A community of animal control officers from around the country is encouraging people to understand what they do.
Denise Williams, a Lady Lake Animal Control Officer, spends most of her days dealing with inebriated or roaming cats and dogs.
A pot-bellied pig under a blanket, on the other hand, may sometimes narrate a story.
Williams once had to deal with a rogue pig whose owner pretended to be dumb. He didn’t want to break the town’s rule against holding livestock in residential areas. “I told him I had seen it when it began creeping under the blanket in the corner, and I informed him I could see something,” Williams recalled of the break in the case.
Instead, the owner signed a warrant for illegal pig-keeping to Williams, which she claimed was better for the animal because it had a skin ailment and was sent to a rescue.
However, Williams’ profession, like that of her nearly 12,000 colleagues nationally who work in this area, is by definition a branch of law enforcement, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The National Animal Care & Control Association has named the second week of April as “appreciation week” to honour animal control officers who “risk their lives and commit enormous amounts of personal time and money while serving the public in the same way that other public safety and law enforcement agencies do.”
“Education is 97% of what I do,” Williams, who has worked for the town for five years, said. “However, I serve for the police department and continue to enforce the law, but with a focus on animals.”
Her work usually involves teaching people about the town’s animal code. She gave the example of reminding people about the town ordinance that requires canines to be leashed when they leave their house.
Nonetheless, policing animals and their owners often means acting like cops: questioning witnesses, collecting evidence and even issuing citations and bringing offenders to court.
Dave Walesky, executive director of the Florida Animal Control Association, said, “It’s more of a passion, and not for those looking for a pay check. It’s an emotionally exhausting and draining task, and you’re always working in the face of evil. Many people do not consider animal companionship to be valuable.”
Walesky went on to say that it is a human business, not an animal job. He said, “It’s about getting people to do the responsible thing and be good pet owners.”
It can also be a dangerous career, according to Walesky. A rabies infection is a common occurrence. Animals who have been mistreated, are wounded or are sick can be dangerous. Irate pet owners who don’t take well to allegations of being bad pet owners are also to blame.
Williams claims she’s been physically assaulted, that pet owners have beaten her truck and that one of them once swerved into her path when she was driving because he was angry about losing his pet. He was also detained, she said.
– Attributed Source, The Villages Daily Sun
