Debate over canines

SUPERIOR – A misunderstanding over a decision made by Mineral County Commissioners regarding the presence of dogs in the emergency services dispatch center in Superior set off a debate at the commissioner’s meeting Friday, Aug. 29.

On one side were the commissioners who questioned who is allowed to bring their dog to work and whether it was appropriate and professional to have more than one in the office at any one time. The commissioners’ understanding was only one employee was allowed to bring their dog to work.

On the other side were supporters of other employees who want to bring their dog to work in an area that is off limits to the public and who were under the impression it was allowed. The supporters, including Mineral County Sheriff Ernie Ornelas and Sheriff-elect Tom Bauer, said the dogs’ presence can help sooth the nerves of employees who they say have one of the most stressful jobs with the county.

The debate sprang from something Commissioner Laurie Johnston says she saw when she went to the dispatch window a few weeks ago.

“There were three dogs in there chasing each other around the dispatch center,” Johnston said. “The only dog we were aware of that was allowed to be back there was just the one. Had we known there were going to be other dogs back there, the issue would have been discussed further. It was a concern for me.”

Ornelas said the therapeutic nature of having a dog around someone in a stressful situation, such as an emergency dispatcher, was well documented and studied. He said there had never been any problems regardless of how many dogs were in the room.

“Animals, particularly for people in stressful environments, have been shown to reduce some of that stress,” Ornelas said. “The people who work in the dispatch center are working under stressful conditions. We don’t have the ability to staff it with more than one person so that puts a lot of responsibility on them.”

Ornelas said the studies he examined also show having animals around the workplace can also aid in employee retention. He said, in the past, the sheriff’s office has suffered from high employee turnover but lately it hasn’t been as much of a problem.

“I think the sheriff’s office is basically the only one that has to cover 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Ornelas said. “We have people who work holidays, weekends and the graveyard (shift). I cannot provide them any more money. What I can do is make the environment better.”

Johnston and the other commissioners said one of their main concerns was the possibility of insurance liability. One example provided of a potential problem was if an inmate was allergic to animals and the possibility of the dogs causing damage to dispatch equipment.

It was eventually decided to have Mineral County Attorney Marcia Boris look into the matter and check with the county’s insurance company for potential issues with dogs in the workplace.

Bauer, who will be taking over for Ornelas when he retires at the end of the year, said he wanted to further examine the issue after hearing from Boris and put in place rules about dogs in the dispatch center.

“I think they should be allowed but there needs to be some guidelines in place,” Bauer said. “There needs to be some rules and regulations that people must follow. The first thing we need to do is check with the insurance company because if there are some potential problems, then they can’t be allowed.”