Lauderdale County agrees to hire animal control officers

LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) – The Lauderdale County Commission has unanimously approved an agreement with the city of Florence to hire and train animal control officers for the county.

On Monday, the departmental commission voted on the agreement, which was approved by the city of Florence on May 19. Now, two new animal control officers will be hired to deal with aggressive or injured animals outside the city limits.

Until now, Lauderdale County had no officers trained to deal with these animals. Now, Florence-Lauderdale Animal Services will be able to provide animal control services in the county.

As part of the agreement, the county and city will also consider building a medical facility for the Florence-Lauderdale Animal Shelter and hiring an on-site veterinarian.

Lauderdale County Commission Chairman Danny Pettus told News 19 that building this medical service would greatly help the shelter’s budget in the future.

“When you hire a vet on-site, even paying what they think is a good salary for a vet, it will save the shelter over $400,000,” Pettus said.

The new agreement is expected to come into effect on June 1.