Cliff Bennett, director of the Flathead County Animal Shelter, has a message for every dog owner in the county — every dog needs a license.

“I hear over and over again ‘I thought you only needed those if you lived in town,’” he said. “ Most of this county is rural and people think ‘I live out in the woods and so I don’t need a dog license.’ But they do.”

Bennett said some people just don’t want to part with $15, but a lot of others honestly don’t realize the county has an ordinance requiring every dog to wear a license. He said complying with the ordinance provides a double benefit.

“We always tell people that a license is your dog’s ticket home,” he said. “So many dogs in here, we don’t know where the dog’s owner is. We could have them out in 10 minutes if they were wearing their license.”

He estimates the Flathead County dog population runs between 15,000 and 20,000 dogs. Yet the county sells just about 1,000 licenses.

“We should be selling 5,000 to 10,000,” Bennett said. “If we get up to that kind of a number then the county will say now you can afford another position. We’ve got just so much money given to us out of the general fund. The rest we need to raise.”

A visit to the shelter, particularly around noon on Tuesday, demonstrates why he needs to increase revenues for more help. Because the shelter closes on Sunday and Monday, Bennett finds people lined up at the door when it reopens on Tuesday.

Because the veterinarian comes on Tuesday, people also show up to pick up their newly adopted pet after spaying or neutering. Others respond to the dog licensing campaign to buy their license even though they can be purchased online.

“Tuesdays are crazy down here,” he said. “The phone rings every five minutes. Our office staff consists of one office administrative assistant and me when I’m not doing something else.”

To cope, Bennett recently sent out a request to the animal shelter pool of about 140 volunteers, asking for people to help out in the office. He said these people know how the shelter works and don’t need as much training as a new recruit.

He got a good response with two people pitching in with the office work. Most volunteers prefer to work directly with the animals, such as walking dogs or grooming cats rather than with the public or paperwork end.

“That’s a big help too,” Bennett said. “We have a lot of active volunteers who just don’t realize how much we need some office help.”

He would be excited to find someone who would commit to come every Tuesday or on the first and third Tuesday each month. The shelter also becomes extra busy on Friday afternoons and Saturdays.

Some of the needed help includes entering information in the shelter’s PetPoint software.

“We’ve got a volunteer desk where someone can sit own and enter all the new animals that are coming and enter the animals that get adopted out and things like that,” he said. “What we really need is another office staffer but we’re not budgeted for that.”

To raise revenue and help lost dogs get home, Bennett has worked for months on raising awareness of the county’s licensing ordinance. He started mailing out renewals and got advertising going to make sure other dog owners know that they need to buy the $15 license that helps the shelter run more efficiently.

He said people looking for other ways to help the shelter should consider joining Flathead Shelter Friends, a local nonprofit dedicated to increasing adoptions and improving the quality of life of shelter animals. People interested may call 752-1431 or visit the website at www.flatheadshelterfriends.com.

“They do a lot of good things for us,” Bennett said. “ We’re trying to get enough money to expand the building by 24 feet on the east side because we need more cat space.”

 Bennett has located a grant program that would partially pay for the addition if an application is approved. Additional money would have to come from the county or from a campaign through Flathead Shelter Friends targeted for cat facility improvements.

“We want a little bit more adoption visualizing. We also need a bigger sick room and a bigger room for when the cats first come to hold them for a few days,” he said. “We need to vaccinate and observe them and make sure everything is OK.”

For more information about the dog licenses or volunteering, visit www flathead.mt.gov/animal/ or call 752-1310.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.