Profiles Animal Control

Standing on their hind legs, front paws perched on a cage, rescued puppies vie for the attention of two animal control officers.

Their goal, said Josh Henderson and Gwen Norman, is to acquaint the skittish animals that come through the shelter with human contact, so the dogs and cats can qualify for adoption.

How and why they sought employment at the Joe Vickery Animal Shelter are stories of compassion.

“I read meters for 6 1/2 years, and I couldn’t put a number on how many cruelty cases I saw,” Henderson said.

While employed for an electric utility company, Henderson traipsed through nearly 700 backyards daily in Galveston and Harris counties, which he said prepared him for his job at the health district that he’s held for 1 1/2 years.

“I saw animal cruelty almost on a daily basis,” Henderson said. “I’d report it frequently, but it got to the point that I was reporting it so frequently, and I didn’t get the satisfaction of knowing what happened to the dog.”

Henderson, a Texas City resident, heard of an opening with the Galveston County Health District, so he applied for a job as an animal control officer. Kurt Koopmann, a spokesman for the district, said Henderson and Norman were both named employees of the year for 2007.

“It’s a lot more satisfying, knowing, especially when you see a dog that should weigh 60 pounds but is only 20 and has no food, water or a doghouse,” Henderson said. “It’s a wonderful thing to take a dog from a horrible situation and give it a good home. At least I’ve changed the world for that one dog.”

A Break For Motherhood

Norman, a resident of Santa Fe, started working for the district in 1996, but then returned about four years ago.

“I quit to be a mommy for a while,” Norman said of her decision to become a parent through adoption. Her compassion for animals, however, brought her back.

“The warmth you feel knowing you’ve been able to adopt an animal is the ultimate high,” Norman said. “Knowing that dog has a home and wasn’t euthanized, it’s very fulfilling.”

Norman is one of the smiling people greeting the public when people walk through the shelter’s doors in Texas City. She answers usually more than 100 calls per day. Those are her slow days, she said, as she tries to reunite lost pets with owners and dispatches animal nuisance calls.

Norman, an animal-control officer, dispatcher and administrative assistant with the district, plans to attend an advanced animal-control certification class in April in Houston with Henderson.

Cruelty Cases

Henderson and Norman described some of the animal cruelty cases they’ve worked recently, including 17 dachshunds that were rescued from caged confines. Eleven of the long-bodied dogs with short legs and floppy ears were housed in a roughly 4-by-3 foot cage, Henderson said.

One dachshund and her puppy were isolated from others in the kennel, Henderson said.

“She’s a sweetheart, but nothing but a puppy maker,” Henderson said. “She’s my project.”

Henderson opened the cage, reached inside and the unnamed mother dachshund rolled onto her side, welcoming his gentle petting.

“Just that there is a big step,” Henderson said, “getting her to roll over. I want her to be comfortable being held and petted without her shaking. She’s not used to human contact.”

The dog, although timid, is very adoptable, he said.

“I try to spend as much time with them as possible, so if the court awards us custody, they’ll be used to human contact,” Henderson said. “Four are very anti-social. The dogs deserve to know what love is.”

Norman said the shelter doesn’t place animals for adoption if they’re sick or pose other risks.

“We try to keep the puppies isolated to control disease,” Norman said, because the dogs are more susceptible to disease when held in close quarters with others that could be sick.

One of the puppies, which was caged with its mother, poked its head from a blanket and stared at Norman.

“When those little eyes look at you, your heart just melts,” Norman said.

No More Bite Marks

Although Henderson also investigates animal bite cases, he hasn’t been bitten since he went to work for the district.

“I was bitten eight times as a meter reader,” Henderson said. “If you go in 600 to 700 yards a day, I got to meet a lot of dogs and some surprised me, but I’ve never been seriously bitten. I’ve learned a lot about dogs, their temperament and how to approach dogs. Dogs tell you a whole lot by their body language regardless of how loud they bark.”

Both Henderson and Norman advocate spay and neuter programs and placing microchips in pets’ skin, which can quickly identify who owns the dog and expedite the return of lost dogs.

“We manage bite cases and dogs that are a nuisance, but we also educate owners on appropriate methods of confinement,” Henderson said. “Most times it’s an easy fix to rectify neighborhood issues by learning how to fix issues of a dog that’s an escape artist.”

Some of the calls the officers receive are at times humorous, including one man complaining about a hummingbird hovering about his house.

“There’s never a dull moment here,” Henderson said.

“I love seeing the smiles on little children’s faces when they’ve just gotten a new puppy,” Norman said. “Or the tears when you reunite someone with their lost animal, like one man’s dog that was missing for six months ... This is what it’s all about for us. Our compassion for animals.”