Naperville seeks first animal control interns

Want to rescue ducklings from sewers, impound more than a dozen dogs found in one house or care for a pet after its owner has died?

These are among the types of duties that could be handled by the intern or interns Naperville Animal Control plans to hire for the first time this year.

At a small building on the city's police and fire campus, Animal Control Supervisor Joanne Aul and her three employees hope to welcome their first class of interns to learn the field of animal law enforcement firsthand.

Summer is the busiest time for the unit, which typically handles about 5,000 calls a year, Aul said. So the few-month break from college classes is the perfect time to bring on extra help and offer worthwhile experiences to students majoring in fields of animal science, biology, criminal justice, human-animal studies, psychology, veterinary technology or zoology.

"They're going to learn quickly," Aul said of the interns the unit plans to take on from May through September.

Aul said she has wanted to bring on interns for several years and made the move to do so this year after the loss of a part-time employee.

Interns will learn the daily cleaning, feeding and exercising of impounded dogs and cats and will accompany animal control officers on whatever service calls arise.

Those calls can range from catching a wounded goose to bringing an injured bird to the DuPage County Forest Preserve District's Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn to handling a nuisance caused by raptors, owls, or coyotes. Calls about stray cats and dogs occur often, too, but pets are only part of the problem.

"Half of the calls we do here in town involve wildlife," Aul said.

The other half - or more - actually involve disputes between neighbors about pets or domestic issues that also affect animals in the home.

"Everyone thinks we play with puppies and kittens," Aul said. "But people and their problems are a major part of this job."

Accepted interns who apply by April 20 will learn how to rein in unruly animals with equipment such as nets, traps and snare poles, as well as how to medicate sick animals in the shelter's quarantine room.

At least 30 hours during each intern's stay will be spent shadowing police officers as they handle police dogs, do regular patrols, conduct forensic investigations or go to court.

Interns also will observe dispatchers and social service workers - the other police employees animal control regularly works with.

"We also want them to be involved with doing more than just grunt work here," Aul said. "We want them to be able to experience the whole police department."

To apply for an internship, visit www.naperville.il.us/services/naperville-police-department/programs-and-services/animal-control/.

The number of interns accepted for the unpaid program will depend on the number of qualified applicants.