Get to them young.

I am an Animal Control Officer, no I am not a dog catcher. I do so much more then, "catch dogs."

I was asked over a month ago to talk to the Clover Buds group, these kids are the mini 4-H'ers ages 4-6. I then got asked last week to talk to a class of third graders about my job and how to take care of animals. I will tell you that I love my job. I love working with animals and educating people on how to take care of animals. One thing I will tell you is that I hate that my job has to be a job. When it comes down to it Animal Control Officers have their jobs not because animals are bad, though their are animals out there that fall into the category. Animal Control Officers have their jobs because we as a human race sometimes fail to be responsible.

God created man to be in his likeness. Then God created animals and humans were told to take care of these animals. No, I am not a vegan, I eat steak and chicken. However, I think there is a humane way to raise and harvest animals. Back to how this plays into my job. Most animals I come into contact with are dogs and cats, most of the animals are friendly and just want to make someone happy. I happen to be the owner of two dogs and a cat. Two were pound critters and one was headed that way had I not taken him. My critters rank right up there with my son, they were my kids before I had my son. So I have a hard time understanding how people can just dump animals, let them run around on their own, and not have the proper medical care that they need.

We has a human race are all about instant gratification. That cute little puppy that you get for Christmas, will one day grow into a dog. Possibly a large dog, dogs need to be fed and watered, they poop, they chew on things, they want love and attention. You can't just one day decide that you no longer want to deal with it. If you make the choice to be a pet owner then you need to fully understand what it means to be a pet owner. You wouldn't keep your child until they turned 4 or 5 then decide they are no longer cute and cuddly and drop them out in the middle of no where to fend for themselves? So why do we do this to animals? Who decided this was okay?

I have two critters in my animal shelter as we speak. They are mixed with a breed that has a terrible rap, mostly because humans have taken this animal and exploited it for entertainment purposes at the expense and life of this dog. These two critters are puppies, they have done nothing to deserve the fate they will meet. As I can't adopt them out in my city limits and my rescue connections have no room for them. I am guaranteeing you that I will cry when I have to walk these pups down the green mile. All because of our responsibility.

I think it is very important to educate children about how we should take care of animals. How important animals are to our history and how they can be such a wonderful part of a family. How to respect animals. I also think you need to educate the parents. That was a nice thing about the Clover Buds tonight as, I think many adults don't think about things such as rabies vaccinations and city tags until I pick up their animal or they are part of a dog bite investigation. These are just scratching the top of topics. I think animal education and agricultural education should go hand in hand. These are basics that children and adults both need to know and understand. Animals, both domestic and wild play important rolls. We need to teach our children how to interact, care and respect these animals. I feel blessed that both of these groups asked me to come talk to their classes. I hope that even if I reach one child, and it clicks how to take better care of an animal. I will have done my job.