Dear Editor:

I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Caron's assertion in the June 3 edition of The Perrysburg Messenger that the City of Perrysburg is in need of a full-time, dedicated Animal Control Officer. I don't want to embarrass former ACO Jeff Studer, with whom I worked informally on several occasions, when he or I needed a knowledgeable hand to help out, but he was the Gold Standard of ACO's: highly competent, widely knowledgeable and a cheerful countenance to boot. I personally was heartbroken when he retired— and equally so when I learned that he would not be replaced.

The fact of the matter is that the city police department has a building that's entirely dedicated to whatever the ACO would need: runs to keep pets in until their owners are found, a proper ACO truck, a washer and dryer, a bay to hold the truck when not in use and a hose to clean out the runs. And I know all of this because Mr. Studer once gave me a tour. All of it was paid for by our tax dollars, which begs the question, if the infrastructure is already in place, why don't we have an ACO?