WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) – Marathon County's humane society says an animal control program would be good for the city of Wausau.

That's after the city decided to shelve an idea to create a new pet fancier's permit for the city. Director Mary Kirlin says modifying the pet limit is skirting around the issue. “Someone could be really good with their 4 dogs and one cat, some people can't even take care of one cat.” She says the city has a good idea looking into education rather than enforcement.

Kirlin says they're happy to help with planning, but that supplying officers for the city isn't in the budget. “Right now the humane society is at a point where we've had to cut back a lot to keep doing what we're doing.” She says that current calls out for animal calls and rescues leaves the shelter itself shorthanded at any time.

The city is exploring options to get funding from current pet registrations or other sources in order to fund any proposed animal control program. A subcommittee of the city's public health and safety committee will be coming back in September with numbers and funding ideas. Chair Lisa Rasmussen says officials need to look at the underlying cause for non-compliance on animal registration. “Looking at pet numbers in general is putting the cart before the horse, because we still do not have animal control in place.”

Any decision on the pet fancier permit will wait until that group releases their findings later this year.