Morris may be a long way to go to pick up a lost dog. But La Salle County residents may have to deal with that in the future for at least two years.

La Salle County officials are weighing whether to enter into an agreement with Grundy County for housing stray dogs at a new pound to be built in Morris.

Morris is a 68-mile round-trip from Ottawa, 76-mile round trip from Streator and 104-mile round trip from Mendota.

La Salle County, which has no animal pound, now relies on keeping strays at veterinarian clinics until they are claimed by owners, transferred to animal shelters or euthanized.

With the Pet Project shelter in Grand Ridge scheduled to close at the end of the year, there is a need to find new accommodations.

In the past, the county's Animal Control Committee has investigated leasing or buying a shuttered dog kennel in Marseilles, but could not find the funds.

Another plan to contract with Illinois Valley Animal Control to provide boarding for strays recently floundered when IVAR's expansion plans were placed on hold.

At the Animal Control Committee's meeting Tuesday, Chairwoman Arratta Znaniecki, R-Ottawa, reported she, Sandi Billard, R-Oglesby, and Dr. Dell Brodd, the county's animal control administrator had met with Grundy County officials to discuss an arrangement.

Znaniecki said Grundy County is building a new pound and may make it larger if La Salle County was to agree to a two-year cooperative venture.

Znaniecki said a two-year agreement may give La Salle County the opportunity to devise a new plan for housing strays. Details of such an agreement are yet to be determined.

But time is running out for action before all the county committees are restructured, something scheduled for consideration at the County Board's meeting in October.

The seven-member committee, which took on four new members when committees were last restructured in December, will be made a subcommittee of the Public Safety II committee. That committee also will be responsible for the coroner's office and the emergency management agency.

Tom Ganiere, D-Ottawa, architect of the consolidation plan, recently told The Times it's not likely restructuring would break the momentum of the current Animal Control Committee's efforts.

He said the new Public Safety II committee will carry over enough current Animal Control Committee members to prevent that.