Who Does an ACO Work For?

Ask questions about Animal Control situations and local laws. Several of our members are ACOs and we'll try our best to help you! Please note: this area is not for "bashing" Animal Control Officers.

Postby gayrghts » April 25th, 2008, 9:17 pm

Who does the ACO usually work for?

For example...

I got a call today from a friend, he had found what he said was a puppy pit female... turns out the dog had recently had puppy's that's why he knew it was a female....

this pup was in his back yard in downtown albany...

a neighbor called albany police, and also ACO #

they did not respond.... for about 5 hrs when he called me...

I gave him another place to contact... and he never called me back, so i can assume all's well, however what to do in a situation like that if you have no other resources?
Heather

A dog teaches a (kid) boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down.
- Robert Benchley
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Postby airwalk » April 25th, 2008, 9:28 pm

ACO's may work for County (or township or borough depending on where you are) and can work for Cities as well. Typically a enforcement ACO is a government employee. There are Humane Societies and ASPCA's that have Special Investigators - but they typically stick to statutory crimes versus code enforcement types of activities.

In our case, we have 3 ACO's to cover 1800 square miles so unless it is a major emergency there are many times when response is 24 hours later, just not enough bodies and too far to go.

In our case, a dog in a back yard that is not necessarily acting aggressively does not rank as high on our priority response list as other public health types of complaints.

If the dog is "abandoned" then sometimes a Humane Society or ASPCA can assist with that...but caution, they typically do not take in strays and again if the dog is not neglected or creating an emergency response may have to be delayed depending on the number of ACO's and their call loads and priorities.

If the pup is not an issue, often simply taking it to the nearest shelter is quicker.
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Postby airwalk » April 25th, 2008, 9:51 pm

Albany NY right? Well interestingly, the City's web page shows pretty exactly what their Animal Control does and it doesn't mention strays. It appears there is a Humane Society in Albany, they may be another resource

Mohawk & Hudson Humane Society
Oakland Ave, Albany, NY 518-434-8128
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Postby Marinepits » April 25th, 2008, 10:00 pm

airwalk wrote:If the pup is not an issue, often simply taking it to the nearest shelter is quicker.


Agreed.

In my town's case, we work directly for the Police Department. Our budget allows for one full time ACO and one part time ACO, for a total of about 55 hours per week. During times that one of us is not working, the Police Department will respond to animal calls. They'll take in strays and put them in our shelter and also handle the preliminary work for bite cases, animal-involved neighbor disputes, etc. If it's a true animal-related emergency such as a hoarding case or a drug bust where animals are involved and need to be confiscated, we are on-call and will respond immediately. Whether or not we're called in is up to the OIC (Officer in Charge).
Never make someone a priority in your life when that someone treats you like an option.
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