Photos by STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS The Roanoke Times

Officer D. Ayers, with Roanoke County Animal Control, picks up a beagle with Franklin County tags that was reported by a resident on Keefer Road off Buck Mountain Road in Roanoke County on Monday morning. Dogs with identification are held for 10 days before an adoption process is begun.

Officer Ayers was not able to find a dog that had been reported at large Monday by April Baker, a guest at the Skyline Motel on Franklin Road.

Eight dogs were picked up and brought to the Regional Center for Animal Control and Protection after Sunday night's fireworks.

That's a new record low, said Stan Wrotniewski, the center's director of operations.

In the four years that Wrotniewski has worked at the center, the number of dogs found wandering after Fourth of July fireworks has steadily declined. In 2007, there were 24 lost dogs brought to the shelter that serves Roanoke, Roanoke County, Botetourt County and Vinton. In 2008 there were 11. Last year, nine were brought to the shelter.

Wrotniewski said he attributes the change to better awareness efforts through television news to let owners know how to handle dogs who are easily spooked by the loud fireworks.

"The fireworks scares many dogs. I mean it terrifies them to the point they run off," Wrotniewski said.

Traditionally, that makes today, the day after the Independence Day holiday, one of the busiest days at the shelter.

Despite the reduction in the number of dogs caught following the fireworks, area animal control officers still were busy this weekend and the shelter still was running near capacity. And July typically is the busiest month for the shelter, Wrotniewski said. Last July, 425 animals were brought to the Regional Center.

"It's peak season for kitten birth as well as kids are out of school, so doors are wide open," Wrotniewski said.

The Regional Center receives between 7,500 and 8,000 animals annually.

Officer D. Ayers, with Roanoke County animal control, was busy Monday morning answering calls about several stray dogs, five loose cows and even a strangely behaving raccoon.

On average, Ayers said, he drives 180 to 200 miles a day tracking down animals. He captures a lot of cats and dogs.

Last year, Roanoke County animal control responded to 2,789 calls, said Officer Eric Hubble, who has been chasing animals and capturing them for a decade.

Ayers has been on the job three months and has quickly learned that a call does not always mean the animal will be caught.

Two dogs managed to escape capture Monday morning. In each instance, Ayers pulled up to the spot where the dog was reported and quickly got out of his truck, whistling to call the dog. He carries treats with him, but those don't always lure the dogs in. Often the dog will slip around a corner and out of sight.

"It's frustrating," Ayers said.

A third report of a stray dog Monday resulted in a capture.

This one, however, had already been put on a leash by the person who reported it.

Ayers gently lifted the 40-pound beagle into the cage in the back of his truck. He drove the dog from near Buck Mountain Road in Roanoke County to the shelter, located on Baldwin Avenue off of Orange Avenue in Roanoke.

The beagle's only tag showed the dog had a current rabies vaccine from Franklin County.

"He looks well-fed and taken care of," Ayers said.

Most dogs are claimed by owners at the center. If an animal has identification such as a tag or microchip, the shelter holds it for 10 days after it is impounded. After that, a process is begun to see if the animal can be adopted.

Animals without identification are held five days before the adoption review takes place.

Animals deemed unadoptable are euthanized.