Have a critter problem?
In the City of Vero Beach, the solution for the past quarter of a century has been to summon the animal control officer.
For a long time, the iconic Bruce Dangerfield, then for the past decade Scott Lee, were always ready to respond to the report of a stray dog, a feral cat, birds that flew uninvited into homes, raccoons in the garbage, poisonous buffo toads in the backyard, and all sorts of snakes and alligators – most of them thankfully of the smaller variety.
“We’re dealing pretty much with the A to Z of the animal kingdom,” says Vero Beach Police Chief David Currey.
But now, with Lee’s retirement earlier this month, rumors have surfaced the city might be flirting with the idea of eliminating the position to save money.
“Not true,” Currey assured us. “We had a nice going-away sendoff for Scott last week, but we are filling the position and we have started to recruit for his successor immediately.”
Currey explained that the job first has to be posted among present city employees to see if anyone qualified is interested in taking it. If no present city employee wants the job or is considered qualified, the city will go outside to recruit a successor.
The position pays in the low 40s for an annual salary and the successful applicant must like dealing with animals – all kinds of animals.
Until a new animal control officer has been hired, Currey said Vero Beach residents needing help with animal control should continue to call the police department. “We have a sergeant and a lieutenant who used to supervise the animal control officers, and they know what to do,” Currey said.
He added that the city can also call for assistance on Indian River County, which covers a lot more ground than the city in sparsely populated areas more likely to experience animal control problems. The county has four full-time animal control officers and Currey said that cooperation with the county in this area has always been excellent.
Lee had offered to stay on a bit beyond his retirement date to train a successor, but Currey did not think that was necessary. Between the members of his own department familiar with animal control and backup help from the county, Currey said city residents will be well covered for animal emergencies.
Before his retirement, Lee had put in a total of 16 ½ years of service with the city. He had served as the city’s parking enforcement officer and then in 2016 switched to animal control when his predecessor, Dangerfield, retired at the age of 73. Lee had taken courses at Daytona State College to become a state-certified animal control officer.
It was Dangerfield who during his 17-year tenure had raised the job of animal control officer to a high profile in the city. Dangerfield, who kept pet snakes in his own garage and had been bitten by every type of animal, said that his main antagonists were not the wild animals he had to face and tame, but the people who were cruel to animals he occasionally had to rescue, like emaciated puppies or kittens.
In the city of Vero Beach, the animal control officer is part of the police department. In Indian River County, the animal control officers are not part of the Sheriff’s Department but report directly to the county administration. Other jurisdictions within the county, like the Town of Indian River Shores, generally do not have their own animal control officers but rely on the county administration for that service.
