To paraphrase Charles Dickens, it is the best of jobs, it is the worst of jobs. On the plus side, I have met and worked with some of the most incredible people, I have made a difference in the lives of thousands of animals, and (most nights) I go to bed feeling like I have made a positive difference in the world. On the other hand, I have met some of the most horrendous people, I've been bitten, brought home fleas, usually smell like poop and am grossly underpaid. When in uniform I am expected to be kind and politically correct. However, here on my blog I don't have those restraints. I'm going to share some things with you that I wish I could say aloud.
- I am not a "Dog Catcher." I do so much more than just catch dogs. I enforce ordinances, educate the public, investigate dog bites and cruelty complaints, testify in court, care for lost and homeless animals, reunite/rehome animals with families. I work closely with veterinarians, animal rescue groups, the police department, the health department, and Fish & Wildlife. In the animal control community the term "dog catcher" is derogatory and offensive. Please don't use it.
- Animal Cops is not "real" animal control. Please do not think you know my job because you watch Animal Planet. Although the people are real, Animal Cops is a TV show composed from lots of creative editing. Most of my job is barking complaints, stray cats, neighbor disputes and dogs off leash in public. I deal with five people for every animal I handle. This makes for bad ratings. On the flip side, parts of my job are so horrifying that it would never get past the censors.
- Please call the office if you need service. If you see me in the supermarket after work, please don't use that time to give me a 20 minute rant on how horrible your neighbor is. I do care -- really! -- but I'm tired and need to get home to feed my children. All the information you want -- ordinances, phone numbers, referral information, paperwork -- is on my desk at work. Please just take my card and call me in the morning.
- I am not a veterinarian. Yes, I may know more than your average Joe, but I don't feel comfortable giving you medical advice. If your pet is sick, please seek veterinary care. Yes, it can be expensive. That's a drawback to being a pet owner. (I empathize, I have vet bills too.) If you'd like, I can help you find an affordable vet.
- I am not a dog trainer either. Please consult a professional.
- "Kill Shelters" (AKA open-admission shelters) are not evil, and neither are those who work there. I don't like killing animals. I work very hard to find homes for homeless animals. I hate that there are more strays than homes willing to take them. I'm hoping that you do too, and that's why you're vilifying me. However, if you need someone to blame, what about the owners who refuse to sterilize their pets instead of letting them breed? Or those who won't chip or tag their pets, so we can't return them? Or those who decide that their animal has become burdensome or inconvenient and dump it in a shelter, only to get a new, younger one later? Oh yea, I've got stories that'll make your blood boil!
- I don't hate animals. Just because I'm writing you a ticket doesn't mean I'm out to get your dog. More likely, it means you were an irresponsible owner. I tell myself that you're only saying the ugly, hateful things to me because you're embarrassed.
- I am not a cold-hearted bitch. Truth is, I'm very sensitive. I cry when you're not looking -- A LOT. My reserved demeanor is a defense mechanism. I need to compartmentalize things to keep myself sane. This means I can't join every cause that comes along and I won't write letters to save a dog on death row in another state. Sorry if that upsets you. I do the best I can where I can, and have faith that someone else will come along and do what I can't. Otherwise, I would get ulcers and lose my hair (again).
- Which brings me to my final point: I can't do it all. It's frustrating when other animal groups pit themselves against animal control, making us out to be the bad guy. Please don't! We're all on the same team, different parts of the machine, working towards the same goal. Because of this, I am pleased to participate in
Please visit the blogs in this hop and see what others are doing to help animals. -- K
Beautifully written and powerfully said. I have several friends who work in Animal Control, many of them worked at the shelter I volunteered at for 8 1/2 years. I think people see an image or get an image from words and don't think beyond that.
ReplyDeleteI know the hard work you do and the caring heart you have and how you use it to help animals and people. I hope your post resonates with people. It's certainly worth sharing.
Mel Freer
Team BTC
Thank you for doing all that you can. I could not imagine dealing with the public on a daily basis regarding animals & am sure that you have seen the worst of the worst. I could not agree more that we all need to work together to improve the plight of animals instead of working against each other ♥
ReplyDeleteVery. Well. Said!! I found this when visiting some of the other bloggers in the BtC4A blogging event. I volunteer each week at my local county shelter taking pet portraits of all the adoptable animals at the shelter, make posters for each of them, and put them up on the Facebook page that I co-admin with my friend Kristy, who is an animal control officer like yourself. Everything you said resonated her own feelings as an ACO. As a matter of fact, I will be sharing your blog post with her. As a weekly volunteer and good friends with the officers, I have seen what you spoke of...from the tears, to the hard decisions, to the public negativity, to the horrors that people inflict on animals. Thank you for all you do! Over the last 6 months, Kristy and I have worked to change the community's view of the county shelter, and it has been a great labor of hard work and love.
