Georgetown Introduces New Community Policing Tool

Georgetown police officers and animal control officers are working with the community through an initiative to improve the way officers and animals interact when responding to calls.  Georgetown Police and Georgetown Animal Services recently introduced a new program called Please P.A.W.S – Pets Are Worth Saving, designed to encourage safe interactions between first responders and resident pets.

Through the program, residents place a 3’x3’sticker with the P.A.W.S. symbol on it in a window or near the front gate or door of their home to alert emergency officials that a dog or cat live on the premises.

The sticker features a red stop sign that gives a bright visual warning to first responders as they approach a residence and alerts them to the presence of an animal at the home, and it provides a quick alert to police officers when they respond to a home for an alarm or a 911 call and need to make entry into the home to search it or provide assistance to the resident.  Fire and EMS responders also benefit from this visual warning when they are called to help an injured home owner or are evacuating a home because of a fire or disaster response.

The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that one out of four people in the United States own at least one dog. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) estimates that police and other first responders encounter an animal on one out of every three calls, whether stray animals or owned pets.

The program is a new proactive community policing program initiated by Captain Evelyn McLean and Animal Control Officer Kelly Thyssen.  “We believe that a first responder’s heightened awareness of pets, especially canines, in a home will hopefully decrease negative and potentially dangerous encounters,” Officer Thyssen said.

The Please P.A.W.S. stickers are available for no charge at the Georgetown Public Safety Operation and Training Center (PSOTC), the Georgetown Animal Shelter, and directly from Animal Control Officers in the field.

The City of Georgetown Police Department is located at Public Safety Operations and Training Center at 3500 DB Wood Road, which is next to Fire Station 5.  Contact the department at 512-930-3510 or email pd@georgetown.org. The City of Georgetown Animal Shelter is located at 110 W.L. Walden Drive near the McMaster Athletic Fields. Contact the shelter at (512) 930-3592 or by email at animalsvc@georgetown.org. The City of Georgetown Animal Shelter website is pets.georgetown.org.

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