Bob Scott - scoopscott79@gmail.com
At the Macon County Animal Shelter there is passion, empathy and love for animals.
Animal Control Officer Stephanie Price left the shelter on a rainy Tuesday morning in her county truck with cages. She was back in an hour with a mother dog and eight puppies rescued after being reported hanging out in a busy roadway. It was a typical day for Price. Officers are on call regardless of holidays, time, or weather. Anytime an animal is in trouble or causing trouble, an animal control officer is dispatched.
Then Price was off to check cat traps. It never ends. Some days it might be an injured owl. Or helping find guinea pigs that had gotten loose. Or taking time to explain why it was not a good idea to “rescue” baby skunks. Wildlife mommas don’t take kindly to humans touching their babies.
Animal control officers will tell you feral cats are a growing problem. Officers trap an average of 35 stray cats a month. At least 80% of the cats animal control must deal with are feral. Price said she and her fellow officers are seeing “an uptick” in packs of roaming dogs. Running in packs even sweet, docile family dogs will become dangerous.
This year the shelter is on track to taking in more than 1,300 dogs and cats. More than 100 a month not to mention confronting racoons, skunks and other animals that may have rabies. Or the occasional exotic pet or pests that get into people’s houses, such as snakes or hurt animals. The shelter stays close to capacity.
In 2022 officers dealt with 625 animals. In 2023 that number ballooned to 1,384 and 184 bite cases. There are 30 volunteers at the shelter helping in all ways including walking dogs and snuggling with cats.
The shelter serves as quarantine for any animal that bites a human. The biters get locked up for 10 days.
An emerging problem is the increase in intake of dogs and cats when humans get too old to care for them. Or families who give up pets because of economic stress. The shelter takes them in with the hope they will be adopted.
Officers say they are increasingly seeing the homeless with pets. Price believes the reason they have a pet is for emotional support. “Animals don’t let them down. It’s sad,” Price said as she answered another call.
Although people can call the shelter or drop by, the bulk of animal related calls come through the county’s 911 dispatch center. The shelter is bracing for an increase in cat calls as the spring birthing season begins.
Price, 44, was working for Tractor Supply when she saw an ad for an animal control officer. She applied and was hired in July 2022. “It would be impossible to do this job and not love animals,” she said as she checked a cat trap. Raccoons steal the cat food bait and then let themselves out of the trap.
In addition to the three animal control officers there is a full-time and a part-time shelter attendant.
There are two non-profits, PAWS Shelter Volunteers and The Yogi Project which pay for neutering and spaying as well as other services. Those services include veterinarian care for animals in need from Noah’s Ark Humane Society.