A hopeful Ward County Commission is seeking proposals for temporarily housing animals that come into Sheriff’s Department custody.

Commissioners voted Tuesday, Feb. 3, to advertise for proposals, although they acknowledged it may be difficult to find a shelter willing or able to step forward. The Sheriff’s Department basically is looking for a place for cats and dogs.

Sheriff Robert Roed told the commission that Souris Valley Animal Shelter no longer wishes to work with the county due to conflicts between county and shelter policies on companion animals. However, SVAS has not been providing services to the county because of lack of kennels to take animals when the county needs space, he said. The county’s contract with SVAS had expired in October 2024, and the Sheriff’s Department has been operating informally with SVAS.

“Right now, we don’t have a contract. We don’t have a big use for one,” Roed said.

SVAS said Tuesday the decision not to renew with Ward County reflected animal welfare standards and the need for accountability and communication, not a lack of willingness to assist Ward County or care for animals. SVAS decided not to enter a contract due to discussions that failed to progress regarding humane animal handling practices following a highly publicized incident involving the Sheriff’s Department and the treatment of an injured animal.

The agreement between Ward County and SVAS was for legal holds such as bite quarantines, safekeeping or evidence and not for comprehensive sheltering for stray animals or owner surrenders. However, SVAS stated it took in strays and accepted owner surrenders connected to county needs when space and staffing allowed.

“We worked with the county as much as possible and made every reasonable effort to accommodate requests. Ward County did not maintain reserved kennels at SVAS. All intakes, including those beyond the agreement, were handled on a space-available basis,” SVAS stated.

It reported Ward County’s usage of the agreement was minimal.

“To our knowledge there was only one instance in which SVAS was unable to assist due to space constraints, involving two stray animals,” the organization stated.

The main circumstance under which the Sheriff’s Department takes custody is the arrest of a pet owner that leaves a pet immediately unattended, Roed said.

The department has a $3,000 budget for animal control, largely in event it must take custody of livestock, which are expensive to house.

State’s Attorney Roza Larson suggested the county have an entity willing to operate on call to provide temporary shelter when needed. Putting out a call for proposals would be a start.

“Do you have any hope that you’re going to get a response from this?” Commissioner Ron Merritt asked.

“No,” Roed replied. “This isn’t the first time we’ve tried to put something out. Souris Valley is really the only game in town that could do this.”

He mentioned a Van Hook shelter is interested, but due to distance, it would be difficult to make that work.

Commissioner Miranda Schuler moved to call for proposals for animal shelter services anyway “in hopes that we get at least some kind of a response and then we can address this more.” She noted the similar difficulty the City of Minot has had in seeking a proposal for pound services.

“We may not get any but I think the first step is to at least open it up and see what we get,” Schuler said.

The commission also addressed a $9,975 bill from Animal Empowerment League for holding three animals in a neglect case that ended in November with dismissal.

Larson and Roed explained the animals were taken by a neighbor, who contacted the Minot Police Department and was directed to surrender them to Animal Empowerment League last February. Later, it was realized the rural pet owner was in Ward County jurisdiction. Following an investigation, the State’s Attorney’s Office received the information and brought the case in August.

Although Ward County has a five-day limit for holding animals, after which time the shelter takes possession to adopt them out, Larson explained her office did not realize the animals still were being held until the court called for restitution claims. Animal Empowerment League submitted more than $30,000 in expenses for about 11 months of care.

Through negotiations with the shelter, the bill was reduced to $9,975. With the commission’s 4-1 approval vote Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Department will pay half the bill and the State’s Attorney’s Office will pay the other half using asset forfeiture funds.

Schuler voted against the payment.

“If the county didn’t bring them in, I can’t support paying the bill,” she said. “I believe this bill is solely on the owner of the animals and maybe will be a wake-up call for people who are mistreating their animals and who get one of these kinds of bills.”

Commissioner Jason Olson said he doesn’t like having the county pay but added mistakes were made, suggesting it’s best to follow the State’s Attorney’s advice. The commission agreed with Larson that Animal Empowerment League acted in good faith and deserves some compensation.

Larson said the owner, who later allowed the animals to be adopted, would have been responsible if convicted. Charges had been dismissed due to inadequate evidence.