Following the removal of the month-to-month continuation of the existing animal control officer contract from the agenda, Webster County will no longer have an animal control officer or services. The current contract agreement with Webster County Animal Protection will expire on April 19. After that time, animal control duties will fall back on the Webster County Sheriff’s Office.

The fate of a dog in Coalville prompted the complaints about Webster County Animal Protection.

“I called the LEC on Feb. 18 and talked to the communications center, along with multiple other people,” said Coalville resident Chaney Grady, who said the dog, Atlas, was her “neighbor.” “On Feb. 19, an animal control officer came out and saw Atlas and said that he was really thin. At one point, she said that she would contact the head of animal control. She left, and pretty much never came back. There was no contact with the owners. Nobody stayed, no one ensured that Atlas was safe, nothing ever happened. Follow-up visits were claimed on the 20th and the 27th, but no one came back. He was there for seven days and he laid there, and he froze to death.”

Grady addressed the supervisors during the citizens’ opportunity to address the board on Tuesday.

“Atlas was found frozen and starved in his dog house,” said Grady, who told supervisors she’d sent 55 text messages to animal control. “The dog house was facing north. There was no floor in the dog house. There was no bedding, no door flap, nothing to keep the wind or snow from the blizzard that we had just had out. My kids having to watch that dog die, and the kids that live in that home having to watch that dog die, that isn’t OK.”

Toni Deal, also a Coalville resident, told supervisors that three calls “were made to animal control on a personal animal control phone” on Feb. 19. On Feb. 21, 21 text messages about Atlas were sent; on Feb. 27, eight text messages sent; on Feb. 28, 20 text messages sent; on March 1, they called in to the LEC to let officers know that the dog had died.

“On March 2 at 11:34 a.m., the head of animal control finally contacted Ms. Grady, 13 days later, but by then it was already too late,” said Deal. “Why wasn’t Atlas given a chance? Board of Supervisors, have you looked at the call logs and text messages I’ve provided you? They show repeated warnings and no coordination, no action, and Atlas paid the price.”

Webster County Animal Protection owner Kaila Benson, who was not in attendance at Tuesday’s supervisors meeting, said those text messages and calls were not made to the Law Enforcement Center (LEC) nor to her personally. The calls instead, were made to an individual who was not an employee of Webster County Animal Protection at the time the calls were made. Benson said she was aware that a dog that was thin had been reported and that staff were tasked to collect medical records.

Grady, Deal, and Justin Goodno, told supervisors they wanted to see changes made, as well as more transparency and coordination with animal control.

“(Supervisor) Austin (Hayek), I’m surprised that you’re allowing people to make allegations when the person is not there to defend themselves,” said Fort Dodge City Councilwoman Megan Secor, who joined the meeting virtually and is the landowner where the Webster County Pound and Animal Control are housed. “You’re allowing folks to continue to perpetuate these unfounded accusations. As the landlord, I would not be allowing someone to rent on my property without the proper certifications and licenses. Austin, Nathan (Montgomery), and John (Cochrane), should you be pretending that these are founded accusations when they’re not?”

Grady and Deal, along with Amy Stringer, Jodie Johnson, Faith Eldridge, Lori Summers, Lindsey Summers, and Gena Batcheller also submitted a letter of complaint to the Webster County Supervisors on March 4 about the deceased dog. The letter was given to The Messenger and was made available by the county through a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request.

The letter stated that they had raised “concerns privately and through proper channels for several months to the City of Fort Dodge Police Department, Webster County Supervisors and State of Iowa Department of Agriculture (IDALS), (sp)Unfortunately, those concerns have not resulted in meaningful change.”

The letter of complaint to the supervisors states that on Feb. 18, 2026, they notified Webster County Animal Protection about a dog that a community member believed was being starved and neglected. The letter states that “over 30 text messages and several phone calls were made by multiple neighbors. Three different animal control offers(sp) were spoken to about the concerns.”

