WESTFIELD – The staff at the Westfield Animal Shelter was augmented when the city’s Police Commission hired a part-time employee as an animal control maintenance officer.
At the commission’s meeting Monday evening in City Hall, animal control officer Ken Frazer recommended that, Diana Hicks of Chicopee, who he said has been a shelter volunteer “almost since day one” for appointment to the recently created position.
Hicks was present at the meeting and said that she had worked as a nurse for 25 years until she became “burned out” and left the field. She said that, after she left her nursing career behind her, she worked at the Thomas J. O’Connor regional animal shelter for about eight months until she was laid off there.
Frazer said “She’s been here almost two years, almost as long as I’ve been open” and said that she has, as a volunteer, performed a wide variety of functions many of which she will continue to do as an employee.
Frazer said “she runs the adoption part” of the shelter’s operation and will continue to make home visits to check the living conditions potential adopters can offer dogs placed by the shelter. Frazer explained that the home checks are necessary to minimize the number of dogs returned to the shelter. He also said that Hicks will work to train dogs before they are adopted.
And, Frazer said, Hicks will still be involved in direct care of the dogs at the shelter, feeding and exercising the dogs and cleaning their kennels.
The commission acceded to Frazer’s recommendation and Hicks was appointed to the 16 hour-per-week part-time position by a unanimous vote of the commissioners.
Frazer said that more than 200 dogs have been adopted from the shelter since it opened and said that currently there are “23 or 24” dogs at the shelter dogs waiting for new homes.
The municipal shelter’s role was expanded this year when agreements were made with the neighboring communities of Agawam and West Springfield. Starting in July, animal control officers in those communities began bringing dogs found in their cities to the Westfield shelter, located on Apremont Way, for housing and placement.
The shelter is supported by municipal funds but largely staffed by volunteers. Frazer said that there are “about 60 (volunteers) on paper” but said that about twenty per cent of those provide most of the service at the shelter.
The shelter also relies largely on donations of supplies to help the animals. Pet supplies are always needed, of course, but so are a wide variety of household supplies. Frazer said that currently wet canned dog food is especially needed. “I’m always in need of that – and paper towels” he said.
