DOERUN — Last week, a resident of the City of Doerun ended up in the emergency room after being knocked down by two stray dogs. According to Doerun City Manager Alyssa Blakley, feral animal overpopulation has become an issue in the small town.

“This morning we had a resident out for their morning walk with their pet. The resident was injured by two dogs who were overly excited about thinking their next meal was coming. This came as a surprise to the resident as they were knocked down and had several injuries that led to an emergency room visit,” said Blakley.

She said the City of Doerun’s feral animal population has increased drastically in the last few years.

“One of the challenges that we face as a community in Doerun are the feral population of dogs and cats who are unaltered and continue to reproduce,” she said.

Blakley said she has been in touch with the Moultrie-Colquitt County Humane Society about solutions for the problem in Doerun.

Colquitt County and its municipalities contract the Humane Society to provide animal control service.

“But the issue remains with space not always being available at the shelter to take in a large amount of animals,” she said.

At a Colquitt County Commission meeting in May, Moultrie-Colquitt County Humane Society Executive Director Josh Lawson said, “The Humane Society is not proportional to the size of the county, I don’t think. I think we need to be a little bit bigger and we also need to work on getting live release results. Euthanasia is gonna be a thing but I think we can significantly reduce it.”

Lawson also said, at the meeting, that they were trying really hard to get all of the strays but the number of available kennels makes that difficult. They didn’t want to have to euthanize animals every week to make room for more, he said.

Currently, the Humane Society is having a capital campaign to raise money for a new facility. For more information, contact the non-profit organization at (229) 985-5463 or email to societymoultriehumane@gmail.com.

“We have a lot of very caring residents in Doerun with big hearts for our animals, especially the strays,” said Blakley. “Residents are really good about advertising for pets that are found without identification to get to good homes.”

She said feral animals could be a threat to the community — although most are well-accustomed to the humans around them. In the past, she said, Doerun residents have experienced property damage and animal bites to humans and to domesticated animals.

“As a city we ask our community to be mindful about feeding and watering strays,” Blakley said.

She said, if anyone felt compelled to help, please consider adoption at the local animal shelter. Adoption gives other animals the chance to be taken care of in a facility and to find a new home.

“I myself have adopted a stray kitten from Doerun and so has my assistant clerk. We have a huge heart for animals, but we want to keep everyone in our community safe, including those with four legs,” she said.

Although the City of Doerun does have a leash law in place, there were several well-known resident pets that liked to wander around town, she said. The city is cracking down on the violators, she warned.