Following an outcry from local veterinarians over a proposed Flathead County law change to scrap a rabies vaccination requirement for dogs, the commissioners now plan to turn the rabies control program over to the county Health Board.

The Health Board will adopt a rabies control program for the county that will be enforceable. It will be modeled after rabies control regulations used by Yellowstone and Missoula counties, according to Flathead County Health Administrator Joe Russell.

“This makes all the sense in the world,” Russell said. “It’s a public health issue. Let’s put it where it needs to be.”

The commissioners last week heard the first reading of a revised county animal-control ordinance and are scheduled to take a vote at a second reading at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. Public comments will be taken at 8:45 a.m.

The second reading will proceed, but given the latest changes, a third and final reading will be held at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 19, Deputy County Attorney David Randall said.

The Health Board also meets Feb. 19, and Russell expects to have a draft of the rabies control regulations ready for the board to discuss.

Revisions in the county ordinance will reflect the shift in regulation and enforcement oversight to the Health Board.

“I think we have a lot of things being put in place that will benefit public health,” Russell said. “I feel this is a really good opportunity. Public health boards have authorization to control communicable diseases. It’s right in the [state] statute.”

Russell said he spoke with Commissioners Gary Krueger and Pam Holmquist on separate occasions this week and garnered their support for the rabies control program. He added that Commissioner Phil Mitchell had called him to say he’d gotten several calls from veterinarians and was rethinking the revised ordinance.

The control program now being considered will allow the county to require rabies vaccinations for cats as well as dogs.

“We have more rabid cats than dogs in Montana,” Russell added.

The impetus for revamping the county’s animal-control ordinance was to have it align with state animal control laws that don’t require rabies vaccinations for dogs.

Dr. P. David Myerowitz, a county Health Board member, pointed out in a letter to the commissioners that he believes Montana statutes “are themselves nonsensical and confusing” regarding rabies vaccinations. He pointed out that state law forbids dogs or cats to enter Montana unless they have been vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian.

“So if you bring a dog into Montana it must be vaccinated, but if you own a dog in the state it does not,” Myerowitz said. “This might make some sense if there were no rabies in the state, but that is not the case.”

And while the rabies vaccination requirement is omitted from state law per se, the Montana State Veterinarian and Department of Livestock both recommend the rabies vaccination for dogs, cats and ferrets.

The Department of Livestock acknowledges there is no statewide vaccination requirement in Montana, but notes in its state recommendation that “rabies vaccination requirements are regulated by individual cities and counties.”

Myerowitz said the county has “an absolute right” to require animals be vaccinated for rabies and urged the commissioners to maintain the requirement.

The commissioners initially said that making the rabies vaccinations a policy administered through the county animal shelter would be more effective than keeping it in county law. Russell maintained, however, that the animal shelter cannot adopt such policies.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.