We're shining a light on the important work of our Animal Management team, who help to keep community members safe and provide education about responsible pet ownership.
Adrian Clarkson became an Animal Management officer after the global pandemic cut short a stint working overseas as a chef, a trade he'd dedicated 16 years to.
I ended up doing some study online while at home in lockdown and I applied for roles in community safety.
Having worked at the City for just over a year, Adrian says every day is different when dealing with requests from the community, and there's never a dull moment.
We attend to dogs at large and livestock on roads, we audit domestic animal businesses, gather evidence for barking dog complaints, and we investigate dog attacks and menacing rushes.
We're outside on the road most of the time, out at beaches and in parklands, not stuck in an office somewhere or in a kitchen, as I've previously done.
In the last financial year, Animal Management responded to 251 dog attacks and 503 menacing rushes and investigated 1,908 barking dog complaints.
At the end of the day, community safety and wellbeing are our main priority.
We are there to not only enforce but also educate about responsible pet ownership – to contain animals, walk dogs on leads and keep them out of prohibited spaces, to ensure the safety of people and native animals.
We're always here to help.
Registering your pet greatly improves the chances of lost dogs and cats being returned home by one of our Animal Management team members.
Adrian recalls a heartwarming job where he picked up a 14-year-old dog from the vet that was flagged as 'stolen' against their microchip and, after some investigation, reunited it with its rightful owner.
This dog in particular was missing a lot of teeth – that was one of the distinguishing factors that proved that [the man he reached out to] was the owner.
They lived six hours away and the dog had been missing for something like five or six years.
The dog and I were sitting in the park waiting for them to arrive and there were cars driving past, which it took no notice of.
Adrian says the stolen dog then recognised the owner's car.
As soon as that one particular car came around the corner, its ears popped up, tail started wagging and it looked straight in the direction of the car and watched it the whole way around the park until they parked – it was amazing!
To reunite that dog was a real blessing, I think.
Other instances where he's seen his work make a real difference for an animal is when he's worked with the RSPCA to check on the welfare of animals.
Removing animals from certain environments is quite rewarding, as difficult as it can be to see and process those situations.
One of the more challenging parts of the job is managing not only our own emotions in these difficult environments, but also those of the pet owners or victims.
His top tips are:
Stay professional, follow your procedures, be sincere, actively listen, be supportive, stay cool and work with the person.
Adrian believes customer service skills, investigative and enforcement experience and animal handling knowledge are needed to work in Animal Management.
Identifying dog behaviours, I think, is quite important, you know, for your own safety as well.
When you're trying to rustle up a dog that's at large or something like that, a wagging tail can actually be an agitated wag.
Greater Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj OAM
Animal Management does a lot more than just finding dogs at large.
Animal Management plays an important role in keeping the community and other animals safe, whether that's at home, on a beach or in a park.
We ask that community members follow the directions of our Animal Management team and treat them with respect.
Councillor Chris Burson
More than 30,200 dogs and 10,500+ cats are registered in our region.
Greater Geelong has one of the largest animal populations of any Victorian municipality.
Our Animal Management officers work to ensure residents and their pets can live together harmoniously.
