Animal Protection Officer - Denver Animal Protection

City and County of Denver • Denver, CO

14d • $33 - $51 • Onsite

About The Position

With competitive pay, great benefits, and endless opportunities, working for the City and County of Denver means seeing yourself working with purpose — for you, and those who benefit from your passion, skills and expertise. Join our diverse, inclusive and talented workforce of more than 11,000 team members who are at the heart of what makes Denver, Denver. Within the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE), Denver Animal Protection (DAP) protects the safety and welfare of Denver’s animals and residents by fostering the human animal bond. DAP emphasizes public and animal safety and health, encourages responsible pet ownership through education and enforcing compliance with animal-related municipal code requirements, and cares for animals at the Denver Animal Shelter (DAS). More information can be found at: DDPHE: Denver Animal Protection . We foster an inclusive culture by respecting the values, customs, and authenticity of everyone and by implementing equitable public health strategies so Denver communities can thrive. DAP has an opening for an Animal Protection Officer . This position will enforce local and regional laws concerning the care and treatment of animals, investigate complaints of non-compliance with animal ordinances and laws, investigate animal bites to people and animal attacks, serve a public health function by inspecting animal related facilities and managing zoonotic disease control, act as a court liaison on violations pertaining to the issuance of legal summonses, and provide education to the public regarding animal care, safety, and welfare. Additionally, this position will handle domestic and wild animals on a routine basis in situations where situational awareness, personal safety, and community safety is paramount. This position requires availability to work shifts in the morning, evening, overnight, on-call, on weekends, and on holidays. This shiftwork is a core function of the officer job role. Officers, including leads, work a 4 day per week, 10 hours per shift schedule. This position is physically demanding, requiring intermittent periods of intense physical activity broken up by periods of driving or administrative work. Physical demands include lifting large animals into trucks or vans, running both short and longer distances, climbing, pulling, pushing, biking, and sometimes awkward physical movements. Each employee in this position is required to take a Health Performance Evaluation (HPE) on an annual basis regarding this type of work.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree.
• Two (2) years of experience conducting environmental/public health inspections, investigations or environmental/public health management activities.
• One (1) year of the appropriate type and level of experience may be substituted for each required year of post-high school education.
• Additional appropriate education may be substituted for the minimum experience requirements.
• Requires a valid Driver's License at the time of application.
• Licenses and certifications must be kept current as a condition of employment.
• Animal Welfare Association of Colorado (AWAC) State Certification for Animal Control Officers
• Expandable Baton Certification
• OC Spray Certification
• Euthanasia by Injection Certification
• NOTE: AWAC Certification must be obtained within 12 months and Baton, OC Spray, and Euthanasia Certifications must be obtained within 6 months.

Nice To Haves

• A Bachelor's Degree in Animal Science, Criminal Justice, Public Health, Environmental Health, or related field.
• Superior customer service skills.
• Experience in responding to complaints related to public health, public safety, or animal related nuisances.
• The ability to be comfortable collecting, impounding, and caring for animals.
• Bilingual in Spanish/English

Responsibilities

• Investigates animal related crimes
• Responds to complaints about inappropriate animal behavior, enforces rabies vaccination and licensing requirements and dog leash laws, and collects, impounds, and cares for animals.
• Issues legal summonses to leash law violators, owners of unvaccinated and unlicensed dogs, and other violations.
• Writes legal affidavits for search warrants and court orders, executes search warrants, and enforces court orders related to animals.
• Chases, confines, and impounds loose animals.
• Acts as a court liaison and works with the City Attorney's Office and the District Attorney's Office concerning cases of aggressive or dangerous animals, animal cruelty, neglect, abuse, and/or abandonment.
• Testifies in court on violations related to the issuance of legal summonses to animal law violations including neglect cases, cruelty cases, bite cases, and other legal violations.
• Investigates reported dog bite incidents and quarantines animals when necessary.
• Performs inspections of animal-related establishments and ensures compliance with municipal ordinances, laws, regulations and contracts.
• Provides education and outreach to community groups, schools, and the public regarding responsible pet ownership, proper pet care, safe human-animal interactions, and answers questions and explains rules, policies, and regulations pertaining to public health and animal control ordinances.
• Respond to calls concerning injured animals, identifies sick or diseased animals, and takes precautions to prevent the spread of disease to other animals or humans.
• Returns animals to owners when the owner can be identified using city issued tags, micro-chips, or information from neighbors before an animal is taken to the shelter.
• Administers vaccinations to animals and performs humane euthanasia.
• Maintains accurate and complete daily log of all related activities such as calls received for each shift, impoundment, and the disposition of animals, and prepares reports.
• Operates vehicle and two-way radio in the performance of duties.
• Cleans and makes minor repairs to facilities and equipment as assigned.
• Along with all department staff, this position will actively participate on an emergency preparedness and response team to support DDPHE’s responsibilities outlined in the City’s Emergency Operations Plan.
• Other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• A guaranteed life-long monthly pension, once vested after 5 years of service
• 457B Retirement Plan
• 140 hours of PTO earned within first year + 12 paid holidays, 1 personal holiday, 1 Wellness Day and 1 volunteer day per year
• Competitive medical, dental and vision plans effective within 1 month of start date

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level