Helping Oklahoma animals takes teaching
BY PAULA BURKES
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Published: November 1, 2009
Modified: October 31, 2009 at 10:36 am
Modified: October 31, 2009 at 10:36 am
Edmond’s animal welfare supervisor Jim Fish is thankful for the cable/satellite channel "Animal Planet.” Since its launch in the late ’90s, the programming has done much for public education and to dispel the misconception of an animal welfare officer as a so-called dog catcher, Fish said.
As the show accurately and poignantly depicts, animal control officers are less about picking up stray dogs and cats, and more about investigating animal cruelty and neglect. "Largely, we answer questions and help people take better care of their animals,” he said. A common myth, for example, is farm animals can be left alone in pastures to forage for themselves, Fish said. Even if they graze, animals need hay, feed and water, he said. Home remedies also can lead to trouble, Fish said. A horseowner once used a concoction of harsh chemicals to treat his horse’s skin problems, burning nearly 90 percent of his body. Fortunately, the horse made a full recovery in the care of a rescue organization. Neglect is more common than abuse, Fish said. "Often we’ll find dogs that are skin and bones, and there’s no way to find out who dumped them more than a month ago.” Sheridan Lowery, a field officer for the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter, enjoys the challenge of evidence collection. "You can’t ask a dog ‘Did that man beat you?’ All you’ll get is ‘Woof.’ ” But officers can ask a property owner about a deceased animal in their backyard, if they knew he was there, and if so, the last time they saw him alive, Lowery said. Depending on the body’s decomposition, specialists can perform an autopsy-like procedure to check for any food in the stomach or the presence of fat tissue to prove the animal was being cared for. Lowery has seen people tie up puppies in their backyard, let their kids feed them and not think about loosening the collar as the dog grows. "When collars become imbedded and infected, it can look like someone tried to slit their throats,” he said. For animal cruelty, pet owners face up to $1,250 in municipal fines. In his more unusual cases, Lowery helped locate and capture a bobcat a man was keeping as a pet on the patio of his second-floor downtown loft and a 1,200-pound bull that presumably escaped from the stockyards. Lowery switched from law enforcement to animal control nine and a half years ago because of better pay. Fish worked numerous years as a zookeeper and curator of birds in Florida, Texas and Oklahoma, before transitioning to animal welfare. The downside of their job is euthanasia, the officers said. If animals are aggressive toward people or other animals, don’t want to be held, or are territorial about food, they’re generally put down after the first 72 hours. But Fish and his colleagues spend 90 percent of their time trying to find homes for orphaned animals. Currently, 90 dogs and cats are being held in Edmond and 675 in Oklahoma City. Success stories include finding a home for a peahen that was just a chick when they found her, and another for a 9-year-old Mastiff/Chow mix named Hooch. The latter’s former owners were in tears when they brought him in, Fish said. "They had to move and couldn’t afford to take care of him,” he said. In the four months following, no one showed an interest in Hooch, who became depressed. But after a week with a foster family, the dog brightened up, the shelter showcased him again and a family of five with two other dogs adopted him, said Fish, showing a family photo.
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