New animal control director faces challenges

Calls for service, the work load at animal control and the number of animals that move through the shelter, however, have remained relatively stable since 2008. On average animal control officers respond to 4,400 calls for service and deal with an additional 3,900 animal situations each year. Some 3,000 cats and dogs are impounded at the shelter annually and the three year average for owner surrenders is 430.

Animal control facilitates an average of 730 transfers of shelter animals to rescues each year. There are approximately 210 adoptions and 1,630 are euthanized each year.

STAFFING ISSUES

When the new animal control shelter was built (using SPLOST funds in 2007) animal control staffing needs were projected to be four road officers, two office personnel, four kennel workers, a director and an assistant director. This was based on the size of the county, the size of the shelter and call volumes.

In 2008, when the economy went sour, the county instituted budget cuts and a hiring freeze.

This left animal control with its current staff of three road officers, one officer who mans the front desk (taking calls and handling shelter traffic,) one officer on leave, a part-time cleaning person and a director.

“Realistically, we don’t have the staffing we need,” Burrell said. “But given the shape the county’s in, we have to make do with what we have.”

THE CREW

Burrell says she is “very fortunate” to have the staff she has currently, adding that, they “love animals and love Barrow County.”

“All of my officers have been with me for a while,” she said. “Each one has special talents that we use as situations arise. It’s nice that we can all work together and draw on each other’s strengths when necessary.”

THE CHALLENGE

Burrell said the main challenge for animal control workers is “trying to change the image of animal control altogether…People tend to think that animal control people don’t care for animals and that’s just not true. My officers care for animals constantly.”

The other obvious challenge is euthanasia day each week.

“We’re not here to kill animals,” Burrell said. “But, we’re honest. We do have to euthanize animals. I don’t expect my officers to lie. When they are asked if an animal might die, if it ends up at the shelter, the answer is yes. Sometimes the truth isn’t easy to hear.”

Burrell said increasing local spay and neuter rates would “make a tremendous impact” on shelter intakes, but currently she doesn’t have the staff or the budget to do community education. Her officers do, however, try to work with pet owners and offer information and possible solutions when surrendering a dog or cat is being considered.

“I’ve seen dogs surrendered because their owners were going on vacation or because they didn’t match the new furniture,” Burrell said. “This time of year is always bad because the intakes increase dramatically and there are no more potential homes than there has ever been.”

THE REWARDS

Burrell says her work is full of sad stories and situations, but there are also rewards, and one of those is successfully working with animal rescue organizations locally and nation-wide.

“There are so many unwanted animals,” she said. “Especially cats. There are not enough homes for them all. That’s why working with rescues is such a vital part of the shelter. We get a lot of really great animals here and we try to do everything we can to place them. We’ve had dogs go to California, New York, Connecticut — even to Canada. There’s a huge network of people and rescues looking for pets and we try to tap into that.”

Other rewards are “seeing an animal go to a good home” and “saving an animal from a horrible situation.” Burrell said at the shelter it is not uncommon to “turn an animal’s life around.”

“Some of them come in having never been shown any kindness,” she said. “To take that animal and show it all people aren’t bad, to see it begin to trust people, and then see it wag its tail whenever someone walks by…We have changed that animal’s life for the better and helped it be more adoptable.”

THE GOAL

Burrell said she is fortunate to be stepping into the position of animal control director after having served under four previous directors.

“It gives me the chance to apply what I have learned from my prior directors,” she said. “Each of them had a different angle on how to approach things and his own unique style. I hope to incorporate pieces of all their different styles into the work I do as animal control director.”

Burrell said she doesn’t “have the budget to make major changes,” but plans to “tweak operations” to make the department more efficient.

“It’s early in the game and I’m trying to take a look at everything,” she said.

One of her primary goals is increased community education about the importance of spay/neuter and vaccinations.

“In the long run, education will have a tremendous effect,” she said. “It’s the only thing that will actually change things.”

THE COMMITMENT

Burrell said if there is one thing she wants the people of Barrow County to know, it’s that she “cares about Barrow County, loves animals and wants to make animal control the best it can be.”

She added, “This is not an easy or glamorous job, but it’s a job that needs to be done and it’s a job that can be very rewarding. My plan is to do what I can and try to just get the job done. I want to serve the citizens and the animals of Barrow County.”