Officers Marco Garcia and John Carrillo spend their days conducting unruly, dangerous, and sometimes stinky missions.
The city’s animal control officers track down runaway dogs, moderate barking disputes, and are sent into garages and sometimes even kitchens where raccoons, possums, and skunks have accidently found themselves cornered. They scoop up injured turtles, deal with peacock disturbances, and capture wayward snakes.
But last Friday the two officers, their supervisor, Patty Ziello, and her dog, Cooper, completed a mission to some of the most unruly little creatures alive: a group of 30 pre-kindergartners at Tulita Elementary School. Their intention was to teach kids how to be responsible pet owners and peaceable citizens when encountering urban wildlife.
“We try to teach them so they respect the animals,” Garcia said. “We have to coexist. When they are this age, they need the big picture.”
The kids sat in rapt attention as Garcia discussed some of the basics of pet ownership – how a dog or cat, by law, needs to have food and water and shelter – and how licensing your dog or cat helps the officers protect animals from possibly abusive situations. He showed them the array of tools animal control officers use to track down runaway pets or other animals on the loose, including a “snappy snare,” a “come-along-pole,” a stretcher (“for injured doggies,” Garcia noted) and a big net.
One little boy wondered what to do when a bird comes flying into his window.
“If that happens at your home, you need to make sure you call us,” Garcia said. “We’ll come and make sure he’s okay.”
At the end, all the kids lined up to pet Cooper, who has been doing these field trips since he was a 9-month-old puppy. “He’s our canine officer,” Ziello said. “He loves it, and the kids love him.”
One of the big messages the officers tried to convey is that the kids simply know who to call when they and their families have any kind of an animal issue at all. The students brought presents for the officers to give the animals they sometimes temporarily hold while the lost animal’s family is located – including blankets, food, and toys.
“They are our eyes and ears that we don’t have out there,” Garcia said. “They can help us do our job…No dog gets left behind.” ER
