05/31/2026
I was approached by a member of the community a short time ago and asked why things have gotten so bad with dogs running loose. So, I did a little data dive.
Animals at Large brought into the shelter (Trending downward):
2017(289), 2018(282), 2019(281), 2020(200), 2021(288), 2022(272), 2023(207), 2024(155), 2025(142), 2026(56)
Animal Bites:
2017(29), 2018(40), 2019(42), 2020(28), 2021(39), 2022(28), 2023(24) 2024(33), 2025(26), 2026(15)
Part of my conversation with this community member took a little turn because one of the issues that I see with animals at large has to do with what the community member described best, deferred property maintenance. Failure to maintain fences, gates and windows is a major reason for animals at large. Our conversation about dilapidated properties in Havre probably could have lasted all afternoon. If you do not understand lack of maintenance, take a drive around town and drive through some of the alleys. I was looking at roofs one day and I was surprised by the number of roofs with tarps preventing leaks (hopefully this was winter wind damage waiting for summer repairs). Ok, data drive #2 which is part of the larger issue.
Havre Median Household Income: $50,329
Montana Median Household Income: $72,509
United States Median Household Income; $83,730
Havre’s economy is not booming with our median income being 30% less than the state average. Our economic status is part of the circle leading to deferred maintenance and to animals at large. This is not something that can't be fixed at the animal control level, but it does have an impact on entire community.
The conversation also turned into one of my double-edged swords, social media/internet. I think every town has at least one lost and found animal page, and I follow a lot of them. I can say from following other communities Havre’s animal at large issue is not unique. These pages have helped reunite numerous animals that have gotten loose, but they have also turned into something ugly where the intent isn’t to try and reunite the animal but to make a personal attack on someone for a multiple of reasons. People also think that each of these posts on social media are automatically investigated by law enforcement. If the incident is not called into the police, it is not investigated. So, if you question why something wasn’t done about a post seen on social media it was probably because it was never reported to law enforcement.
Some other things to remember about social media. There isn’t a time stamp of when something happened. I read a comment about someone being attacked by a dog that sounded like it was earlier today only to find out the incident happened when they were in their 20’s and they are now in their 70’s. People sharing experiences without time reference can make things feel like they are currently much worse/better than they really are.
Please Google “dopamine in animal rescuers”. Dopamine is like a drug, and it can be released just by reading something on social media. Dopamine addiction can also be linked to cases of animal hording. This is something I will leave for you to go down the rabbit hole with because this subject gets much larger than this post. Dopamine addiction is a real thing and can be more dangerous than a cat’s Churu addiction.
Social media points/stars/rewards. This is something I had no idea existed until recently. At one point you were able to monetize likes/comments. Actual cash payouts have been reduced but points can still be converted to benefits such as rewards in connected games. I was wondering why some people always made controversial posts and then I started watching points/rewards/badges and how they fluctuated and it made me wonder if this was really how the person was or was it for game points.
One of the last things talked about was rights and responsibilities. I see this with people saying I have the right to take my dog for a walk whenever and wherever I want. Yes, for the most part this is true you have the right to, but you also have some responsibilities especially when your own dogs are the reactive ones and/or not other animal friendly. Adjusting your route to avoid a conflict with a fenced animals is responsible not only for you and your animal but for the fenced animal. I hate hearing the phrase “my animals are not the problem”. We all need to be thoughtful of all the animals in our community not just our own. The same thing can be said about people, we need to do a better job of looking out for one another.
This post is just to share some data and to share part of a conversation we may all need to be having. As a reminder if you have an animal control complaint, please contact your local law enforcement (Havre Police Department 406-265-4361). And as always please don’t be shy about using 911, 911 activates GPS which can be very useful in plotting where an incident happened or where an animal is found in a rural setting.
