Crestwood Hires Animal Control Officer; Some Debate Lingers Over Services

Crestwood hired a new Animal Control Services officer, Nancy Hutt, to replace longtime officer Suzi Sutton, 69, who retired at the end of March after 13 years. 

Hutt begins the new job April 25. She is said to have worked at the Missouri Wildlife Rescue Center. No contact information was immediately available for Hutt.

The job was advertised by the city as paying about $35,000 a year.

The need for a city Animal Control Services has been debated from time to time by some who want to pay St. Louis County to handle it. Others see a benefit in getting swift, kindly service in the instances when a family pet goes missing, or wildlife deaths occur.

The city maintains a tiny shelter to hold lost and abandoned pets until they are claimed or adopted. Pets and their owners who love them, may not be so lucky without local service.

Volunteers with the animal shelter seem very dedicated and often donate supplies—as do other residents. Current renovations to the shelter are being funded by donations through Friends of Animal Control and Rescue, a 501(c)3 charity.

The shelter also charges room and board by the day to those picking up their pets. Adopting an unclaimed pet costs $80.

Recently, a pet owner was contacted after veterinarians found the ID chip in a young stray cat. When the owner learned it would cost him $125 to get the cat back, he said forget it—he would get another cat somewhere cheaper. Some volunteers feel the pet is better off adopted to a new home. Her name is Heidi and is pictured here.

During the recent campaign for Crestwood mayor, outgoing Mayor Roy Robinson said residents would not get as good service by turning Animal Control over to another agency.

Mayor-elect Jeff Schlink voted to eliminate the city's full-time animal control officer job in the past, however he said that did not mean he wanted to shut down the shelter.

"Like many Crestwood residents, I'm a pet-owner and empathize with those who have a passion for animals," Schlink wrote in an email. He said he would look for a compromise in the face of the city's declining revenue. 

"Sharing the responsibilities with other people in the Parks Department," Schlink suggested, "we could continue to leverage our existing volunteers and the county. I don't think it's wise for the city to keep an animal control officer at the expense of public safety positions."

Firefighters earn nearly three times the salary posted for Crestwood animal control officer, and police officers earn about double.

There's good news in adoptions from the Crestwood shelter.

Three young cats who had been languishing at the shelter since the beginning of the year were adopted in April, and are pictured here—Caesar the chatty, orange male; Tootsie the white cat with black patches, and HoHo, the tuxedo-style kitten who turned up on Christmas Eve in a blizzard. 

Another orange male has checked in now, Major, and Heidi, the young female rejected by her owner, are available for adoption.

Smokey and Butler, a male and female both two years old, still await a new home after they were orphaned when their human died unexpectedly.

Call Kathy Naccarato at 314-729-4864 or email at knaccarato@ci.crestwood.mo.us