A CALL(ING) TO THE WILD
New, Former Animal Control Officers Talk Westerville’s Animal Kingdom Westerville Animal Control Officer Mary Dembiec has taken the reins of the City’s animal control officer operations after spending 24 years as a deputy dog warden for Franklin County. Kim Stambaugh handed off the leash (as it were) at the end of January, retiring after nearly 22 years of service to the community. Before Stambaugh left, she sat down with Dembiec for one last chat about the life of an animal control officer in our fine community. “You never know what you’re going to get into. ‘Lions and tigers and bears, oh my,” said Stambaugh. Despite its status as a Tree City USA (45 years running), Westerville isn’t exactly the biome of choice for most exotic animals. Surely, Dembiec is most likely to encounter raccoons, opossum and skunks (pee-yew!) on the job. That doesn’t mean she is in for a dull experience. Take, for example, the almost 7-foot, 100-pound boa constrictor out for a walk with its owner while visiting the City. The owner stopped to chat with someone who was working on a car. At some point, the snake slithered its way into the engine of the vehicle, requiring the ingenuity of Stambaugh to free it. A mighty team of one, Westerville’s animal control officer is called for everything from lost pets to critters found at crime scenes. With nearly a quarter of a century in the business under her belt, there’s not much that can rattle Dembiec. She’s wrangled at least a dozen alligators during her career, usually in connection with Franklin County narcotics investigations. “Thankfully, most of them were four feet and under,” Dembiec said. Then there was the small matter of Mikey, the 6-footlong alligator who lived in a fenced, private pond under the care of a veterinarian. According to Dembiec, Mikey “thought hide-and-seek was fun.” She assisted twice in moving him to an indoor enclosure. “I’m jealous. She’s got more than me,” Stambaugh said.
“I’ve personally picked up three in Westerville. One was a baby dropped off at Jaycee pool. He scared everyone out of the pool.” All gators were sent to appropriate rescue locations. Also in Dembiec’s repertoire? Wolves. Yes, in Franklin County. She estimates helping to catch eight to 10 of them. “I actually caught one on a leash. He had been loose for a couple of months. He’d be spotted in neighborhoods and then run into a wooded area. He would follow people walking their dogs,” Dembiec said. Once captured safely, the wolf (pictured in the bottom left column) was transported to a rescue. Their tales of exotic animals are, well, wildly entertaining, but Stambaugh and Dembiec say most of the stories that stick with them hit closer to home. “It’s always a great feeling when you can get an animal home,” said Dembiec. Stambaugh agrees. “It’s the best thing ever,” she said. “Then you can go home and sleep well at night. I’ve lost a few nights of sleep worrying about pets that were wandering around out there because I knew their people were so stressed.” Stambaugh says she’ll never forget Ben, the “noble mutt” who ran away from his foster family and hid in the woods for weeks. She worked with a local rescuer to find him and return him to his foster parents. But destiny was already in the works. The rescuer ended up adopting him and giving him a forever home. “The wonderful person that helped find him decided to take him home, and he never left. We stay in touch and I get lovely pictures of Ben with his crew,” Stambaugh said.
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While in Columbus, Ofc Dembiec was able to capture this stray wolf and return him to safety.
