Polk County’s Animal Control Team

I know many owners who have been unknowingly in violation of the county rabies ordinance,” says Patti Lovelace, one of the new two-person team of Polk County Animal Control Officers. “These are conscientious people who keep their pet vaccinations current and care for their cats and dogs like members of the family. But, they’ve never read, or been told, or they forgot that every cat, dog, or ferret four months or older, must wear a collar with a rabies tag at all times.” Patti stressed “at all times.” “If the tag is lost, they must have a rabies certificate as proof of vaccination.

“When I tell these owners, the reaction is typically surprise or dismay and I know nothing more has to be said. They will find the tag or get a replacement. For many cases, I believe that education is preferable to citation … the first time. When I check back for compliance and if nothing has been done, they get written up just like a speeding ticket.”

Protection, education, enforcement

As we talked, I understood more clearly that Patti saw the new team’s job as primarily threefold: protect the animals and people whose well-being may be at risk from an animal; educate the public about ownership responsibility and liability; and enforce the laws and ordinances with fines, and when necessary, animal impoundment and even criminal charges. I asked for an example of how that translated into the daily routine. As she thought, the good humor in her eyes dimmed.

“It was a mess when we drove in,” she recalled.

Two deputies were already on the scene when Patti and her partner, Officer Alan Brackett, rushed out of the animal control truck into a chaos of twisting and yowling dogs that yanked at tethers outside a trailer home. Three dogs in varying sizes of large were unable to flee or effectively fight against a powerful female boxer mix that was attacking without restraint. A hapless owner gawked. Whatever words he mouthed were broken by yelping and barking. In slow motion perception through adrenalin, the scene funneled to the boxer at the throat of the smallest captive dog, a panicked female.

As Patti talked, her eyes refocused from me to somewhere inside where she’d rather not go.

Over seven years with a county badge as a volunteer animal cruelty investigator, Patti has confronted the range of human negligence, ignorance, arrogance, and other synonyms for why humans can be responsible for animal suffering. She had the experience and motivation to accept another badge in July 2017 as a paid part-time county animal control officer.

Animals have been part of her life since at least age 3 when she vaguely remembers her fat Beagle, Lenny. She has also been riding and showing horses since age 9 and brings this know-how to her role as a volunteer for the FERA (Foothills Equine Rescue Assistance) division of the Foothills Humane Society. In 2016, she was recognized with the Duke Energy Service and Citizenship Award at a ceremony where a presenter recalled her bringing home lab rats from Winthrop College.

Depending on schedules, she patrols alone or with Alan Brackett, a sworn sheriff’s deputy with arrest powers. In 1995, Alan completed the North Carolina BLET (Basic Law Enforcement Training curriculum) in preparation for his law enforcement career, now spanning 22 years. He is currently employed at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office as a full-time animal control officer. He feels that one danger of his job is getting too attached to any one dog or cat that’s found or rescued.

At the time of this writing, there’s a pit bull that Alan checks frequently at the Foothills Humane Society. “I found him wandering…nice guy, well-fed, neutered, but after four months here, no one has claimed him. Fortunately, this is a no-kill shelter. Hulk deserves a good home.”

In my opinion, these were the right people responding to what Patti remembers as “a draining experience.”

One of the deputies used pepper spray to try to separate the dogs without positive effect. The boxer mix was clamped on the female’s throat.  For the officers, reaching into the tangle to pry open the jaws was not a safe option even with Kevlar gloves. The female was dying. The mission of deputies to protect can become gray and the other deputy had to make a choice that should never be forced on anyone. He had to draw his gun. Patti and Alan were there to make the decision to euthanize both dogs because the owner could not afford a veterinarian.  Alan did it.

Patti didn’t need to tell me how she felt; the impact was still apparent.

“I was angry, sad, frustrated, baffled all at the same time. I couldn’t understand why the owner brought home a fourth dog. I asked him for the name of his veterinarian and he didn’t have one.” Patti recalls the conversation continuing:

“Who does rabies vaccinations for you?”

“They don’t have rabies shots.”

“You know that’s against the law?” His head shook a puzzled “no” before he floundered into excuses of not having any money.

“I could fine you $100 a dog.”

By the time you are reading this, Patti will have followed up to be sure that the owner’s emotional apologies were sincere and the surviving two dogs had gotten to the vet and been vaccinated. She will also have checked more carefully on his compliance with an ordinance that a tether must be at least four times the length from the tip of the nose to tip of the tail and never less than 10 feet.

“With the multiple low-cost rabies vaccination clinics throughout the year, sponsored by the county, Foothills Humane Society, and others, there is no excuse for a pet to be unprotected,” states Patti. “There are also low cost spay and neuter programs.

“No matter how hard the staff and volunteers work at the Foothills Humane Society, the space keeps filling with rescues and strays that Alan and I and others bring in. In December, the shelter had to issue an Adoption SOS because the animals were doubling up. Space is still a challenge. There are laws and ordinances for dogs in heat and enforcement is necessary to relieve the population crisis. But perhaps, even more so, education is critical and of course, personal responsibility.” •

A photo waits in all things, all places, and everyone with a passion has a story to be told. That’s the perspective Vince Verrecchio, lightly retired ad agency creative director, brings as a writer and photographer contributing to Foothills Magazine. He can be reached at vincent.verrecchio@gmail.com.