Wednesday, July 3, 2024
The Gatesville Animal Shelter always has plenty of cuddly canines and frisky felines looking for a home, and helping to protect those animals and the community is the key role of the department.
When Douglas Glimp went into law enforcement, he never thought to put his love for animals on his resume.
But that changed earlier this year, when he saw the job opening for animal control officer and saw the chance to work as a police officer and work with animals full time. He was working as a patrol officer in Hamilton, living in Gatesville, when the animal control position with the Gatesville Police Department became available.
"I've always loved working with animals, and I used to volunteer my time with shelters when I could," Glimp said, and this job turned out to be the perfect fit.
As Gatesville's only animal control officer, this is Glimp's busiest time of the year, and during the summer months, he impounds anywhere from 12 to 16 dogs every month. "A lot of people dump dogs in the city from the country" around Gatesville, "because people know we'll pick them up and put them in the shelter."
Fortunately, not every call ends up with a dog getting impounded. Glimp also gets to reunite 20-25 lost dogs with their owners each month as well.
People always want to try and help lost dogs themselves, but Glimp recommends that they call him if the dog is acting aggressive in any way.
"If you think it's at all aggressive, call animal control. But if it's friendly and just jumps in your car, go ahead and bring it in to us," Glimp said. Gatesville city policy is that when someone finds a stray animal, they should let animal control know about the animal as soon as possible.
Even though Glimp is the only full-time officer, he does have some help from four volunteers, who help Glimp find homes for shelter dogs, sometimes a long way from Gatesville. That was the case for Chloe, an impounded puppy with canine parvovirus, a highly contagious virus that is often fatal in dogs.
"We get a lot of parvo puppies like Chloe," Glimp said, "but we were able to get her healthy, and one of our volunteers found a shelter in Montana that could take her, and she's doing great with her new family there."
When asked how Chloe ended up so far from Gatesville, Glimp said that was all due to the efforts of volunteers. "We have a lot of great volunteers who reach out to shelters all over the country to try and get animals adopted."
Glimp is working with the city on a more robust volunteer program, but if anyone is interested in helping at the shelter, Glimp said they could help with things like washing the dogs, taking the dogs for walks, cleaning the shelter and contacting rescues on the shelter's behalf.
And Glimp will be getting some more full time help soon, as the city is interviewing candidates for an additional animal control officer.
The shelter is funded through the police department, but can always use donations, especially food. And when Glimp takes dogs to the vet, donations can help with expanding the services that dogs receive while under veterinary care.
In addition to impounding, the shelter also handles surrenders, which happen when a family is unable to take care of their dog and has to give them up in the hopes that the dog will be adopted by another family. There are 11 adoptable dogs at the shelter now, and the shelter adopts out around eight dogs every month.
Glimp is also planning on providing microchipping services through the shelter in the future and is working with the city on making changes to the budget to make that happen.
If anyone is interested in adopting a dog from the shelter, they can be viewed at www.gatesvilletx.com/police/page/animals-adoption, and for adoptions, contact the Gatesville Police Department at 254-865-2226.
