The Livermore Police Department has an important message for the community!
The Livermore Police Department has many units that all work together cohesively to ensure that the community members of Livermore have access to the services that help them thrive and feel safe. But often times, it’s not only the people of Livermore who need help and attention. We also strive to address the needs of our animal friends, both pets and those that are wild. The Livermore Police Animal Control Unit’s mission is to educate and provide courteous assistance to the public and to provide comfort, kindness and compassion to animals in our care.
Our Animal Control Unit is staffed by one full-time employee and one part-time employee. Officer Kathy Holmes came to the department 18 years ago after an extensive career as a graphic designer. Officer Lorie Rueppel has been with the department for nearly ten years and previously worked as an Emergency Veterinary Technician. Both officers got into the field because they had a love of animals and strong desire to improve the lives of those animals in need.
On the surface many may think that Animal Control Officers mainly deal with barking dogs or loose animals, but there is so much more to their role. We asked Officer Holmes what the primary functions of her job were and she said that “Animal Control Officers are Enforcement Officers, Rescue Officers, and Health and Safety Officers. Our main goal is to protect animals from abuse and neglect and to protect people from dangerous animals. We are also called upon to render aid to injured animals, address barking complaints, and unfortunately pickup deceased animals. A lot of our time is also spent enforcing city ordinances such as leash laws and maximum pet violations.”
There are some important limitations for our community members to know. Our Animal Control Officers cannot go under houses or on roofs to retrieve animals. “We also cannot get cats out of trees. In my 18 years here, I have never had a cat refuse to come down from a tree once it was hungry or motivated to,” mentioned Officer Holmes. Many issues with birds and some other forms of wildlife are handled by the Lindsay Wildlife Museum at http://lindsaywildlife.org/ or by calling (925) 935-1978. Also, for many issues related to rodents and pests you may contact Vector Control Services of Alameda County at http://www.acvcsd.org/ or by calling (510) 567-6800.
To say that our Animal Control Officers and their contributions have been valuable to our city would be an understatement. We wanted to know what accomplishments for the community that our Officers really took pride in and they told us “We are especially proud to have been involved in saving an abused German Shepherd that the vet thought may not survive. Rescue groups got involved and although he had to have his leg amputated, he was saved and we were able to help re-home him. We have also been able to save a dog from a hot car and assisted with the prosecution of the owner.” Officer Holmes also mentioned catching a Golden Eagle and taking it to be rehabbed and re-released. She also was able to revive a near-death hummingbird by feeding it out of her own hand and was able to watch it fly away.
If you do find yourself in need of Animal Control Services, want general information, or want a list of the ordinances that Animal Control enforces, please go to our website at http://www.cityoflivermore.net/citygov/police/animal/default.htm or call (925) 371-4848.
