Starting Monday, Humane Society of the Black Hills will no longer be able to deal with stray and unwanted animals outside city limits in Pennington County. The contract between the animal-rescue group and the county expires Dec. 31.

Then, county residents must call the Pennington County Sheriff's Office for help with animal control problems, though sheriff's deputies have not yet been trained specifically to deal with animal calls, Sheriff Don Holloway said.

Pennington County Commissioners decided in September after several months of discussion to let the contract expire as part of larger budget cuts, but until recently, "We didn't know what to expect," Phil Olson, Humane Society executive director, said. "I didn't have any real reason to believe there would be a change between then and now."

Olson issued a news release Friday about the changes.

Sheriff Don Holloway said the changes will affect only those outside a municipality.

Holloway said he still hopes to come to an agreement with the Humane Society, but that will not happen before the contract officially expires Dec. 31.

"With the holidays and everything, the end of the year kind of snuck up on us," he said.

In the interim, the sheriff's office has an agreement with some area veterinary clinics for housing animals.

If the county cannot come to a new contract with the Humane Society soon, Holloway said, "we'll have to consider Plan B."

He said that might mean additional training for deputies on handling animals.

"At this point, I'm pretty confident we're going to get something worked out with the Humane Society," Holloway said.

In the meantime, Olson said, all requests for animal control should be directed to the sheriff's office at 394-2151.

Without a contract, Olson said, as of Dec. 31, the Humane Society will no longer take in stray animals from Pennington County.

The Humane Society's after-hours receiving facility will be closed as of Dec. 31. Animals will be accepted only during business hours, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

He said Pennington County residents who want to surrender their own animals are welcome to bring them to the Humane Society, at 1820 E. St. Patrick St., but a $20 fee will be charged for each animal.

Olson said that is to help make up for the money the Humane Society will no longer be getting from the county.

The change will affect cases like the recent removal of two-dozen malnourished malamutes from a property near Rapid City Regional Airport, Olson said Friday.

"Had this occurred in 2008, I don't know where the dogs would've gone," he said.

Earlier this year, the county denied the more than $113,000 budget request from the Humane Society, but in September decided to contribute $50,000 for animal sheltering. In October, Olson estimated it would cost $92,495 to shelter stray animals from unincorporated areas of the county.

"Part of the contract has been renewed, and part hasn't," Pennington County Commissioner Gale Holbrook said Friday.

Olson said the Humane Society has some other funding through donations and still contracts with Rapid City for animal control and sheltering, but the absence of funding from the county will make things tough.

Olson said he understands that the county is working with limited funding.

"I have no concept of what they're up against funding-wise from their end," he said. "But I do know that as tight as things are at the Humane Society, if we have to cut corners even more, we won't be in a position to provide services for less than what it costs us to provide that service."

Still, Olson said, the Humane Society is in no immediate danger of shutting down.

"We'll just have to work smarter and do more with less, I guess," he said.

He said he and his staff will try to redirect county residents for services that the Humane Society no longer provides while people get used to the change.

"It's kind of old hat for the people of the community to come to us when there's a problem with an animal," Olson said.

Whom to call

All animal-control requests from residents of unincorporated Pennington County should be directed to the sheriff's office at 394-2151.

Contact Katie Brown at 394-8318 or katie.brown@rapidcityjournal.com