MAUMEE, Ohio (WTVG) – It’s the age-old question: who let the dogs out? In Maumee, there’s one person dedicated to figuring out the answer, and his name is Ken Streichert.
He’s been the animal control officer for the Maumee Police Division for more than two decades.
“If I’m available, if I’m in town, I am on call,” Streichert said.
Of course, there’s a lot more that goes into being an animal control officer than responding to dogs running at large. Even so, that position is becoming a rarity in police departments across Northwest Ohio.
Streichert said he’s ready to respond even outside of his scheduled 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday shift. Other police officers can take animal calls when he is off the clock, but Streichert always follows up.
He deals with loose and dangerous dogs, secures pets in domestic violence situations, and returns lost pets to their owners.
“A chip, a current Lucas County Registration tag, a current rabies vaccination tag would be very critical so I can get the dog back safe,” Streichert said.
Most municipalities rely on county-wide services from the dog warden and have phased out their animal control officer, or ACO positions. Streichert said he’s the only police ACO in Lucas County.
“I think it’s important to have an animal control officer, for several reasons, one, it does free up our other officers for other criminal calls or other calls for service,” said Maumee Police Chief Josh Sprow.
Chief Sprow said it also helps to have a local contact that is only focused on serving the city of Maumee, especially in time-sensitive situations.
“Capture the dog, prevent the dog from getting struck by a vehicle or potentially injuring someone, so that the timely response is a huge benefit for our community,” Sprow said.
The city even has its own temporary kennel for lost or stray animals located near uptown Maumee. “It’s a three-day stay,” said Streichert, explaining that lost and stray animals are only kept for a short period while they try to find the owner.
“After three days I call Lucas County Canine Care and Control, LC4, which I have a very good working relationship with. I help them out, they help me out, we help each other out,” Steichert said.
He said LC4 then holds the animals in their large shelter.
While Streichert said his job can have its ups and downs (sometimes you might call it a little “ruff”), he enjoys working with the community.
“There’s no loose dog call here in Maumee that does not go, that nobody responds to, we respond to all of them here as a department as a whole,” Streichert said.
Latest Local News | First Alert Weather | Crime | National | 13abc Originals
Copyright 2025 WTVG. All rights reserved.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
