Animal Control Officers Work To Protect Furry Friends

Winter Park, FL -- Some vicious dog attacks in Central Florida have some wondering what an animal control officer does.

They're often the first people on the scene of an attack and the people who have to catch the dog and calm things down, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported.

The day a once-seized dog or cat gets adopted from an animal control shelter can make their job seem worthwhile, but what they go through to get an animal to a safe place can be heartbreaking.

No day is ever typical for animal control officer Wendy Myshrall. On this day, she finds nine pitbull mixes in one Orlando back yard. The face of one of the dogs was freshly scarred.

"We've got one dog here that, at least, we're going to have to impound," Myshrall said. "This may end up being a felony cruelty at this point with this dog."

The morning sun showed the dog's ribs clearly.

"I'm afraid these dogs possibly may disappear if we leave them too long," Myshrall said. "[There's] a lot of debris and stuff in the yard. A big code enforcement issue here."

Growls don't frighten Myshrall, but the way some people treat their animals does.

"This dog has got a big cut out of his lip here. You know this guy has been fighting somebody," Myshrall said. "I can almost guarantee that some of these dogs are used for fighting."

Someone showed up claiming to own two of the nine dogs.

"I need to know exactly who owns all these dogs, and I need to see proof of rabies vaccinations for them," Myshrall said.

By law, an officer can cite any adult on the property with neglect of animals. In this case that's what she did., and then Snowflake, thin and ribs showing, was taken away, but the other eight remained.

Animal services pledged to return in 24 hours and remove them unless someone provided proof of rabies vaccinations.

To give you an idea of Orange County Animal Control's workforce, 18 officers are responsible for the safety of 1 million people and 550,000 dogs.