Ardmore Animal Control Officer Ashley Easter has received a new wall decoration for her home.

Easter recently completed The Oklahoma Animal Control Association Academy. The course last two weeks and is required by the State of Oklahoma. It offers training in areas from hoarding to drug use, communication, and self-defense tactics along with law and ordinances.

Prior to joining Animal Control in August, Easter was working in the office for Development Services.

“When I started getting calls for animal control, there were calls about cows, horses, livestock,” Easter said. “I wanted to do that. It didn’t cross my mind I had to deal with dead animals, dogs or cats. I just thought it was livestock.”

Easter quickly learned more about what the job encompassed and has never looked back. But that does not mean there were not some challenges.

“The first week on call, I ended up dealing with a snake that was stuck in someone’s stove,” Easter said. “It was some kind of rattlesnake.”

The snake was on the bottom of the stove and was wrapped around a metal piece. She began trying to remove the snake and recalled one of the residents grabbed a machete, trying to cut the snake.

“I was telling him, ‘Don’t cut it,’” Easter said. “The guys helped me. They grabbed one of the tongs while I held its head and unraveled it.”

Easter was able to get the snake loose and place it in a bucket. It was eventually rehomed in a more friendly environment.

“I came back to work and said, ‘Never again,’” Easter said. “Don’t send me by myself.”

The job of animal control officer can be rewarding one minute and heartbreaking the next. Easter said one thing she wishes people understood is that animal control is not there to take animals right away. The goal is to make sure animals are safe.

“When we hired her, she had no experience in animal control,” Community Development Director Jessica Scott said. “We had no idea what was going to happen and she is a great employee.”