How do you feel about Animal Control Officers?

[whozyodaddy]

I am soon starting with a local County Animal Care Service Dept. as an ACO trainee and wondering how well respected these officers are amongst the traditional (police/sheriff) LE community. Obviously there are sometimes calls in common and/or assists and I am wondering how you feel about these officers showing up to help or having to help them? Also, I may want to eventually move on to a traditional LE position at some point, do you believe this is a decent transition? By the way...my wife will be an officer with a local PD soon and I don't want her to be embarrassed by my job! Thanks!

[retdetsgt]

There's never enough of them or they're not on duty when I need them.

[Jay7376]

There's never enough of them or they're not on duty when I need them.

Ditto...

Ours only work 9a-5p.... I work 6p-6a....

When I attempt to call them out, dispatch will ask if the dog is vicious. I really do not want to get that close to figure it out, so we usually say yes if the dog growls at all.

[Terminator]

There's never enough of them or they're not on duty when I need them.

That's true. Our one animal control officer (who works banker's hours) in the city gets more animal calls than all 4 of the county Sheriff's Office ACO's combined (they have an ACO on, 24/7). We, as police officers, end up taking a lot of animal calls as a result, including transporting loose or aggressive dogs to the shelter, and other things we don't have any training on, or any equipment for (like the ACO's do).

ACO's are important where their is a large problem with loose and/or aggressive animals.

[Terminator]

Ditto...

Ours only work 9a-5p.... I work 6p-6a....

When I attempt to call them out, dispatch will ask if the dog is vicious. I really do not want to get that close to figure it out, so we usually say yes if the dog growls at all.

At least yours are on call. When ours isn't there, we have to handle it ourselves.

[Jay7376]

At least yours are on call. When ours isn't there, we have to handle it ourselves.

tru dat....

But it is rare that they will come out.

And if they do, watch out, not your friendly neighborhood ACO :eek:

[k9dan]

We had one for a long time and everyone loved having him. Now our city claims they are broke and they cut the position about a year ago. Everyone is ticked. When we get old women calling about cats we tell them we no longer have an animal control officer and to call their city councilman about it.
Our ACO also did parking rounds and took care of our impound lot and sending all evidence to and from the lab. Man do we ever miss him....... But he is now a deputy for our county.

[Super Six 5]

They never seem to answer their pages when outside "business" hours, so honestly, I've never had to deal with them. Officers have to jury rig their own animal control equipment and make due with what they find on the scene.

[whozyodaddy]

So...even though you can't get one when you need them, do you consider them to be in respectable position? Would it be a decent transition to your line of work?

[chris2001]

So...even though you can't get one when you need them, do you consider them to be in respectable position? Would it be a decent transition to your line of work?

They do what they do, and we do what we do. Although I will not hesitate to put a bullet in a dog that is coming at me aggresively (sp). Sorry thats just how my department works,considering as others have posted the ACO tends to work banker hours and of course they do not work on weekends. But when they are their they do a great job, one that as a Officer I hate doing. I have better and more important things to worry about than a dog or a cat. Thats just my .02

[whozyodaddy]

The dept. I am going to work for has officers scheduled 24/7...granted I don't know if that means that we can respond to any and every call, but at least someone is out there at all hours to help. I will know more of the in's and out's when I start training, but I just wanted to get your take on the position. So far (based on the replies), I'm not to sure what to make of your feelings?

[retdetsgt]

There's nothing wrong with it at all. Go for it.

[Terminator]

There's nothing wrong with it at all. Go for it.

He's right. You're a piece of the puzzle like everyone else. Work hard, do a good job, amd make friends with the officers you'll work with.

[Valor55]

Our ACO's work their butts off. They have a higher call volume than we do. We need more of them. You really learn to appreciate them when you get some animal call you have no idea how to deal with.

My old agency put their ACO's through the full academy with the rest of us. They were well trained and prepared for the LE side of their job.

My current agency gives them a few weeks of training and sends them out armed. They are waaaaay under trained for LE stuff and it's going to get one of them in a world of hurt or litigation or both.

[Darin]

Our ACO is fully sworn and actually a very experienced LEO that went to the AC job for the hours.

The county I live in has fully sworn ACO and they have their own take home trucks.