Humane officers on the look out for area animals

“It was not life-threatening, and it is being treated with antibiotics at the shelter,” the sheriff’s lieutenant said.

Charges are pending against a woman for failure to have her pets vaccinated, as well as animal cruelty, in the case. The Harrison County Planning Commission has started the legal process to have the house demolished.

Animal Control Officer Alea Wilson assisted Scolapio with the rescue. They had hoped to capture more of the animals, but the cats hid in the walls and above the ceilings to elude the officers.

“I couldn’t do what I do without the animal control officers,” Scolapio said.

Wilson said animal control officers regularly accompany Scolapio when he plans to seize animals.

“We take the animals to the shelter until the court case comes up or for observation,” Wilson said.

Humane officers and animal control officers have different duties.Humane officers handle neglect and abuse cases, while animal control takes care of strays, dogs running at large and dog bites.

“We have no authority to take abused animals,” Wilson said.

Scolapio stressed to pet owners: Not having rabies tags and not having tax tags are criminal violations.

Each county’s humane officer is designated by the sheriff. If the County Commission and sheriff agree, the county dog warden may be designated to act as the humane officer or as an additional humane officer.

Any person who interferes with, obstructs or resists a humane officer is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, can be fined $100-$500 or 30 days in jail or both.

“Road patrol officers are the first responders to humane complaints. I try to be diligent,” Scolapio said. “But you must set priorities.”

Taylor County’s humane officer is Chief Deputy Terring Skinner.

“Any law enforcement officer can act as a humane officer,” Skinner said. “We take complaints involving animal welfare — from pets to livestock. We have the ability to assess the situation. Unless it’s an extreme case with livestock, it’s difficult to determine without a veterinarian. We do field a number of complaints involving livestock and animals. But there is no standard of care for livestock.”

The three variables for livestock are adequate food, water and medical care. With pets, it goes one step further with adequate shelter, Skinner said.

The city of Clarksburg employs an animal control/humane officer. Matt James has been fulfilling both roles for four years.

“I get an awful lot of calls regarding no food and water and neglect. My calls are pretty much 50/50 between animal control and humane complaints,” James said, who added that he loves his job.

He said his most memorable case involved the rescue of 16 Pomeranians.

“I had a lady with 16 Pomeranians in her house,” James said. “The trash was piled waist-high throughout the house with walking paths. I took all the dogs out. You’re only allowed to have three in the city. She was charged with animal cruelty. The dogs had never been let outside. It was pretty bad.”