Baker City officials, including the city council, have a new challenge.

Dr. Matt Kerns, who owns the Animal Clinic of Baker, told the city that starting Feb. 15 his business will no longer impound dogs picked up by police.

Although the Baker County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police occasionally corral dogs, the vast majority are collected within the Baker City limits.

Without a place to impound dogs, Baker City Police will no longer pick up stray dogs unless the dog has bitten or attacked someone, Police Chief Ty Duby told Baker County commissioners during their meeting Wednesday, Feb. 5.

Duby told commissioners that he hopes the city can negotiate an agreement with either the Animal Clinic or another business to house dogs that have shown they pose a risk to the public.

City Manager Barry Murphy said he’s confident the city can arrange to have a place to impound dangerous dogs.

Kerns’ decision to end the clinic’s deal with the city is understandable.

The Animal Clinic has housed impounded dogs for decades. Kerns said his employees often endure verbal abuse from dog owners angry about their pets being impounded, but who don’t understand that the Animal Clinic only houses the animals. A city ordinance requires that people claiming impounded dogs pay the housing cost — Kerns said the city pays the clinic $12.50 per night per dog — as well as the fee to license and vaccinate the animal against rabies if that hasn’t been done.

The more pressing problem, though, is sparing dogs from euthanasia, Kerns said.

Over the past 20 years or so, he said, the Animal Clinic has rarely had to put down an impounded dog because Best Friends of Baker, the volunteer-run nonprofit, has rescued almost every dog that wasn’t claimed by an owner.

But Sumir Brown of Best Friends said the number of foster homes for impounded dogs has declined over the past few years. Since late December, Best Friends volunteers have rescued 21 dogs, including impounded animals and pets given up by their owners.

Kerns said he doesn’t want to subject his staff to the emotional toil of having to euthanize dogs frequently. His goal, after all, is to heal animals.

No one is to blame in this situation.

Best Friends is run by volunteers whose dedication over the years has saved dozens of dogs and cats from being put down.

The Animal Clinic is a business that has no obligation to destroy abandoned dogs.

The looming problem, though, is significant.

Although the most vital issue is to ensure that potentially dangerous dogs aren’t left to roam the city and elsewhere in the county, the prospect of other dogs running free is troubling.

The obvious solution is to open an animal shelter in Baker City.

But that wouldn’t be cheap. And neither the city nor the county has a spot in its budget for such an operation, which would have upfront and continuing costs.

Murphy said the topic will be on the city council’s agenda for its next meeting, Feb. 11.

City and county officials need to work together to try to find both a short-term and, potentially, a long-term solution. Residents with ideas should contact city councilors or county commissioners.

Jayson Jacoby is the editor of the Baker City Herald. Contact him at 541-518-2088 or jjacoby@bakercityherald.com.