DATELINE: DALLAS Where Now And Then It’s a Foggy Day In Londontown When the Cowboys Are In Ol’ Blighty, Texas (Nov. 6, PetPowellPress) -- That’s a photo of London -- wait, no, it’s a photo of Dallas. Indeed, shot from a downtown skyscraper Wednesday morning while the Dallas Cowboys were in London killing time until Sunday’s game. What we’ve got is a collection of Thursday reports and one special examination of employment at a job that needs more skills than you can list on the application.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO HOLD THIS JOB?
Sometimes my daily trek through assorted publications leads me to ask a question. That’s how this started. I saw an ad in a newspaper for an animal services officer job at The Colony. Since I’ve known Patricia Barrington, the veteran Animal Control Division Manager at The Colony, for years I asked her what does it really take to be a successful Animal Services Officer. (I knew she’d answer in a great way -- little known secret, but she is a bit of a skilled and entertaining writer. And she can write a point, too.)
She wrote, “It is a job of gladness and sadness.”
It’s a big job and it can grab your heart. She’s listed the pros and cons and I’ve plucked some of The Colony’s animals out of the current photo collection to “break up the gray” as we used to say in newspaper design. I’ll fill you in on these animals at the end of this explanation.
Thanks to Reliable Source Barrington, here are the “Pros”:
“--For a job that doesn’t require a degree, the pay is good.
--Most animal services officer positions are government positions and come with great benefits and retirement perks.
--There is a lot of room for growth if you have sound judgment and can work independently.
--The vast majority of animal services departments are staffed with people who honestly treat one another like family; someone is always there to pick you up when you get kicked to the ground and someone is always there to cover your shift when you are scheduled to work your daughter’s first soccer game or son’s first karate tournament.
--The rescue folks you work with become true friends – and you can never have too many of those.
--The therapists are always plentiful and their services free at the shelter; they are covered in fur and don’t say much, but they listen and make things a little better.
–-The first time you nab a truly dangerous dog in a school zone and a group of first graders pass by as you are putting the terror on the truck; it really feels good.
–-Knowing the difference between a Borzoi and a Collie and a Siamese and Himalayan and spotted and harlequin are always useful tidbits of trivia at cheesy parties.
--Teaching people how to keep nuisance wildlife from being a nuisance is quite rewarding; it saves the lives of critters and enlightens people who have functioning brain cells.
--Sometimes, your FAVORITE dog will go to the BEST home.
--Investigations and court preparation will keep your mind sharp and your focus strong.
--Removing pets from poor situations is good work.
--Teaching children how to be better pet owners and people is REWARDING.
--Helping a person in a bad situation euthanize a suffering pet that he/she wouldn’t be able to afford to have put down at a vet clinic is a good deed and coincidentally, part of the job.
--Euth rates in shelters all over the state are FALLING. Therefore, euthanasia, though a reality, occurs MUCH less than it did 5 years ago.”
Every job has its “cons” and being an animal services officer is no different. Manager Barrington knowingly provides us with the “Cons” and you should know that she has lived this job. The Cons:
--The job requires you to deal with more bad pet owners than good pet owners; it can cause the most optimistic of us to become cynical.
-ASOs work weekends.
--There is quite a bit of gray area; no two calls/cases are the same; judgment calls are REQUIRED.
--You are responsible for euthanizing the same animals you are responsible for caring for and homing.
--EVERY SINGLE DAY YOU WORK someone will cuss you out or flip you off; EVERY. DAY. You have to deal with it and not let it ruin you.
--Pretty much every day, you will be pooped, vomited or peed on at least once.
--We are responsible for submitting animals for rabies tests to the state; this requires the euthanasia and decapitation of the animal.
--Sometimes, your FAVORITE dog will be the MOST UNADOPTABLE DOG ON THE BLOCK and YOU will have to put him down and carry on with the rest of the work day.
--Cats poop a whole bunch and they smell awful. You have to clean up after each and every one of them.
--The things you will see will sicken you and decrease your faith in humanity exponentially.
