Millcreek overhauls animal control efforts following 'Berkeley' the cat's death

The shooting of a well-loved neighborhood cat by Millcreek Township's animal control officer in July prompted a community uproar.

It also prompted the officer's resignation and a "massive overhaul" of how the township responds to reports of sick, stray or injured animals.

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The township plans to hire a new animal control officer this spring, and that officer will be better trained and better paid to provide humane service, township officials said.

"We did not take what happened lightly," Millcreek Township Supervisor Kim Clear said. "A lot of concerns came up because of what happened, and we realized it was going to take a massive overhaul of our practices and policies to get this right."

Township officials looked at how other municipalities respond to animal calls as a first step in revamping animal control in Millcreek. That research showed that the major problem in Millcreek was lack of training, Clear said.

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"The only training required in the past was on the job with the person who previously performed it. There were no checks and balances to show that the person learned what to do in this situation and what to do in that situation," Clear said. "There were no written standard operating procedures."

New protocols, higher pay approved

The township has since written a new job description and procedural manual for animal control and will require its new animal control officer to have or obtain both National Animal Care & Control Association and Basic Humane Society Police Officer training and certification.

It will also offer higher pay for the animal control officer, $42,764 annually plus health benefits and pension. The position previously paid $36,774.

"The pay scale was a lot lower than it was for other positions in the township," Clear said. "Increasing the pay will help us attract quality candidates."

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Township supervisors on March 28 approved an agreement with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3030, the union representing Millcreek Township civilian employees, approving the new salary.

The agreement, known as a memorandum of understanding, also will allow the township to make the animal control officer part of its code enforcement department. The animal control officer traditionally has been a civilian position in the Millcreek Township Police Department.

Millcreek Supervisor Jim Bock voted against the agreement, saying the position should continue to be part of the police department.

"It will be an eight-hour position a day with a 16-hour gap where the police department will be responding to animal calls," Bock said. "With 66 officers, I think we have that flexibility now, and if we took a survey of those 66 officers we might find one or more interested in serving in this capacity."

Code enforcement is a better fit for the job, Clear said.

"The police department is certainly qualified to oversee the position. It has a really, really strict structure, guidelines and SOP in place," said Clear, who voted for the agreement along with Supervisor Dan Ouellet. "But this position is outside its union and outside its SOP, and the police department has nothing to go by but trust to even know if the animal control officer is doing the job the right way or wrong way."

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Answering animal control calls additionally would take an officer away from other duties, Clear said.

The new animal control officer is expected to work from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the hours the township receives most animal-related calls, Clear said.

Outcry after Berkeley Road cat's death

The township has been studying its animal control position and procedures since a cat well known in southwestern Millcreek's Berkeley Road neighborhood was shot and killed rather than taken to the Erie Humane Society by animal control officer Richard Lyall on July 29.

Lyall said the cat was aggressive, infested with parasites and had no identification or rabies vaccination tag.

Neighborhood residents who afterward packed township supervisors' meetings said the cat was friendly and healthy.

Lyall was placed on administrative leave while township officials investigated his actions and residents' complaints. He was "separated from employment" by a unanimous vote of Millcreek supervisors in September. The vote specifically approved an agreement by which Lyall resigned his position.

The township is finalizing its new animal control policies and practices, Clear said.

"We're working on the final SOP and the goal is to post the position for applications by the end of April," she said.

Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Millcreek revamps animal control training, practices after cat's death