Oct 3, 2019 By Mark Soroka for The 3 min read

ROSTRAVER TWP. – The township’s dog catcher is in the proverbial doghouse.

Several residents told the board of commissioners that dogs are on the loose in their neighborhoods and they aren’t getting help to resolve the problem.

“There is a big, black dog that’s constantly roaming free in my neighborhood,” said Jessica Gilbert, who lives in Fellsburg. “We don’t know who the owner is. And it’s becoming a safety issue.”

Gilbert said she has tried numerous times to contact Sable Kennel, a McKeesport-based company that provides animal control services for the township.

“No one answered the phone, and no one returned my calls,” she said. “Finally, my husband got hold of someone who told him that we should call 9-1-1. Well to me, a dog on the loose is not an emergency. I think that’s something they should be handling.”

Pat Lander, who lives in Collinsburg, said one of her neighbors is not tethering their dog.

“That dog came after me like a bolt of lightning,” said Lander, adding she also was unhappy with the response from Sable Kennel. “Thank goodness I made it inside my house in time. That dog is putting people and smaller dogs at risk.”

Township Manager Jeffrey Keffer said that Sable Kennel doesn’t answer regular phone calls after business hours.

“According to the terms of our contract with Sable Kennel, anyone who needs animal control assistance after hours or on weekends has to make an emergency call,” he said. “Our township is charged an extra fee after hours, but that’s the only way they will respond. Once 9-1-1 dispatches them, they have to come out.”

Keffer said the township’s two-year contract with Sable Kennel expires at the end of this year.

“I’ll be meeting with our chief to explore other avenues,” said Keffer. “Unfortunately, there aren’t many other ones out there to fall back on.”

Chairman Devin DeRienzo said he’s heard other complaints about the service.

“Unfortunately, in southwestern Pennsylvania, there are only two dog catchers: Sable Kennel and Hoffman Animal Control,” he said.

DeRienzo said the township’s solicitor, manager and zoning officer would meet to see if they could find a solution.

“There is a leash law and there is also a nuisance law that can be enacted,” he said. “But at the same time, we need to know about this right away. Once we hear from our residents, we will be on top of this.”

Also, during the meeting, the board passed a resolution establishing garbage fees for residential customers for the year 2020. Regular residential customers will pay $130 and senior citizen residential customers will pay $110 for garbage service. Late fees will also be assessed if bills aren’t paid by March 31, 2020. Rostraver Township has a contract with Big’s Sanitation, Inc. to provide residential waste hauling services for the year 2020 at a cost of $611,912.

In other business, the board:

n Approved Saturday, Oct. 26 as Rostraver Township Trick or Treat Day. Hours are set from 3 to 6 p.m.

n Approved co-sponsoring the Annual Rostraver Township Christmas Celebration with the Rostraver Lions Club. The celebration will be held on Sunday, Nov. 24, starting at 6 p.m. at the Rostraver Township Municipal Complex.

n Announced the state Department of Transportation close the Route 51 southbound ramp to Route 201 for repairs, from 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10, to 6 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 11.