Forums » Smalltalk » AMA: Animal Control Officer

I suppose placing this up for questions would be an interesting topic. As the title suggests, I am a full time Animal Control Officer: providing a voice for both abused and homeless animals.

Its a wonderful, crazy job that is both depressing as it is also challenging. Something new everyday.

Curious? Feel free to slap some questions down below and I'll attempt to answer them to the best of my ability!

What do you find to be the most rewarding thing about your job? And on the flip side, what do you find to be the most heartbreaking thing about your job?

Do you think that there should be done some kind of background check on people before they can adopt a pet?

I suspect you deal with a lot of dogs and cats, but what's the most exotic animal that you've dealt with in your job?

what is the scariest thing you've seen while on patrol?

what is the saddest thing you've seen while on patrol?

what is the Creepiest thing you've seen while on patrol?

Do animal control officers make good money?

what's the happiest thing you've seen while on patrol?

Have you ever taken an animal into your home as a result of an incident at your job? (If so, do you have pictures you're okay with sharing?)

The most rewarding thing about my job is pulling animals out of certain horrible situations and finding them better homes through our adoption processes at the shelter. To see an animal that was the result from one of my calls fall into the arms of a loving family ... words cannot honestly describe the large amount of elation you get from seeing it. Simply being there for the voiceless and aiding these animals everyday is what drives me forward to continue year to year.

Now, heartbreaking wise, it's seeing abused animals. I've had calls where animals were thrown in dumpsters (duct taped) and left to die. Animals starving because people do not care for them, wounded animals, and of course sometimes having to euthanize animals who are suffering and cannot be medically tended towards. (Such as finding an animal still alive because it was hit by a car). With the good, comes the bad. And I'll admit the downright ugly. You definitely see the worse of humanity in regards to saving fur babies.

Yes. Or at least a home check. The current animal shelter I work at sometimes does home checks if they think the person in question attempting to adopt out an animal is suspicious. The adoption applications we currently have are pretty detailed in regards to finding out if their current animals, or past animals, in question have been seen by a veterinarian. If the current household animals they have are up to date on shots (And also if they are at the animal limit for being within city limits) Here, it's four adult animals. Depending on the size of the animal, too, for instance if they are adopting out a 90 pound dog ... we make sure they at least have a fence, or agree to walking said animal everyday.

Background checks would be lovely to do considering there are some that have been given many citations for animal cruelty, or worse, court cases and jailtime for the more extreme cases.

I deal with a number of opossum calls, raccoons, and skunks. But the most exotic for the location I am currently at would have to be an alligator. A person was illegally caring for one in a set-up in a backyard and a local neighbor called it in. It was bigger than a full grown person, and let me tell you, it was interesting attempting to wrangle this gigantic animal in! After catching it we were able to contact the local wildlife services to help relocate it to a local zoo.

Snakes are a common occurrence of various species. Hawks, other birds of prey. It's a mixed bag. Never know what you're going to get with daily calls.