Animal Control Officer

Animal Control Officers enforce laws that deal with animals, provide other services to their community and are expected to inspire public confidence in government by their commitment and service. The selection process is rigorous and tests applicants’ history of:

  • Accountability
  • Emotional fitness
  • Honesty
  • Integrity
  • Judgment
  • Punctuality

You must meet minimum qualifications and satisfactorily complete each phase of the applicant investigation process to be selected for appointment as a City of Friendswood Animal Control Officer.

Careful Consideration

You must seriously consider you own reason for becoming an Animal Control Officer. Not every person is an appropriate candidate for this career. Frequently, Animal Control Officers go from periods of normal activity to sudden situations causing significant physical and emotional stress. You will be placed in situations that will test your judgment. Our process attempts to ensure that applicants who may pose risks of injury to themselves or others will not be selected. You are personally responsible to consider the risks before proceeding.

We seek only those people whose histories reflect honesty, reliability, and responsible financial management. Public confidence depends on every officer possessing and exhibiting unquestioned integrity.

  1. Duties
  2. Training

As an Animal Control Officer, you are required to be available and subject to call outs 24 hours a day on a rotating on-call schedule for a period of 7 days at a time. This schedule will require your ability to respond within 30 minutes to animal-related problems. Occasionally you will be required to work unscheduled overtime, weekends and holidays. You will be compensated for overtime, call-outs and holiday time. You must expect these occurrences if you accept employment.

Essential Job Functions

An Animal Control Officer’s essential job functions include:

  • Perform their normal duties
  • Responds immediately to calls for service by motor vehicle or on foot to obtain or give information, enforce animal-related laws, provide timely assistance
  • Animal Control Officers are in contact with domestic and wild animals
  • Patrols the community by vehicle to enforce animal related laws and educate the community on responsible pet ownership. The position may require walking or standing exposed to elements for extended periods
  • Quarantine animals for rabies observation in accordance with state law
  • Enforces animal related laws and ordinances impartially by issuing warning or citations to animal owners
  • Prepares notes, reports and other documents using appropriate sources to provide necessary information
  • Clear, concise and professional testimony in court
  • Conducts preliminary or follow up animal cruelty investigations
  • Impounds stray animals, domestic and wildlife
  • Euthanize animals which are:
    • Aggressive
    • Injured
    • Sick
    • Unclaimed
    • Unwanted
    • (often times this may include healthy animals)
  • Interview, obtain information, and statements regarding animal bites, vicious, and dangerous animals
  • Presents a professional appearance and maintains assigned equipment by practicing personal hygiene, wearing a clean uniform and caring for equipment to ensure proper operations
  • Maintain animal control facility to include the daily cleaning of animal cages containing feces and urine. Washing of:
    • Bowls
    • Kennels
    • Litter pans
    • Other animal related equipment
  • Communicates effectively and coherently by radio in routine and stressful situations
  • Exhibits independent judgment to determine proper corrective methods to achieve compliance with local and state laws
  • Operates animal control vehicles at any hour in emergency or non-emergency situations to arrive safely and prevent injury to others
  • Pursues animals on foot, which may include quickly exiting an animal control vehicle or include running, climbing, pulling, jumping, and crawling to impound stray or vicious animals
  • Loads and unloads animals to and from animal control trucks and cages
  • Communicates effectively and coherently with people by giving and receiving information
  • Maintains professional demeanor, especially when enduring verbal abuse from antagonistic people in a hostile environment
  • Reads and comprehends a variety of documents, maps and reference materials to properly enforce laws, help others and comply with Department regulations
  • Prepare and submit animal specimens for laboratory rabies testing