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Berne's controversial dog control officer resigns

Apr 28, 2021 5:30 am

Noah Zweifel is reporting for The Altamont Enterprise the town of Berne’s controversial dog-control officer, Jodi Jansen, submitted his resignation April 19. Supervisor Sean Lyons said Jansen tendered his resignation verbally, citing personal obligations that take him out of town too often to do his job effectively. “Jodi’s business has him traveling outside the area and unable to fulfill the duties. He asked me to extend thanks and gratitude to the town board and the residents for allowing him to serve,” Lyons wrote in an email. When contacted by the Enterprise and asked why he resigned, Jansen said only, “I think that’s nobody’s business but mine, so don’t call me back.” Jansen was first appointed to the position in early 2020, and reappointed again this year. Because of his abrupt departure, the former dog-control officer, Cheryl Baitsholts, has been helping the Albany County Sheriff’s Office after they contacted her about a dog was dropped off at the town's ambulance bay, which required local animal control. They had been unable to reach Jansen. “So they called,” Baitsholts said, “and said they had gone through everybody and wouldn’t I please take this dog, and I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ She then called Berne councilwoman Bonnie Conklin. “I told her that sheriffs were looking for the dog control officer but couldn’t get him to respond, so maybe she could go and pick up the dog, She said she’d take care of it and that was it. The sheriffs told me that Jansen resigned so I assume there was an issue.” When asked if Jansen’s resignation related to the ambulance-bay dog incident, Lyons told The Enterprise, “If it did, he did not mention that to me. I suspect that has something to do with it but that is only my speculation.” The next day, on April 20, deputies responded to a call about a dog laying on the side of Peasley Road, in Berne, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office. The dog, which was alive, was brought to a clinic, where it was discovered that the animal had suffered gunshot wounds to the head. The dog has since been euthanized. Undersheriff Bill Rice said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing. Baitsholts said she is expecting the owner to be charged with neglect once an arrest is made. Read the full story in The Altamont Enterprise.

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