Career Mirror -- by Tom Babin

By looking in the cab of Bill Piasta's truck, it is tough to guess his occupation. There is a hefty computer mounted to the dash that receives information from the dispatch centre, but he is not a police officer. Beside the computer is a CB. He's not a commercial trucker, though. A cell phone also lies on the seat. It, however, has nothing to do with executive meetings. The only giveaway lies inside the plastic cup-holder beside the steering wheel. In the place of a cup of coffee lies a half-eaten dog biscuit. Piasta is an Animal Services Officer with the City of Calgary, and he employs everything in his truck -- including the dog biscuit -- to ensure animals and their owners comply with the City's animal bylaws.

Bill Piasta with a young doberman who was adopted after being picked up as an unregistered stray

"You can't look at this job like that of a dog-catcher because there is so much more," Piasta says. Dealing with people, their pets and Calgary's strict animal control bylaws is the mandate of city Animal Control. Each officer's goal is to keep a designated area of the city compliant with those bylaws, including animal licensing, registration, control and aggression. "The (animal control) bylaw is very strict, we use a lot of discretion, but it's tough," Piasta says. "That, in my opinion, is a big deterrent (to violations). People in Calgary feel free to walk their dogs without fear of being attacked by a pack of dogs."

Despite their job title, the majority of an animal control officer's time is spent dealing with dogs. Though much has been made about Calgary's cat bylaw in recent years, and Piasta said they are occasionally called to deal with everything from porcupines to pigeons to pythons, only dogs are rounded up, or "arrested," for running the streets, or "being at large." Arrested dogs are often returned home, sometimes with a fine for its owner, but if the dog has managed to flee across the city, it is returned to the animal services kennels where it will wait to be picked up by its owners.

Unregistered dogs, Piasta says, are a little bit tougher to deal with. If the owner cannot be found, the dog is put up for adoption. If not adopted, it is turned over to the SPCA for another chance at finding a new owner and, if still unsuccessful, the dog is euthanized. Animal control actually destroys few dogs because the city's registration bylaw encourages registration to avoid hefty fines, so most dogs can be returned home. Animal services supervisor Hugh McMahon says since a push to inform the public about the benefits of dog registration, and the bylaw levying heavy fines on the owners of unregistered dogs, came into effect about 10 years ago, the number of dogs euthanized by animal services has decreased significantly. Statistics provided by animal services say in 1984, before the current bylaw, animal services destroyed 1,450 dogs. In 1997, they destroyed 118 dogs.

Besides picking up strays, animal control also occasionally houses dogs on death row. Those convicted of attacks and deemed vicious by the courts are kept on death row until their sentence is carried out, as was the case on Feb. 3 when a Pit Bull-cross named Scout was awaiting an appeal after being deemed vicious, convicted and ordered destroyed by the courts.

At any given time, Piasta said animal services houses between 25 and 35 dogs, all brought in by the city's 19 officers. "As far as catching a dog, I don't think you can teach it, everybody has their own style," Piasta said. "Very seldom do I ever use the pole (a flexible pole with a collar on the end used to snare dogs), only if I feel threatened or the dog is in danger. Ninety percent of dogs, you use the least restraint possible." Piasta said he likes dogs, so he has a desire to bring them in as safely as possible. Catching dogs is more about communication and reading their behaviour than athleticism, he said. Many dogs respond to his calls, or he entices them with dog biscuits, though some dogs are tougher to apprehend then others. "Some of the worst to catch are American Eskimos and Shelties. They can be nasty little buggers -- you've gotta watch those ankle biters."

Becoming an animal control officer in Calgary is tough. Applicants need experience in law enforcement, either as a police officer, RCMP, bylaw enforcement officer or Fish and Wildlife officer, because they are constantly dealing with the law, criminal investigations and court. Job satisfaction seems high, and the pay is good, so openings are rare and mostly come about through retirements. Getting into the career is difficult, but once inside, the job has many advantages. "I love dogs. I love working with dogs, " Piasta says with a smile. "Bringing dogs home to people is really satisfying. This is a really satisfying job."