As the Cherokee Marshal’s Office reports a worrying uptick in animal abuse cases, they’re choosing a different path for creating a new K-9 unit in hopes of improving conditions for residents and animals.
According to officials, the Marshal’s Office recently took in Reggie, a 1-year-old standard poodle. They plan to have Reggie help with education and community engagement, particularly with showing children how to properly approach, treat and care for animals across the county.
The Marshal’s Office said they want to focus on decreasing animal attacks on children and cases of animal neglect.
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In just 2023, the Marshal said they responded to 176 animal attacks on adults and 15 attacks on children. In October, the office started tracking attacks on children as a separate data point.
While investigating cases during 2023, Cherokee County Animal Control investigated 110 animal cruelty cases and 772 animal neglect cases, according to the Cherokee Marshal’s Office.