Lori Charette, the city’s manager of animal control operations, is seen in her office with ‘Spud’, an unclaimed tri-color beagle dog recovering from minor surgery. Charrette was recently named ACO of the Year by professionals in her field. (Photo by Carl E. Hartdegen)
WESTFIELD – The city’s new manager of animal control operations – Lori Charette – has been honored by her peers for her work as an animal control officer at her former workplace, the Thomas J. O’Connor Animal Control and Adoption center in Springfield.
Kara Holmquist of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reports that Charrette was named the Animal Control Officer of the Year by the MSPCA and the Animal Rescue League of Boston and the award was presented at the annual meeting of the Animal Control Officers Association of Massachusetts on Oct. 17.
Holmquist said that several people nominated Charette for the award based on her work as an ACO at the center, where she worked for nine years before she was hired as the manager of animal control operations in Westfield.
She noted that several of the nominators lauded Charette’s “willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty, to search relentlessly for lost dogs and to nurse birds back to health in her own time.”
“The nominations raved about her work both in the shelter and in the field” said Martha Smith-Blackmore, a veterinarian at the Boston Animal Rescue League. “We thought that her efforts to train others by taking the time to show staff and volunteers how to do things was laudable.”
“It is clear that Lori is dedicated and driven in her mission to help animals in need,” Holmquist said and said that Charette “exemplifies the traits” that the sponsoring organizations look for as they choose a recipient for the annual award.
She said that the ACO of the Year award is given to an ACO who has promoted responsible pet ownership by manifesting a dedicated and humane attitude toward the treatment and well-being of all animals; by effectively enforcing pet responsibility laws; by conducting public awareness and humane education programs and by maintaining cooperative working relationships with other agencies involved with animals.
