Who Let the Dogs Out

Meet Officer Blewett. Or as we call her, Tabby.

Her and her family are our Austin besties who we’ve been spending a lot of time with. Last week she spent her lunch break with Matt and I, and the conversation went a little something like this…

“This guy that I need to call back, he got bit by a squirrel and he wants me to come catch it and make sure it’s not rabid.” (insert laughter from Matt and I) “Yeah, like I’ll be able to catch a squirrel”. “I need to call him back and tell him to STOP doing whatever it was he was doing to get bit by a WILD ANIMAL.”

Outside she makes the phone call. “This is Officer Blewett with Animal Control, I’m returning the call of Mr. ___… Uh huh… uh huh… And did it break the skin? Okay. So, we cannot come catch the squirrel if its gone. Furthermore, a rabid squirrel is very unlikely. It would have to have survived the biting of another rabid animal and they are really too small and weak to do that. Uh huh… Uh huh… Okay. Well from now on just don’t feed the squirrels… Okay? Okay. Just call us back if you have any other problems. Have a great day.” She hung up, looked at Matt and I and said “He was feeding it pecans”.

We laughed so hard we were both doubled over. In fact I laughed so hard I had to pee. In the stall I said out loud (to myself) “I was feeding it pecans and it bit me”. I laughed so hard and very loud. I’m sure everyone in the restaurant bathroom thought I was crazy.

After that we headed to the Sheriff’s station to make it legal for me to do a ride along with her. To be allowed to do a ride along was pretty painless; a background check, finger prints, blood work, and a sworn affidavit notarized by a Nun. No! Not really. Just the background check and a notarized form stating that I would not wear cut off’s, a t-shirt with a Socialist statement, and that I would not antagonize anyone that she had to deal with OR make any situation worse. FIIIINE!! And the ride along was scheduled.

Saturday morning I was up by 7:00am. I quickly dressed, ate, brushed, styled my hair, and put some makeup on (I wanted to make a good impression on the animals) and grabbed Matt’s CHiP’s sunglasses. The last thing I did before kissing Huno and walking out the door for my first (and only) day of work was to pin the Junior Deputy badge that Tabby had given me onto my shirt. Bing bang boom! I was official!

We were in her truck by 8:00am and on the road shortly after. Instantly there were “ANIMAL” incidences up on her screen. Time to go to work.

The Sherriff’s department currently houses the Williamson County Emergency Operations Center. We made that our first stop. The room is dark, with the lights off because these folks are staring at like 4 screens at all times. They have ear pieces in as well as a foot pedal in case they need to talk on their respective channel while typing. This is where all 911 calls as well as all non emergency calls come into. It was amazing to watch them work.

We had some work to do, so we hopped back into Tabby’s truck and started to knock some stuff off the list. First things first: a call back to a crazy and self proclaimed “Cat Lady” who has made it her mission to trap the feral cats around her house. Her house, she said, is one of the cottages that were used for shooting some of the scenes for the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. A detail that she went into great length about. Including letting us know that for $500/month she was getting a ‘killer deal’ (too tacky?).

Next order of business: a dead and possibly rabid skunk. Tabby had picked up a skunk on Friday and had JUST gotten most of the skunk smell out of her truck. GREAT!

We found the dead skunk just where it was supposed to be and went to the nearest house to make sure no animals had come in contact with it. The dude (who answered the door in his boxers– really!?!) said that it had walked across his yard and he had shot with with a 12 gauge. (That means nothing to me btw.) This was my first taste of the country folk that Tabby deals with daily. Her territory covers some pretty backwood and hillbilly areas.

With the skunk in tow we headed to the County Animal Shelter. If an animal is suspected of being rabid then the head must be sent off to the lab for testing. Rabies exists in the spinal fluid and the brain, so all the lab needs is the head. Williamson County is 2nd in Texas for Rabies cases (the first is Travis County: Austin). There have been a lot of rabid skunks in the county lately and Tabby is quite good at “decap’ing” the animals. Not only has she been doing this for 13 years, she also used to teach a class on how to decap an animal for the lab. HOWEVER, during this decap, for the first time ever she nicked herself in the process. OH CRAP! Nothing she could do though and it really was a minor nick. Nothing to worry about until the results come back…

Before we headed back out I got a tour of the Animal Shelter. This was the first time I choked up and had a little tear. We walked around to the dogs that were on their 72 hour hold. Meaning that they were lost or picked up and their owners had 72 hours to claim them. I could see the fear and each one seemed to be asking me “Where’s my Mammo?” It was so sad. BUT I did not bring home ANY animals from the shelter. (Pat on my back since we live in a 24′ RV).

