over the last 8 years working in new haven i had to call animal control twice and both times happened to be after hours , the first time it was 3:45 in the afternoon about a dog black lab sitting in the middle of the street , very nice dog but he seemed to be lost and would not stay out of the street so i called officer [content removed by administrator] and she said i bet he lives around there and its 4:oo so by the time i get across town it will take to long and he will be gone by the time i get there, i told her i would waite for her but she said leave him alone and check on him later. so i hung up . she thinks that if she goes home and i check on him later i will not be able to reach anyone to come out so i took care of the problem myself. the second time was last night, pitbull tied to a fence near the railroad tracts at 1100 at night . went down to see him and called n.h.p.d . dispatcher said if the dog is not sick , injured, or dangerous animal control will not respond on over time, i called amtrak police they came in a 10 min , went down to the dog but he was affraid of us . amtrak police called n.h.p.d and dispatcher told him the same thing she told me. after the officer talked for a while she gave him the number for animal control and there was no answer because it was not an after hour number . we noticed a n.h.p.d patrol car going by so we flaged him down and he call and said the dog needs medical help due to the high temps so animal control came out . its all about money not saving animals. officer [content removed by administrator] is no help at all and she and the city should focus on looking for ways to help animals not looking for ways not to . they wanted to leave the dog there over night till they open at 9 in the am. so thats how new haven treats there animals ?????? so if its after hours in new haven your on your own !!!! very sad

there was a animal control officer years ago, i think his name was bob, he was great . he went out of his way to help the animals .

I am new to this communication, however, I must ask: has anyone ventured a guess as to why the dog was tied to a tree near the train tracks? Could it have been some brave young man trying to "toughen" or "make the dog meaner" for fighting? I'm just wondering why the question wasn't asked and why this type of behaviour might not be remarked upon as the horror that it is.

either way the dog needed help.thats not the question how or why the dog was there, the question is the dog needed help, being tied up god knows how long in the heat . doesnt matter how he got there . and you say brave young man ??????? that is the sign of a coward , a helpless dog tied to a tree along the railroad tracks in this heat . maybe the so called BRAVE YOUNG MAN should be tied up there !!!!!!!

Thanks for doing the right thing.

If the dispatcher needed a reason to send animal control, why didn't you give her a reason? Lie about it. Say the dogs leg appears to be broken, or he is foaming at the mouth or something.

Obviously there are key words the dispatcher needs to hear before they send help, and it's not isolated to animal control. Tell them what they need to hear to send help.

everyone that reads this please vote to fix it . lets all come together and fix the way new haven animal control is run . lets help new havens animals . what if your dog got away and lost and someone found him after hours or on a weekend , no one from the city would respond and help the poor dog .

i had a run in with officer [content removed by administrator] last winter about 2 dogs tied to a tree in edgewood park during one of our many snow storms . it was about 2 in the afternoon and i called to report the 2 dogs and she didnt seem to care to much , she said maybe the owners are walking in the park or they are close by . she said to check back in a while and see if they are still there and call back . on my way back home at 4:oo they were still there , i called her back and what a surprise they were closed , called police and they said she would not respond unless the dogs were sick or injured , i said hello it is 20 degrees out and snowing !!!! they sent an officer 3 hours later, the officer called animal control and they came 1 hour later . all this could have been avoided if she responded hours earlier when i called the first time . so i agree lets fix the new haven animal shelter on how they respond to calls . and to the person that wrote about the aco that was there years ago yes his name is bob and he was a great A>C>O they need him back . he cared about the animals .

thank you to the 2 officers from the amtrack police ...

I've seen many comments about Ms. Johnson - good and bad. I don't know her but all I can say is it must be a tremendously difficult job. For me it would be. I would have a house full of dogs! Pretty sure Ms. Johnson must love animals otherwise she wouldn't be at Animal Control. One must become hardened in that job and it probably comes off as not caring.

officer johnson should not be in charge of the animal shelter , she is very rude . you need to love your job and love animals to be an A.C.O . its not about the money its about the animals !!!

I hope to give an understanding how the shelter operates after hours. The shelter has 4 staff members, two Assistant ACO's and two kennel workers. The shelter is staffed 7 days a week from 9AM-5PM. We are open to the public for adoptions and visitors from 12:30PM-4:30PM Monday-Saturday. We are closed on Sundays and Holidays, which means we are only fully staffed Tues-Thurs due to scheduling the four people.

By CONTRACT the staff rotates weekly an after hour shift which is from 5PM-9AM. They are on call for Emergencies only and they are compensated two hours overtime for responding to the calls for service.
Emergencies are animals that are injured and in need of immediate veterinary care, animals that are vicious toward people, animals are to be quarantined after biting a human and animals in distress that are acting or are in a situation that may cause harm to themselves or others.