The letter also states that they have “questions” regarding the licensure of Stay Wild, Webster County Animal Protection, and the Webster County Pound, as well as transparency in how animals are being handled, transferred, and vetted. It also states they have concerns about zoning and permit applications for buildings at 2502 170th St., which houses the Webster County Pound and Webster County Animal Protection.

Through a FOIA request, The Messenger received a 16-page report from Animal Control in response to the claims. This report was also submitted to and reviewed by the supervisors in March.

In the report, Benson said that an internal investigation into the claims had been done and the information was provided to supervisors in that report.

According to Benson, on Feb. 18, animal control officer Renee Drown received a complaint of a “skin and bones” dog located at 23661 Garfield St. in Coalville. She called the complainant and received no answer. She drove to the location, but did not see a dog. Drown stated that she knocked on the door several times, but no one answered. Later that day, the reporting party called again and stated that the dog was in a kennel outside, hidden behind the garage, along with additional dogs inside the home. Drown returned to the home and obtained a visual of a “very skinny boxer looking dog.” The owners were not at home at the time for questioning. Drown returned later to “try to obtain medical records from the owners to eliminate a possible medical issue; again, nobody was home.”

According to Drown, she drove back to the home multiple times on multiple dates, but there were no vehicles present and no one answered the door.

On March 1, Webster County Dispatch notified Drown of a deceased dog at the address. She knocked on the door and the owner answered. Her conversation with the owner was video recorded. According to the report, the owner stated that the dog “had never been vetted, they knew something was wrong with him, so they were treating him with otc dewormer. He stated the dog ate 3 cups of food a day and that the female of the house had just fed him right before he died. He acknowledged that the dog had been dead for two days. He stated they’d had money issues, but he was working a new job now and they were going to take his body to Town & Country vet to see what killed him.”

A necroscopy was later completed on the deceased dog and it was determined that it had died of starvation. According to Benson, completion of a necroscopy is standard protocol and is always completed when neglect or starvation are being considered.

“Food and water is extremely hard for us to prove because food and water can disappear quickly,” said Benson in her report to supervisors. “In situations like this, we generally will start with the medical records as we try not to assume people are immediately guilty. Boxers can have a thinner build and that body condition can also be caused by various issues such as cancer, obstructions, teeth issues, etc. Renee was under the impression we were not allowed to seize. Had she communicated with me that she was having trouble getting a hold of them, we would have taken a different route.”

In her report to the supervisors, Benson also noted that only three calls had been made during that timeframe — two on Feb. 18 and one after the dog had died, not more than 30 and not 55 text messages.

Benson also noted in the report that IDALS did a site visit and inspection for Webster County Animal Protection and the Webster County Pound in January and they were found to be compliant. The pound is also fully licensed with IDALS and the State of Iowa through June 30, 2026. A copy of the licensure was provided to supervisors.

“While I cannot discuss the specifics of the case mentioned during the meeting’s comment section due to ongoing criminal charges against the dog’s owners, I can assure you that all calls received by dispatch are thoroughly documented to ensure transparency and accountability,” said Benson when asked for comment on the allegations made against her at Tuesday’s supervisors meeting. “Additionally, prior to the passage of today’s ordinance, our legal authority within the county was limited in terms of enforcement. Nevertheless, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the welfare and protection of animals in our area.”

Prior to the citizens’ opportunity to address the board, the supervisors passed the third consideration of an animal control ordinance which gave animal control more teeth in the county when dealing with neglect and abuse situations.

Webster County Animal Protection is not an employee position with the county, but is a contractual role approved annually by the supervisors. Earlier this year, Supervisor Bob Thode requested that the contract which was nearing expiration be extended on a month-to-month basis while supervisors and animal control met with members of the Webster County Sheriff’s Office and the Fort Dodge Police Department to discuss concerns.

On Tuesday, the board was to continue the month-to-month contract, however, Benson let the supervisors know prior to the meeting that given their handling of the recent events, she would not be renewing her contract, leaving Webster County now without an animal control officer.