Back on the road we visited the home of our first hoarder (2 hoarders in one day). This person hoarded animals and when they went in to seize the animals one dog got away and has been running free. Good for it, I say! But as part of their job they must try to trap it and get it to the shelter. Tabby and I agree that a dog that has been in a cage for most of its life is NOT going to climb back in one easily. So the trap just sits.

After lunch we were slammed with 6 calls at once. And we were the only truck out since it was Saturday. Most of the calls could be handled by phone, but one in particular needed immediate attention. A cat was missing his bottom jaw. WHA?!?! “How could that even happen?” I asked. Tabby explained that it is pretty common and usually from the cat getting into a fight with a raccoon or other animal. We high-tailed it over there and as we got out of the truck the wife started spewing info at me and all I could think was “Umm, my PLASTIC badge clearly says “JUNIOR DEPUTY”… I had no idea what she was talking about. Then the husband showed us where the cat was.

As we were trying to find the cat (in the pile of stuff by the shed) I bend down and put my head low to get a better look. “It’s getting warmer” the man said. “You may want to watch out for tssss tsss tsss.” as he shook his pointer finger like a snakes rattle. MAN, I never jumped so high. Everyone laughed and Tabby said “She’s not from here”. Nope, nope I’m not. Never even occurred to me.

We all began to look for the cat again and the man explained that he was “gonna countryize it” but he lives out there (in the middle of nowhere) with “all these girls” his wife and 3 daughters were all looking at us. Apparently “Countryize” is to just shoot it. Not as uncommon as this city girl would like to think.

We finally got the cat and headed straight to the shelter to put it down. It may sound strange but this is the part of the day that made me feel the best. This cat was in such bad shape that I thought to myself that those girls should have let that man “countryize it”. It broke my heart to see that poor cat that way. Tabby began the euthanasia and I said a prayer for him. It was very emotional and the second time I cried a little and choked back my tears. He went very peacefully and respecfully.

Our last item of the day was to drive way way way out into the country to check on a “house” where the man had been hospitalized and was not expected back. He too was a hoarder and he had over 60 cats in his “house”.

The house in in the process of being condemned. The cat urine has soaked through the floors and created massive holes that the owner just placed wood boards over. There was garbage everywhere and the stench of cat feces and urine was overwhelming to say the least. There is not running water or electricity there either.

After the man was hospitalized he asked a neighbor to “release” the animals. There were up to 40 cats locked in the back “bedroom” and several cats in a broken down car outside. The issue is that since the neighbor released the cats there may not be a lot that can be done. Cats are considered free roaming animals in Williamson County so they aren’t picked up by Animal Control unless they are hurt or rabid. These 60 or so cats have access to outside now and can get food and water. They are officially free roaming now. I only saw one of the 60 or so since they hid the second a human was near. They can run out of the “house” through the holes in the floor and there was a torn open bag of cat food in the main room. I think this case may be closed. Sad.

Several days after my ride along we got back word that the skunk we picked up was in fact rabid. CRAP!! So poor Tabby, our fearless guide, had to make tracks to the hospital for a series of shots. She came back much worse for wear after being poked several times. Over the next few weeks she will have to go back 3 more times for more shots. That’ll teach her to cut herself in the line of duty! JUST KIDDING! At one point during our day Tabby laughed as she said some people still believe that all they do is catch dogs –there is nothing further from the truth.

So that was my day with Officer Blewett and the Williamson County Animal Control. I know some it may have been hard to read about, some of it certainly was hard to see. But I love that thousands of people like her are out there every day helping those animals that can’t help themselves. My thanks to Tabby and her whole team for letting me be a part of their world for the day!

xoxo

Junior Deputy

Bree.