Animal Control

Berkley Hill drives a pickup truck with his job description painted in large letters on the sides: “Pamlico County Animal Control, Rabies Control, Cruelty Investigator, Dangerous Animal Investigations.” The truck bed has a windowless metal housing for animals.

His first task this Monday morning is to take photos of two long-haired German shepherds who need a home. He personally owns 19 dogs and two cats. “All of them except my wife’s dog and cat are rescue animals—they come from dire situations.” One of his dogs, his favorite, is a shepherd, found on a logging road.

“My weakness is German shepherds,” he says, thinking about the shepherds he is about to visit. He says he is constantly tempted to take in additional animals but can’t afford more.

“Most of what I do is welfare checks—people calling in because they don’t feel comfortable with the welfare of animals they see,” says Berkley, who has been Pamlico County’s animal control officer for the past 11 years. “Ninety-nine percent of the time there is nothing wrong, but I don’t mind checking.”

Berkley runs a command center from his driver’s seat: A county laptop is propped on a stand next to him so that he can respond to emails; his cell phone is always in hand; and mounted on the dashboard is a radio scanner tuned to the Pamlico County Sheriff’s Office frequency. Residents seeking help also contact him through social media, but he tries to steer them to official channels; he needs to keep his personal and professional lives separate, he says. Clipped to his visor are business cards and a two-dollar bill that an older man gave him, telling him not to spend in one place. Every door pocket holds several cans of bug spray.

Berkley was born and raised in Pamlico County and was a paramedic there for 32 years before taking on his current job, for 9 years he did both. As we ride deep into the county on gravel roads to the town of Florence, he tells me that a year-long distemper outbreak has recently ended. Distemper is a highly contagious viral disease that infects animals, including dogs; its symptoms include eye discharge, lethargy, anorexia, coughing and it often leads to death. When Berkley observed those symptoms in wild animals, he had to kill them to prevent the virus from spreading. “I spent three months, every morning, shooting sick raccoons, squirrels, skunks and foxes.” He urges pet owners to get their indoor and outdoor animals vaccinated against distemper.

Usually, he says, the county’s biggest problem is its feral cat population. They spread many diseases and decimate the native songbird population. After he catches them, they typically must be euthanized in accordance to the law through the Department of Agriculture. “It’s the really sad part of my job,” he says. “I wish people would stop feeding stray cats or spay and neuter the ones they feed.”

In his job, he never knows what to expect, he says. Berkley has trapped animals with rabies; caught pets and livestock abandoned in the wild (it once took him four days to catch three roosters roaming loose at the Riggs Mill in Grantsboro); transported injured horned owls and eagles to a wildlife center specializing in birds of prey; removed snakes; and “there was this one time when some cows got loose,” he says. “It was a mess.”

We drive through an open gate and arrive at the home of Carol Williamson. Her three large German shepherds come to meet us. We slowly step down from the truck while they sniff us. Carol is sitting on the porch. She doesn’t smile when she greets us, and her eyes are tired. Her husband was in a car accident. She is having a hard time taking care of the dogs while helping him recover.

Berkley pulls out his phone and attempts to take pictures of the dogs, which are busy circling him and won’t hold still. He will post the photos on social media and online adoption networks for German shepherds along the east coast.

“I will personally try to find these guys a good home,” he tells Carol.

“Take your time,” she says, petting one of the dogs. Her eyes fill with tears, and she hides her face in the dog’s thick coat.

Berkley tells her he understands how difficult it is to give up a pet. After talking a while, he slowly gets back in the car and sighs. “That’s tough,” he tells me.

We drive out in silence. The Craven Pamlico Animal Services Center in neighboring Craven County can only keep animals for a few days, but dogs usually find a home, he says. Residents should call the Humane Society, not the shelter, if they are trying to find a new owner for their pet, especially if it is a cat.

“We don’t want animals to be put down. We are always looking for the diamond in the rough to save, and we try,” he says. Carol’s German shepherds are likely to find a new home, because they are a popular breed and have been well cared for. “But we only have so much space,” he adds. “The shelter is always full.”

To contact Berkley Hill and Pamlico County Animal Control, email [email protected] or call (252) 670-6129

To contact the Colonial Capital Humane Society in New Bern, call (252) 633-0146

If you have ideas for future bulletins, feel free to message or email me: [email protected]