By Susannah Wood

When Glen Wheeler died a few weeks ago, few people could remember a time when he was not the animal control officer. For more than 20 years, Norfolk relied on him to deal with stray dogs and cats, suspected cases of animal cruelty and rabies, escaped horses and reports of someone’s Fido or Rex harassing the neighbor’s cows. Some things have changed since he took the job, some have not. It is certainly still a job with serious responsibilities.

Animal control officers are responsible for all domestic animals, and the town is looking for someone who both likes and has a talent for working with them. That someone will be “on call” at all times, the way country doctors once were. State law requires all towns to have an animal control officer, though in towns with a population under 25,000, the job can be part-time or shared with an adjacent community.

As an officer of the court, he or she will have the authority to remove animals that may have been abused from a property and to take into custody the suspected perpetrator. The officer must make decisions about and has the authority to deal with rabid pets or dangerous animals, including the authority to kill such animals if need be. To improve the professionalism of animal control officers, legislation passed in 2012 requires new officers to be certified by undergoing over 80 hours of training in a six-week course administered by the Department of Agriculture. This training is offered once a year and is free. After that, officers have a yearly commitment to do six hours of continuing education. A town can hire someone to fill the job before certification with the proviso that certification will be obtained within the year. The training covers such topics as evidence handling, court procedures, drafting search warrants, crisis intervention, officer safety and civil liability for animal control officers.

Until the job is filled, any problems with domestic animals should be reported to the Selectman’s Office, which will then contact Public Works. Anyone interested in applying can obtain a job description at Town Hall. The salary has yet to be determined.