DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board appointed Levi Lisi as animal control officer and Richard Haley as the assistant animal control officer at Monday night's meeting.

 

Dalton has been without an animal control officer since Greg Elser left his position at the end of October. 

 

"We are extremely lucky to have Levi interested in this position. He is the current animal control officer for the city of Pittsfield. [Pittsfield Police Chief Michael Wynn] has graciously granted permission for him to work both," Police Chief Deanna Strout said.

 

The board members thanked both applicants for accepting this position and are confident that they will be a good fit for the community. 

 

"I'll just say I'm familiar with both of these gentlemen. They're great guys. And they'll do well by the town of Dalton," Select Board member Marc Strout said 

 

Traditionally the town has always had an assistant animal control officer but when Elser was promoted, the position was not filled. 

 

When the town received a second applicant who was qualified but not trained, officials saw an opportunity to fill the assistant position once again and fully train him so there would not be a future gap in coverage.

 

During their interviews, both applicants discussed furthering the community engagement work that the Police Department has already been doing through educational programming, Strout said. 

 

"I think for our Police Department, that is just a huge win, and they're gonna fit right in with what we already do. So I'm really excited to have both of them," she said. 

 

The town of Dalton saw an increase in dog ownership by 400 during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the department now oversees 1,500 dogs. 

 

But being an animal control officer goes beyond that. They are responsible for the welfare of all types of animals including farm animals, cats, reptiles, guinea pigs, and other pets. 

 

Educational programming is a major component to the position alongside making sure animals are in safe sanitary conditions, are up to date of vaccinations, and licensed in accordance with state and local laws.

 

Although ACOs do not deal heavily with a lot of wildlife situations, they can direct people to the proper channels whether it be through the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, a licensed rehabilitator, or other resources, depending on the situation. 

 

"I'm the Berkshire County representative for the Control Officers Association of Massachusetts. And we have a saying that nobody knows what an animal control officer does and what an animal control officer goes through, other than an animal control officer because there's no state regulations on who the animal control officer falls under," Lisi said. 

 

"In Dalton, it falls under the police department, there are some municipalities where it falls under the health department, or the select board, or the town manager. So it kind of affects each municipality differently."

 

Lisi has been serving the community both as an animal control officer for Pittsfield since last May and as a volunteer at the Berkshire Humane Society since 2011. 

 

He is looking forward to serving another community both on the animal side and the human side, he said. 

 

"Animal welfare has been something I've done for over half of my life. I enjoy animal welfare," Lisi said.

 

"It allows me to make sure that the animals in the communities are being properly cared for and being properly taken care of whether it be normal vet visits to make sure they're up to date on vaccines, like rabies or just in sanitary, healthy conditions.

 

While working for the Pittsfield Police Department, he has been exposed to a variety of different animals do to the greater populations and number of animals. He also has become educated in the animal field so the community outreach education is a good part of what he has done and is looking forward to continuing.

 

Although Haley is new to the assistant position, he said he is familiar with animals from his previous career as a cable technician. 

 

During that career, he saw a variety of different animals, some living in unsatisfactory conditions but did not have the power to really do something despite wanting to. 

 

"So I've always kind of had that kind of relationship with just seeing how animals live and wanting to improve their lifestyles," Haley said. 

 

The biggest part of the job for him is working with people to improve the lives of animals. In his previous position, he worked with a lot of different types of people so he knows how to interact with them and resolve situations calmly without having to escalate it to the chief, he said. 

 

"I've lived in this town for 12 years now. I love this town. I love everybody in this town. I love the animals in this town," Haley said.  

 

"For me, that's a big thing, making sure the animals are taken care of, making sure people are properly educated on animals, and maintaining animals. I'm just serving the community that I love."