No straying from her calling
Hartford animal control officer Sherry Degenova has spent over two decades caring for the city’s dogs — and she has no plans to stop
For the last 22 years, Sherry Degenova, 54, has worked for the city’s animal control. Though she was let go by the city in 2016, Degenova was reinstated 18 months later. While some people question their life’s purpose, Degenova knows in her heart rescuing animals is her calling.
Most days Degenova and her team are in Hartford picking up stray dogs, investigating dog bites and looking for injured and sick animals. When she’s not out on the road, she is providing care to the dogs at the shelter, supplying them with walks, feedings and the occasional belly rubs.
The shelter usually has between a handful of dogs to more than 20 strays at any given time. Though Hartford no longer euthanizes animals held longer than nine days, Degenova still works to place the dogs out of the shelter quickly.
“We don’t have that strict time limit; we don’t have that nine days then out anymore. But what people don’t understand is that you also don’t want a dog sitting out here indefinitely in a cage,” she said. “Nine times out of 10 they’re in the cages for 24/7. What kind of life is that?”
Along with capturing and caring for the dogs, Degenova is actively searching to
reconnect the pets with their original owners or to a new home or safe shelters.
Though there are often happy endings, there are sad stories as well — like Dog 36, an 8-yearold pit bull terrier mix who was found running along Wethersfield Avenue in Hartford. With youthful energy and a friendly demeanor, Degenova said the male dog would be the perfect pet, but a preexisting skin condition that requires treatment makes adoption unlikely.
“In this field you got to know that you can’t save everything, which is a very hard thing for me to accept, even 22 years later. But if I can save it, I will try, which is half the reason I started my rescue,” she said.
When she can, Degenova helps dogs from the shelter and stray cats in Hartford with her organization, Kenway’s Cause Inc., a nonprofit animal rescue organization. Since 2011, the group has supported adoptive families and rescue organizations of dogs adopted from Hartford ACO with pre-existing medical conditions.
“The number one issue with dogs from shelters is they don’t have a background history. They’re not spayed, they’re not neutered, they come in like [Dog 36]. It could be as simple as antibiotics and a good bath, or something more than that. So, if people know they have that support, it really helps with adoptions,” she said.
Along the fence of the outdoor dog pen are collars and leashes of dogs that Degenova has rescued. Many of them hold the dog’s name with outdated information on the dogs. She believes that the best thing to do for each dog is to remove their former collars upon arrival.
“A lot of times these dogs come from bad situations and I believe it has the person’s energy on it. So once they’re adopted out I hang the collar on the fence. They’re free, they’re off to a better life,” Degenova said. She notes that 95% of the dogs are adopted.
“It’s a very stressful job to say the least. It’s very heart-wrenching. I suffer from compassion fatigue, PTSD, all that, just from all the stuff I see every day. You see so
many bad things, but you see a lot of good things too,” Degenova said.
Those interested in adopting from the Hartford ACO can follow their posts on Facebook. In-state residents pay a $50 adoption fee
for the dogs that includes a medical voucher for $100 towards a spay/neuter procedure and $20 towards a vaccine. The vouchers are accepted only by select veterinarians based in Connecticut; Hartford ACO can provide a list of hospitals that accept it.