of the woodcock
is built on the floor of the
forest or swampland. The
nesting female depends on
her perfect coloration and
will sit perfectly still until
she is almost stepped on be
fore taking wing. Before she
moves she is nearly invisible.
Woodsmen and hunters, as
well as some naturalists claim
the female woodcock carries
her babies between her feet,
or legs, transporting them to
choice feeding grounds. It
wouldn't be surprising if she
did, for this odd-ball 'of the
forest is downright peculiar,
as well as very beautiful, in
a dumpy sort of way.
(Released by The Register and
Tribune Syndicate, 1959)
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uvciuuwuiug, urdiiiage ciiiu
sanitation grow if anything
more serious.
The three-man county dog
control board has failed to
solve them.
Hagler reportedly asked the
board for a septic tank to
contain the sewage, but this
was considered impractical.
He has only one truck in serv
ice and cannot use it for both
transporting dogs and hauling
away, excrement. -
The proposed Berrydale
sanitary sewer, when install
ed, may help alleviates this
particular problem.
Bad Drainage
But bad drainage could
prove more difficult, especial
ly since it exists over a con
siderable area.
Overcrowding, of course,
can only be helped by new
facilities.
County Judge Earl Miller
and County Commissioners
Chester Wendt and Ralph
James visited the pound
Thursday, Hagler reported.
This was one day after a com
plaint about the pound ap
peared in the Mail Tribune's
communications column.
Hagler said the three coun
ty court members discussed
possible relocatidn of the
pound and said they would
order wood chips for the in
terior of the aluminum shed.
The chips would absorb
moisture and provide a more
comfortable floor surface.
Relocating Pound
Relocating the pound may
even
the boss j
won't know j
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8 MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Oregon, Sunday, January 18, 1959
ARE WE YOURS? - This downcast pair, a spindly husky
and a brindle boxer, are confined in the pound's "stray"
pen, reserved for dogs who appear to have homes. If they
are not claimed, however, they will be killed like the others.
Dogs at the pound are subjected to overcrowding, bad drain
age .and lack of sanitation.
ultimately prove the best so
lution. But until this occurs,
it remains within Medford's
city limits.
, Medford has no specific
regulations relating to pounds,
according ' to City Manager
Robert A. Duff. But, Duff
said yesterday, the city coun
cil could probably "develop"
requirements. There are, at
any rate, general provisions
on the city's books for sani
tation standards.
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JANUARY
18fh-25fh
fit
USE
A World of
Happy, Healthy
Youngsters!
the Milk Producers League
Urges You to Attend
ii mi
TODAY at the Y.M.C.A.
Your family and friends won't want to miss this
huge presentation of YMCA activities. Something
for each member of the family.
2 P.M.
to
5 P.M.
r ' i 'om:HOUjT :
j SCHEDULE OF. EVENTS - .j, P
I 2:45 Girls' and Boys' Flounder Class 1 1
4:15 Swim Team Demonstration 11 I
GYMNASIUM II I
2:00 Girls' Baton, Acrobatic, Trampoline II I
2:45 Beys' Basketball Game II I
3:45 Women's Volleyball Game 1 1 I
4:30 Handball Game Demonstration, Weight If I
Lifting, Boys' Gym Demonstration fl I
LOBBY PROGRAM 1 1 I
2:00 Lobby Games In Progress Free Activity I
TELEVISION LOUNGE II I
I 2:00 Accordion Soles Singing Groups Special Ml I
I Music Numben . I
j SOCIAL HALL I
,1 2:00 Induction Ceremony I
3:00 Indian Guide Meeting f I
3:30 Tri Hi-Y, Hi-Y Discussion l
4:00 Square Dance Demonstration 1
REFRESHMENTS XT l
w 2:00 Service in the Social Hall r I
league
and don't forget
HEALTH AND HAPPINESS
can be guaranteed by a steady
consumption of nourishing milk!
DRINK AT LEAST 3 GLASSES A DAY!
MILK producers1
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