--You will learn that there are things much worse than death and you will accept that and it will be a sad day and a relief all at one time.
--Investigations and court prep and testimony are tough, rough and require a whole lot of brain work. When you fail at this it will sting and will hit you right dead in the pride and conscience.”
Think about those things, Dear Readers. We’re going to take a break and mention some other animals in other shelters. Then we’ll finish up with photo explanations and some more heartfelt writing from our reliable source.
IN THE CARROLLTON SHELTER AND ON THE CLOCK
These animals are on the clock for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11 -- no rescue group tags ‘em or they’re not adopted by then and it’s likely that they’ll get the needle at the Carrollton Animal Shelter. CARE (The Carrollton Animal Rescue Enterprise) works hard to get animals into safe places, but, holey moley, there are sometimes more animals than there are places. You can read about this whole crowd HERE.
To ask about any of these animals or to ask to be put on the CARE mailing list, call 972-466-3420 or email [email protected].
I picked some cats to highlight. The one on the upper left I picked simply because of the name -- reminds me of my sons‘ childhood -- her name is Gobstopper. The handsome gray cat is Drifter. And the black cat with the white whiskers is Opel who came in with a litter of kittens, helped raise them, got them adopted and now she’s on the clock -- her reward for being a good mother.
CLAIMED FROM GARLAND BY TLC
Animal advocate Patty Turner sent us this note about Texas Little Cuties rescuing six dogs from from the Garland Animal shelter on Wednesday -- “Four of them had to be out of the shelter today!” she wrote Wednesday afternoon.
“I know that some were heartworm positive. One has a deformed leg. One is malnourished. I am certain they [Texas Little Cuties] could use help with any donations you can make to them for these dogs as well as other dogs in their rescue.”
You can reach TLC at txlittlecutiesyahoo.com.
CONTEMPLATIONS ON BEING AN ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICER
The big dog at the top of the opening segment is Diesel, a dog we’ve mentioned here before -- someone got him, and he rebounded, so the clock is ticking on Diesel again. You can see that The Colony is running a fall cat special. And, from the animal shelter website we nabbed that photo of the Pet of the /Week, Mia the cat who, if you click on her photo, has the “M” for Mia on her forehead! To ask about any of the animals email [email protected] or call 972-370-9250.
Now contemplate Patricia Barrington’s thoughtful explanation of the job of animal services officer -- male or female. She writes:
“A good animal services officer has the ability to do many things. He has the ability to compartmentalize. He has the ability to make rational judgments that are both legally and morally sound and the character to stand behind those judgments.
“He seldom lets his heart outwork his brain. He doesn’t do animal work at home. He has hobbies outside of animals/rescue/work. He has a good support system. He is always on time for his shift and willing to work late. He knows animals have to be tended, even on Christmas.
“He understands, this job isn’t an animal job; it’s a people job, and though he would much rather sit quietly with Fido all day, he has to get through to Fido’s owner and Fido’s owner’s neighbor or he will be running this very same call again tomorrow … and the next day … and the next day.
“He knows the importance of spay and neuter and knows he has to get that message through to ALL THE PEOPLE he comes into contact with. He knows that if his shelter isn’t clean and his staff isn’t friendly, there are three more within 15 miles with just as many adoptable dogs that are clean and staffed with smiling faces … and if his customers opt to leave his shelter for those shelters, he will have to euthanize animals. “He always thinks one step ahead and keeps the worst case scenario in mind, all-the-while doing everything he can to ensure the BEST CASE SCENARIO. He will watch as volunteers and outside groups get accolades for his hard work, yet he will take the blame for ALL that goes wrong with relation to any animal in his shelter or city. He will swallow his pride for the greater good and will stand alone preaching his sermon when he knows it is right and just.
“A good animal services officer is a good person who does a job most simply can’t – not without consequence to himself – but still, he does it. And, sometimes, it really pays off and some days are really big, fat winning days.”
[LARRY ASIDE: Let’s have more of those “really big, fat winning days.” We need them in every shelter.]
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