What does a typical workday look like for you?
Our general position is the enforcement of the Animal Protection Act. We are ensuring that animals have adequate food, water, shelter, and necessary veterinary care. We also investigate complaints of animal cruelty. We do pet store inspections for the safety of the animals to ensure there’s no overcrowding.

How often do you get complaints?
It varies. There are a large number of pet stores in the city of Edmonton, and we do go to each one on a monthly basis. So we hope that helps to maintain a level that’s acceptable to the public in the presentation of the animals and the conditions they’re kept in. So we get one, perhaps two (complaints) per month.

What kind of animals do you deal with?
Anything that falls within the city of Edmonton is under our jurisdiction. Mostly it’s companion animals; however, we’ve been out to livestock calls as well as exotic animals like reptiles and that sort of thing. We also monitor circus acts that come into the city and the CFR (Canadian Finals Rodeo) when they’re here, the chuckwagons. We also monitor and do a yearly inspection of West Edmonton Mall, as well as the Valley Zoo. So we are exposed to a wide range of animals.

What are some of the more oddball calls you get?
One of the most distressing calls I’ve been on was the two dogs that were found deceased in a lake within the city. It was both a physically hard job for us to move the animals from the lake. There were horrendous odours due to the advanced decomposition of the dogs, and the frustrations that go along with the investigation. Unfortunately, we haven’t turned up any viable leads at this point in time. Fortunately for the owner, one of the dogs was microchipped so we were able to contact them, but it’s always hard to tell an owner that their animal has been found and that it’s deceased. That was a hard file, and something that was definitely out of the ordinary.

What is the most difficult part of your job?
I’d have to say paperwork. I really enjoy going out and talking to the public and doing education with schools and children, and dealing with the different scenarios that come up. I really enjoy my job. There are a few things that are unfortunate, like the long hours and the copious amounts of paperwork we have and staffing is a problem, but overall it’s an absolutely wonderful job.

What kind of animals do you have?
Right now I have a foster dog through a program we have here at the humane society where we can foster animals that are in need, either for socialization or perhaps recovery due to an injury. At this particular time I have an animal that is recovering from an injury. I also have a couple of my own dogs. It’s just great to help out a dog and then return him so he can be adopted.

What happened to him?
Unfortunately he was stabbed. So he had to have surgery to repair the injury. Fortunately he was already neutered so we didn’t have to worry about that part, and now he’s just recovering.