Response from animal control after hours has a lot to do with overtime cost...this is the taxpayers bill and we will not be reckless by not justifying the expense. Common sense and fiscal responsibility is not uncaring. Department protocol calls for a Police Officer to respond to the scene to determine whether animal control is needed. So calling and lying, as one person suggested, will do no good.

There are no direct calls placed to the animal control staff until the need has been determined by a Police Officer, so Mike(Steve)"waited an hour and no NHPD", how and when the calls are dispatched to patrol has nothing to do with animal control so assistance would have been no sooner than you received it. FACT: Steve placed a call to the police department at 2155 hrs(9:55 PM) Animal Control was contacted at 2232 hrs (10:32 PM) How long did it take to get the dog assistance?

Secondly I would like to address some of the comments made in this forum that is suppose to elicit help but obviously turned into a gripe. Steve( Mike) called the shelter this morning and left a message pretty much reiterating his complaint written here. I called Steve( Mike) back and got his voice mail, I invited him to call me back. He did not.

I recall a conversation in the Spring, Yes, it was nearly 4:45 to be exact when he called, he stated there was dog was sitting on the grass in front of a home on East Grand and Lenox which he stated looked lost. I told him that the dog lives there. I asked if the dog looked distressed, he said it was just sitting there. So explain to me why the staff should take a 15 minute ride across town to tell someone their dog is sitting on their lawn? It was not a complaint that warranted sending my staff. Had the dog been sitting in the street or obstructing traffic with the potential of being hit, as he stated here, there would have been a response but that was not the case.
( very busy street at that hour as those who travel East Grand would know)

Sheri…This winter was extreme and it is nonsensical to even fathom someone walking in the park leaving their dogs tied nearby so they could take a walk without them let alone me ever making such a statement. We close at five not four, I do not respond to after hour calls and only One dog was abandoned in the park this past winter that I personally picked up, I named him Banks because that's where he was, free roaming in the snow banks in the dog park and was playing with another dog along with it's owner. He was not tied to a tree and it wasn’t after hours.

You have obviously been listening to a disgruntled person and feel the need to glorify a reputation that is unworthy. It is a very sad attempt to paint a distorted and nonfactual picture of the work we do based on your connection to this person.

I have been a Police Officer for nearly twenty years and the Animal Control Officer for the city for nearly eight. I have seen life as it truly is, the good and the bad. I am a realist but not disillusioned and I take my job seriously no matter where assigned. I and my staff have cared for over 9000 animals in the eight years I have been assigned to the shelter. WE take care of them. You cannot work here and not care. Have you ever heard of Defamation of Character? If you would like to make a point of disdain do not make false statements in public forums.

We are the second largest municipal shelter in the state with a very limited staff. Every agency can attest that there will be people that are not satisfied with the service they receive, we can strive to do our best, but we cannot please everyone. Many city agencies are suffering due budget cuts and we are most likely not to see a full staff for several years to come so we will continue to serve the best way we can with the resources that we have.

I hope you all that have taken the time to READ my response will now have some understanding of after hour operations. Those who doubt or still have concerns you are welcome to visit the shelter, spend the day at the shelter, request a ride along so you can personally experience the work performed at the shelter.

We also have a volunteer group that is having a general orientation on Sunday August 14 at 1030 AM at the shelter( just show up). We also have a website where you can learn what the volunteers do as well as see some of our adoptable pets at www.findafriendforlife.org.

As for the dog rescued from the tree near the train tracks, he will be loved and cared for as all our animals are until we find him a family to be as loyal to him a he is surely to be to them.

Respectfully

Officer Stephani Johnson
NHAS MACO
81 Fournier St
New Haven, CT 06511
(203)946-8110

Thank you Officer Johnson for the reply. I know more now than I did before about how the NHAS works.

officer johnson thanks for the reply, first and formost i never made a false statement in this public forum , it was a concern of mine because i am an animal lover and would do anything i could to help an animal . second the only reason the call came into animal control faster is for one amtrak police responded within 10 min , and at this time no one from new haven p.d responded yet . i maid a phone call to a friend and soon after that a police officer from new haven came by to expedite the situation and get the dog help. my main concern was that it was very hot out and the dog could have been there all day and you know as well as myself the dog would not have lasted till the morning in this heat with no water . as far as defamation of character is nonsence, i was stating how i felt and what people have to go through when trying to get help for an animal after hours .as far as other statements made by others they are also stating how they feel . i would love to meet you and sit and talk with you and clear some things up , and a ridealong would be great . when you have the time i would love to set a time to come in and talk with you . thanks again for the reply .

well officer johnson responded to the people on this site to explain the how the shelter is run , she offered to talk with me and offered anyone to come down and spend the day and see what they do and also a ride along . i responded to her on this site 4 days ago and got no response !!!!! hmmm

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