Animal Care & Control Appreciation Week

Animal Control Officers manage field work, but the minute we get back to the shelter with a stray animal there is the kind face of an animal care staff member ready to help assess, care for, and love on that animal until their family can be found. Similarly they are with us late at night and tend to the needs of an injured animal or cruelty case seizure. They come in early, stay late, and provide unrelenting support – these two teams could not succeed without the other. This symbiotic role in the welfare of each and every animal leads these two teams to being very close.

              

Never was this more important than in the handling and care of pets of community members we lost to COVID-19. I remember the case of a young man we lost here in Arlington. I responded with another Animal Control Officer to the scene to meet the Arlington County Police and Fire Departments. There was a moment of silence in the hall as we all donned PPE and turned our gaze downward to acknowledge yet another loss. He was young, younger than me, and that hurt deeply. We were able to retrieve his dog, who was confused and fearful and didn’t understand why scary people in large white suits with masks on were coming into her home to take her away. I got back to the shelter and was telling an animal care staff member about her as we set her up with extra treats, a quiet space, and some comfortable bedding. That animal care technician must have seen the hurt I felt explaining the situation as we looked at the pet. She put her arm across my shoulders and gave me a squeeze. I really needed that squeeze. We came up with a plan to make the pet as comfortable as possible and contacted the family. They rushed in and collected her just a few days later. Animal Care and Animal Control team members took turns sitting with her, tossing her treats, and giving the pet gentle encouragement until family arrived.

These types of situations and stories occur over and over again yearly at AWLA, part of the behind the scenes work of our organization. Please join me this week as we take a moment to honor the hard work, selfless sacrifice, devotion, and unrelenting commitment of the animal care and control teams.”

“To our Animal Care Technicians: thank you for taking such good care of our animals. Thank you each for going above and beyond to make sure our animals are in a safe, clean and welcoming environment. Your focus on their health and happiness comes through everyday, from our cats curled up in their clean beds and blankets, to our dogs enjoying that extra toy chosen specifically for them, to the bunny enjoying one of the many hiding spots you chose for them. The Animal Care team has a wide range of responsibilities and there is no job that they can’t do or won’t do. One moment they are administering fluids for a dehydrated kitten, and the next they are sorting donations from the public. Our Animal Care Technicians do a great deal of work and they do it all very well.” ~ Jose Serrano, Animal Care Manager