Animal control officer Mike Savage honored
GRAVETTE — Officer Mike Savage, animal control officer with the Gravette Police Department, was honored last week for his role in dealing with lost and stray animals in the city. Savage has served as the city’s animal control officer for nearly four years. During the time he has been in the position, no animals have had to be put down. He is proud of the fact that all stray animals picked up have either been returned to their owners or have been adopted out to good homes.
Gravette residents are grateful to Savage for the work he does all the time but he was singled out for special honors since last week, April 12 -18, was National Animal Care and Control Appreciation Week. Savage has served as a law enforcement officer in northwest Arkansas for more than 20 years. When he took on the role of animal control officer, he admits he knew nothing about the job.
“I didn’t know what I was getting into — didn’t know what the job involved,” Savage said. “But I went to all the state certification classes and learned more about animals in the last four years than I ever knew.”
Savage’s training has paid off. He has established a strong relationship with local rescue groups and veterinarian’s offices that work with the city to ensure that animals in the city are healthy, safe and have a good home. Some of the groups he works with are Country View Animal Clinic in Gravette, Bella
Vista Animal Shelter, Heavenly Paws of Gravette, Tail Waggers of Siloam Springs and Radars Rescue Ranch of Northwest Arkansas.
Savage says care and shelter for the city’s animals is his primary goal as an animal control officer. But it is a group effort, he said. Pet owners are also responsible to help keep their pets safe. He encourages all owners to make sure their pets are up to date on their shots and are properly tagged and registered with the city. Not only is it required by local and state law, but the tags help in finding the rightful owner for lost animals. Pet owners should register their animals at City Hall and they will be given a tag for the pet’s collar.
“My main goal is to get animals back home,” Savage says. “I love to see the smiles on owners’ faces when they’ve been reunited with a pet they lost.”
Dogs make up the majority of animals Officer Savage picks up but he has picked up some rather large nontraditional animals too. Last year he picked up two pigs and a turkey. In 2018, he picked up a ferret and a horse. Residents who see a dog running at large are asked to call Officer Savage at 479-787-6948 so he can locate the animal and help get it back with its owner.
He often goes door-todoor in the area where an animal is found in an attempt to locate the owner. Owners with missing pets can also check to see if their animal has been found by calling the telephone number included above.