New Kane County animal control director back with first love

Mary Lawrie was only 14 years old when she carried her sick springer spaniel to the veterinarian in her neighborhood on Chicago's north side.

More than 40 years later, Lawrie, who was hired last month as Kane County's new animal control administrator, can point to that visit as the start of her love affair working with animals.

Lawrie eventually made the switch from animals to human beings, most recently she managed a business office for United Surgical Partners Inc. in Chicago.

But she's back with animals after accepting the Kane County position and an office at the new animal control center in Geneva, which brings back memories to that veterinarian visit.

"I asked the vet to please take care of my dog, but I didn't have any money to pay him, so I offered to work for him," Lawrie said. "There wasn't much he could do to save my dog after a short time, but I started to work for him, and that was my first job."

Loving animals

Lawrie oversees the operation of the county health department's 8,200-square-foot animal control center and she virtually gets to talk to the animals every day.

"I have always loved animals and have always had animals," said Lawrie, who currently has three cats in her St. Charles home, two of which came from a shelter.

She refrains from bringing more animals home on a regular basis "for fear of bodily harm from my husband," Lawrie laughs.

"The county has a limit of six animals per household, so I guess if we did anything, it would be three dogs next," she said.

Lawrie would have plenty of animals to pick from in her clean and spacious shelter on Keslinger Road, just west of Peck Road. The shelter, which can house 70 animals, has four main kennel areas, which feature 10 to 15 cages each.

When she enters the cat's kennel, she immediately greets her "boarders" with a pleasant "Hi, guys, how are we today?"

The cats in the kennel, sporting names like Prince Henry, Butters, Simpson, Blondie and Chester, have time to roam freely outside of their crates and plenty of toys are spread about for the curious creatures.

"We like to socialize the animals here," Lawrie said. "When people adopt these animals, we like to show that they can get along with other animals."

Role of the wardens

While residents may understand the role of an animal warden -- who picks up strays, captures animals that may have bitten an adult or child or helps get wild animals out of attics or garages -- Lawrie said it seems many people are unaware of the services offered at the center.

"First, I don't think everyone knows that we are even here," Lawrie said of the center that opened in February and received high praise after a recent state inspection. "One of the things that I have learned is that many individuals who lose an animal don't realize who they should be calling to find out where that animal might be," Lawrie said.

"It could be here or at another shelter," she added. "It could be in any number of towns in the area that they lost the animal. We need to know location and date of when they lost the animal because we keep track of this and try to reunite the owner with those animals."

Lawrie's staff keeps track of lost animals with charts so wardens are aware of where each animal was lost.

"You want people to get the word out in other ways, with posters and fliers, but they should alert us so we can help," Lawrie said.

Microchips are inserted into all animals leaving the shelter to make future locating and identification an easier task. Pet owners also can obtain rabies tags, either renewals or first-time purchases, at the center.

Not just gifts

With the holiday season, it is common to see families consider giving pets for a Christmas gift. Animal experts generally agree that buying or adopting a pet as a holiday gift is not always the wisest decision.

The center currently is in its seasonal "holding period" for adoptions. Those interested in adopting a pet can still see the animals, fill out paperwork to help center officials determine good matches and contemplate making an animal part of the family. They can put a "hold" on the animal, but cannot take it out of the center until after Christmas.

"We don't want the animal to be just a Christmas pet that ends up being returned after Christmas," Lawrie said. "We are just trying to ensure that people aren't looking at them only to make them a Christmas present, and we see some come back shortly after the holiday."

Information about pets available for adoption can be found at www.co.kane.il.us/AnimalControl.

A dedicated staff

In her short time at the center, Lawrie said she quickly developed an appreciation for the dedication and commitment displayed daily by her staff as she continues to meet more people in the county and develop working relationships with other shelters and veterinarians.

"I know that the county wants to run this as a business that serves the community," Lawrie says while petting Hailey, a fox hound that has been in the center since found wandering outside two months ago.

"The obvious difference now is that we have a shelter, whereas before we had to utilize the services of other organizations to house the animals.

"But this is still health services," Lawrie said when comparing her current role to those she performed in the past at United Surgical and Partner's in Women's Health, P.C., or Curative Health Services. "And going forward, I just think we are going to be able to have better coordination of services."