Newtown’s New Animal Control Officer ‘Loves This Town’

By Andrew Gorosko

With her affinity for dogs obvious, Gerri Breyan walks a friendly frisky male border collie known as Jack in the exercise yard at the town’s animal shelter off Ethan Allen Road.

Jack, who had been kept at the shelter for a time, was then being readied for adoption by some family for whom he would make a good pet, Ms Breyan explained, noting that he had apparently received some obedience training in the past.

The 50-pound Jack had been found wandering about on the grassy area of Interstate 84’s Exit 11 ramp complex.

(Since Ms Breyan was interviewed for this story, Jack has been adopted by a local family).

Besides taking in dogs, the animal shelter’s other major role is placing those dogs with new owners who would care for them as pets.

Ms Breyan, a Derby resident, started work in June as the town’s new animal control officer, replacing the retiring George Mattegat, who had served in that post for 23 years.

“I love this town,” Ms Breyan said, noting that Newtown’s size far exceeds other towns where she has worked as an animal control officer.

Ms Breyan has worked in that field in Easton and Stratford, and has volunteered animal care work at the Ansonia and Oxford animal shelters. She said she has worked in various other jobs, but has not found any other type of work as fulfilling as working with animals.

The role of animal control is protecting the public through animal control law enforcement and through public education, she said.

“This is the place for me. You know when you find your calling. I’ve always loved animals. Animal control is never boring,” Ms Breyan said. “Every dog bite case is different. Each requires investigation. It’s a very interesting line of work,” she added.

Besides working with animals all day long, Ms Breyan has four pets of her own — a retired racing greyhound and three cats. The greyhound is finally getting used to being around cats, she said.

The number of calls for animal control service that she receives on a given day varies, typically ranging from two to eight, Ms Breyan said. Going on service calls is an engaging part of the job, she added.

The best type of call is one in which she picks up an animal, which is then immediately claimed by its owner, she said. “I’ve been getting most of them redeemed” by their owners, Ms Breyan said.

Recently, one call involved a goose that had gotten into a predicament.

The goose had become all tangled up in fishing line in a pond. Ms Breyan caught the goose and then cut all the fishing line off the waterfowl, placing the animal back into the pond unfettered.

When she first arrived on the job in mid-June, Ms Breyan realized that a pure-bred Dalmatian that had been picked up was the lost mascot of the East End Hose Company, a volunteer firefighting unit in Derby. The Dalmatian, known as Sparky, was returned to its grateful owner.

“It was just a fortunate circumstance,” she said.

 When not on service calls, Ms Breyan is either tending to the animals at the shelter or handling administrative tasks and telephone calls in her office. Ms Breyan is aided by poundkeeper Pat Anzellotti.

The office is posted with many color photos of dogs and with signs seeking the return of lost or missing pets. The animal control officer seeks to locate the owners of animals that are held in the shelter. She also makes referrals.

Licensing

Ms Breyan urges that all dog owners license their dogs annually. Such licensing requires that dogs have current rabies vaccinations. Unfortunately, some people allow their pets’ rabies vaccinations to lapse, posing potential health risks, she said.

Ms Breyan said there are about 1,800 licensed dogs in Newtown. She estimates the town contains about 5,000 dogs overall. Licensing helps to track dog owners. Fees from licensing benefit homeless dogs. Licensing ensures that dogs have current rabies vaccinations.

Dogs should be kept at home and be either tied up or kept within electric dog fences, she said. When in public, dogs should be leashed, she added.

As soon as a pet dog is noticed as missing, its loss should be reported to the shelter, she said. During a recent interview, the shelter had several dogs on hand including a shepherd-chow mix, a Rottweiler, a miniature pinscher, a Brittany spaniel, a border collie, and a chow-husky mix. After a waiting period, such dogs are available for adoption.

The shelter is set up to hold 16 dogs. It has space for cats, if necessary.

Ms Breyan works with local veterinarians and with animal rescue groups in the course of her duties.

Ms Breyan said that since starting work in Newtown, she has found both the public and town officials to be pleasant and cooperative. “Everyone in the town has been so helpful,” she said.