There’s a person in our community who works to protect stray, injured, and unwanted animals. This person also helps the public deal with problems caused by animals.

I am your local animal care and control professional.  I’m the one who responds to calls about neglected or lost animals, and I’m often the first person to provide comfort and compassion to animals in need.

Long gone is the term “dogcatcher”; long gone is the image of a man with a butterfly net.  Animal care and control professionals now perform a variety of services that help animals as well as people: rescuing injured animals, controlling stray and potentially dangerous animals roaming at large, and bringing lost pets to the Animal Rescue League where their owners can reclaim them.  We also work with other local agencies, such as social services, law enforcement, and the SPCA.

Here are a few ways you can help your local animal control program help people and animals:

Provide for your pet’s safety.  Keep a collar and ID tags on your pet at all times and ensure that your pet is supervised or safely confined when you’re not home.  Spay or neuter your pet and keep him/her current on all necessary vaccinations, especially rabies.

Encourage local government officials to support the animal control program:  it is one of our community’s life-saving services.  Urge officials to take crimes against animals seriously and to advance pro-animal legislation.  Support efforts to enact and enforce pro-animal ordinances.

For more information about animal control, please call 633-1228.