TRINITY — While no action was taken on updating the city’s animal control ordinance, the Trinity City Council decided to create a committee to make headway on improving animal control within the city limits.
Mayor Billy Goodin pointed out that the current ordinance has been in place since 1998 and has had very few changes; Council Member Clegg Dewalt said that one shortfall is the current ordinance has “no teeth in it,” meaning the city has little recourse against owners with loose animals.
“We need a committee to work on this more than once a month,” Goodin said. “We need to put rules down and to educate people. It’s not fair for the city’s residents to take care of people who don’t manage their pets.”
Council Member Bubba Smith said another definite need for animal control is for the city to come up with the funds to hire a dedicated officer as it wasn’t fair to ask the Police Department to enforce those laws.
The council again tabled the matter and will take it up again in January 2026.
Relatedly, the council heard a report from Trinity County Pet Fixers, which works within the city to offer vouchers to pet owners for spay/neuter services. Organization representative Debbie Wilson said that within the city this past year, they have given out 45 vouchers worth $2,905, and the total throughout the county was 175 vouchers worth $11,150.
Wilson said there still is a huge need for animal control.
The city puts $1,500 annually toward this effort.
Also, an organization called Camelot’s Animal Allies has been working in Trinity for a year and has dealt with about 200 animals.
The organization does a trap-spay/neuter-release program; instead of taking animals to shelters, which are overflowing, they are trapped, spayed or neutered, fostered at homes and then released back to a familiar area.
The organizers state that they spend about $11,700 a year in veterinarian costs, all through donations, and have seen quite a lot of Trinity residents volunteer to help the agency.
In other business, council members:
