Appeal to county officials

Members of the Animal Rescue Fund of St. Joseph County have appealed to county officials for greater enforcement of animal-abuse and cruelty cases.

During Tuesday’s St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting, three members of the agency brought to the attention of commissioners a pair of situations in the county where abuse and cruelty had been documented.

Cheryl Strohm , LeeAnn Farmer and Allison Glismann said the cases are in White Pigeon and Lockport townships.

But Tom Miller, the county’s animal control officer,  responded to the claims, saying the concerns have been addressed and information about the cases were exaggerated. He said the department has investigated the situation and a couple of the dogs were voluntarily relinquished by the owners.

Following protocol, commissioners did not respond to comments, which were yielded during the citizen-comment portion of the meeting.