By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

CASCO — Chickens and roosters and cows. Oh my.

Barnyard animals have been getting the attention and time of Regional Animal Control Officer (ACO) Jessica Jackson.

When asked what kind of animal-related calls she receives from residents she said a lot of them were about livestock such as cows, ducks, hens and roosters.

“It’s on the neglect or abuse side of things,” she said.

Also, there are “a whole lot of dogs-at-large” and disputes between neighbors over pets, she said.

As the regional ACO, Jackson serves the three towns of Casco, Naples and Raymond. This was something she was already doing as the part-time animal control officer for those three municipalities, Last year, the towns budgeted a full-time regional position as well as a second part-time position so that Jackson wasn’t on the clock 24-7. The three towns share the costs.

On March 10, Jackson updated the Casco Board of Selectmen about what the department has been doing.

She said she was reporting for the calendar year rather than the fiscal years. The state requires reporting based on the calendar year so it was easier to present information that way.

[There have been] “285 calls to dispatch — initial calls that we are receiving not including anyone calling from the veterinarian’s office,” Jackson said. “Those calls often, if not always, necessitate further action.”

“Regionally, there have been 1,000 calls,” she said.

In 2019, Casco had more animal-related calls to dispatch than the previous year. However, the call volume was “in line for the rest of the towns,” she said.

When asked why, Jackson said, “Animals are unpredictable.”

The board members asked how many miles she had on the vehicle that was purchased from a surplus lot for the department.

“Miles? Right now, I have 8,000 hours on the vehicle. I did about 4,500 of those driving hours” while the remainder was shared by the part-time person, Jackson said.

“You have to remember our shelter is in Westbrook,” she said.