ReplyDeleteHere is our page if you ever want to visit: www.facebook.com/SmythCountyAnimalShelter I am Jenny Lewis, Pixel Blue Eye's Mom (normally she is the one leaving comments)
Take care and God bless your efforts!!
Jenny & Pixel
Kelley, Thank you for your heartfelt honesty and you're deeply rooted compassion, which is so very apparent even in a long list of human infractions committed against your job title and you personally.
ReplyDeleteYou perspective on people's reactionary response to embarrassment and animal cruelty is - dare I say - saintly. To see through the ugliest moments of humanity to the reason behind the madness is a gift, and also a deepest heartache. It's easier to respond in kind than to step back, take in all the factors, and restrain your own base human reaction in trade for a genuinely respectful response.
Yours may be a thankless position at times, but this is not one of those times. I thank you for all you do, what is listed above as well as beyond.
Thank you for making the difference in real life, and for Blogging the Change.
Kim Clune
BTC4animals.com
ThisOneWildLife.com
I never really thought about it. I guess I just saw animal control officers in the same light as the city clerk or DMV worker just with a bit more outdoor time. So no villainy, just another city worker. Great post!
ReplyDeletePoochieProject.com
A good friend of mine was ACO for a nearby town, and I had the privilege of riding along with her one day. I saw firsthand much of what you describe here. People just really don't realize...okay, frankly, people don't think.
ReplyDeleteWhere would we be without you? Where would our furry companions be?? Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you do, each and every day. You make a huge difference.
And I'm so glad you've had a chance to vent - must drive you nutty sometimes!
Thank you for blogging the change for animals,
Kim Thomas
Team BtC4A
Thank you for what you do. Like the police and the firefighters and the service men and women, you do not get the kudos you so totally deserve.
ReplyDeleteI and I could not agree with this more ""Kill Shelters" (AKA open-admission shelters) are not evil, and neither are those who work there."
Thank you for participating in Blog the Change Day! I think you really said it all when you said, "We're all on the same team, different parts of the machine, working towards the same goal." Let's not vilify one another - let's work for the benefit of the animals we are trying to save!
ReplyDeleteVicki Cook
Team BTC4A
Thank you for your well-written & very educational post! Most people have NO CLUE what Animal Control Officers do, and they do need to know. Some of my very best friends are Animal Control Officers in an "open-admission" Humane Society, and they would salute this post as well. Until I met them 8 years ago when I began volunteering in my local shelter, I had no idea what an ACO experiences on a regular basis. Now I know, and ACOs are my heroes, and I know they have the toughest jobs of all the shelter staff. Thank you for everything you do for the animals, and for the people who love them.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for sharing your unique perspective. I'm sorry it has to be so tough for you in your personal life as it is in your professional. It's definitely a challenge expressing to people what you actually do when history is full of negative stereotypes. Your work is difficult enough without people making harmful assumptions in the media and behind your back.
ReplyDeleteAnimal welfare is an incredibly challenging field. We see the worst of people and often we turn against each other, arguing over who cares or does more. I think this is one of the largest obstacles we face, the splintering personalities and factions. You put it so well at the end of this post and I hope others take your words to heart.
Thanks again for this important contribution and for blogging the change for animals.
Kristine
Team BTC4A
Outstanding post! And as a 10+ year animal shelter volunteer, I can vouch for it's accuracy. I get so angry when the public blames the animal shelter for the deaths of innocent animals, when it is mostly the fault of irresponsible pet owners/breeders and puppy mills.
ReplyDeleteAnother similar blog is "Tales From the Field" - if you haven't read it yet, do: I think you will like it. http://tailsfromthefield.blogspot.com/
Thank you so much for writing this post and for doing what you do everyday. My hope is that it touches people and helps them realize that hostility rarely gets you what you want in the long run, and that what you believe is rarely what's true. To make progress we need open hearts and humility and a willingness to understand each other and work together. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteWOW. I am floored by all the attention this post received. To be honest, the day I wrote this was a bad day at work. The post was a rant that I cleaned up. (The first version was a lot more sacastic and filled with F bombs.) If you enjoyed this post, check out "OWNING A PET IS NOT A RIGHT!" I was "in a mood" that day as well.
ReplyDeleteI think this is one of the largest obstacles we face, the splintering personalities and factions.
ReplyDeleteWhen I worked downtown we would get stray dogs quite often. If it looked homeless and no one volunteered to take it I would call Animal Control fairly quickly, and there was a woman (my co-worker) that would always give me attitude for it. She would say "I thought you were an animal lover" or "why would you call the enemy?" I was shocked at her juvenile take on animal control. I would just say "I do love animals, and I don't want that one to be hit by a car." As much as I didn't want an animal to be euthanized, that is far better than it wandering the city cold, hungry and at risk of injury, attack or something worse. I admire the strength of those that work in your profession! I'm sure it's mostly a thankless job but such a necessary one!
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