The city of Dunkirk and village of Fredonia are both seeking a new dog control officer.

Fredonia terminated Jasmine Griffin from its dog position during a Nov. 12 Board of Trustees meeting. “It wasn’t anything egregious — her availability wasn’t what we hoped it would be,” Mayor Michael Ferguson told the OBSERVER.

Ferguson added that the village is looking at sharing animal control services with another community. He stated that in an era where local municipalities are facing severe budget challenges, communities will have to consider consolidating more services, such as animal control.

Consolidation “doesn’t necessarily mean people losing jobs. We’re borrowing equipment, they’re borrowing equipment,” he said.

Dunkirk has not had a dog warden since December 2023. The city put out a request for proposals in April to fill the position, but nothing has come of it so far.

Dunkirk police are currently handling dog control calls, city Councilperson Nancy Nichols said.

Nichols wondered if people aren’t interested in the job because it would require them to be “on call” to take a complaint on short notice.

She doesn’t think the city’s financial problems are keeping it from filling the position. “It would be well worth it” to fill it, she said.