ACOs as First Responders in Texas

TACA believes Animal Control Officers (ACOs) should be considered first responders in Texas and are working to have this designation made in the 2025 legislative session.  The reasoning for this is outlined below.  We're asking all cities and counties to add the following statement to the "Support" category of their legislative agendas:

“The City/County of __________ supports legislation that animal control officers are considered first responders under Texas law and they are considered a public safety employee whose duties include responding rapidly to an emergency.”

Why Texas Animal Control Officers should be considered First Responders

Texas employs more Animal Control Officers (ACOs) than any other state, with approximately 1,350 officers. Historically, ACOs have been on the frontline of public safety by protecting communities from loose animals and addressing public health concerns, such as preventing the spread of rabies and other zoonotic diseases. This early role has now dramatically been expanded to include providing community support and outreach, investigating animal cruelty and neglect, saving animals who are in immediate danger, rehoming unclaimed pets, promoting responsible pet ownership, and enforcing nuisance abatement ordinances.  ACOs work alongside other Texas first responders such as law enforcement, EMTs, and firefighters almost every day, as well as during weather emergencies, natural disasters, mass evacuations, and other catastrophic events. Despite this, ACOs are not yet recognized as first responders.

Simultaneously, ACOs’ jobs are getting more and more dangerous.  On May 10, 2021, a Concho County man shot and killed two deputies who were assisting with the capture of two dogs that had bitten someone.  On October 13, 2022, TACA Member Crystal Goforth and her fellow ACO Jon Corder were responding to a service call on a highway and were killed by an inattentive driver in Levelland, Texas.  ACOs all over the state are threatened and assaulted almost on a daily basis by pet owners, animal extremists, and others who don't understand that those who do this job do it because they care and want to make a difference for the people and animals in their communities.

First responders are defined as “individuals who in the early stages of an incident are responsible for the protection and preservation of life, property, evidence, and the environment.” Any incident that involves an animal will most likely end up being handled by an ACO in some way.  Every natural disaster and evacuation order that impacts people will also affect their animals and ACOs are required to be available 24/7 for emergency response.  During Hurricane Katrina, many people lost their lives because they refused to evacuate without their pets.  In response to that, the federal government passed the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act that requires state and local jurisdictions to include animals in their emergency response planning.  In these situations, ACOs must be there to help protect and preserve the lives of the owners and their "property" since that's what animals are legally considered.  ACOs are first in line to investigate animal cruelty, seize abused pets, and issue citations and they protect and preserve the "evidence" (animals) in these cases.  These reasons are why ACOs absolutely meet the definition of first responders and should be designated as such.

Benefits to including ACOs as First Responders

There are many benefits to designating ACOs as first responders:

It would help recruit more people to the profession and improve their quality of life as an ACO.  As a community's population increases, so does it's demand for animal control services yet many younger people do not see this as a valid career due to the negative portrayal of ACOs in the media and by animal groups who attack anyone who doesn't prescribe to their ideology.  A first responder designation will instantly elevate the public's perspective on the profession and help many see this as a viable and valuable job they can do for their community. 

It would improve access to mental health benefits and increase the longevity of their careers.  ACOs frequently encounter distressing and traumatic situations, and their role can take an emotional toll. However, unlike other first responders, ACOs receive little to no mental health assistance.  This means that an ACO could be on the same scene as other first responders, dealing with a potentially horrific situation, such as removing pets from a deceased person’s home, but they won’t receive the same mental health assistance to cope with witnessing these horrific events as other first responders will.  The average ACO seldom makes it past more than a few years on the job because of the stress and trauma of the career and this designation would provide ACOs with improved worker benefits as well as the resources they need to avoid burnout, better handle the stress in their careers, and stay in their positions for longer periods of time.  By reducing the high costs of staff turnover, recruiting, and training, this designation could actually end up saving cities and counties money.

It would increase access to training and equipment grants that could help subsidize a municipality's animal control budget.  ACOs often receive limited training and are provided with nothing more than basic equipment that is often in disrepair.  In some cases, they even have to buy their own equipment if they want to be able to better protect themselves.  While many municipalities already require ACOs to receive proper training and equipment, smaller agencies generally struggle to adequately train and outfit their Officers.  Designation as first responders would help those smaller agencies meet the needs of their officers and their communities without impacting their community's budget through state and federal grants.

It would help protect ACOs when responding to their most dangerous calls.  Drivers often fail to treat the lights on ACO vehicles with the same respect they do for other emergency vehicles.  This can lead to ACOs and their vehicles being hit while they are stopped on the side of the road.  As first responders, ACOs would be protected by the state’s Move Over or Slow Down law to hopefully prevent this sort of tragedy from ever happening again.

Summary

The very core of a modern ACO’s job is deeply rooted in community engagement, public health and safety, and the welfare of animals. ACOs respond to accidents and disasters involving domestic pets, wildlife, livestock, and even dangerous exotic animals. They are frequently involved in search and seizure warrants, often have to assist when arrest warrants are served, and are usually the first line of help for abused animals. They respond to dangerous dog calls, situations where people are bitten by animals, and help prevent the spread of rabies. They do all of this while frequently being exposed to weather extremes, aggressive animals, zoonotic diseases, and verbal and sometimes physical abuse from people they interact with, all of which can leave permanent physical and mental scars.  ACOs provide valuable services to their communities as well as crucial support to other first responders in situations when their professional expertise is needed.  Unfortunately, they do not receive nearly as much acknowledgement or support because they are not recognized as first responders. Communities and local agencies should view and support their ACOs at the same level as other first responders and should provide the ongoing training, equipment, and resources necessary for Animal Control Officers working on the frontlines of their communities.  Legally designating them as first responders is the first step in this process.