A group of animal lovers spurred by a lost-pet page on Facebook has reached its goal of hiring a humane officer to protect domestic animals in the county.
Janice Lawniczak of Brady Township is working on her first case of abandonment as the county's new humane officer.
Cindy Dimmick, who created OVADA (One Voice for Abused Domestic Animals) with Diana Joy Waller, said the Facebook page Butler PA Lost and Found Animals allows those who have lost a pet to post the animal's picture and give details on where it was last seen or whether the animal can be approached.
Those who find a stray pet can also post pictures of the animal in the hopes that its owner will look at the page, which now has 900 members.
A recurrent theme among the comments on the page was the need for a humane officer in Butler County, Dimmick said.
Waller, the page's creator, and Dimmick, a longtime county Humane Society board member, formed OVADA for the single purpose of hiring a humane officer to relieve the suffering of neglected, abused and abandoned animals.
Dimmick said the formation of the group also was spurred by a situation in which a pet owner became ill and was hospitalized, leaving a dog in a crate and several cats in the house.
When someone finally checked on the animals, the dog was dead.
“That pushed us, because it didn't have to happen that way,” Dimmick said.
She said money collected through fundraisers and donations will pay Lawniczak's expenses and mileage, but the position is a volunteer one.
“Ninety percent of the humane officers in Pennsylvania are volunteer,” Dimmick said. “Some of the bigger animal organizations, like Animal Friends, pay them.”
Lawniczak will not patrol the county looking for cases but will respond to complaints.
Dimmick said Lawniczak's main goal will be to educate pet owners on the state's humane laws to make them aware of what they can and can't do with their animals.
“She is going to educate people that they cannot tie your dog to a box and not feed them,” Dimmick said.
Lawniczak, who was sworn in over the summer, said she will first talk to pet owners about the animal's situation to try and rectify it.
If her recommendations are ignored or not met upon a recheck, she can have the animal's owner cited through the county district judges.
Lawniczak said she, Dimmick and Waller will meet with officials at the county emergency management office on Wednesday in the hopes that dispatchers will call her when residents call 911 to report an abused, neglected or abandoned animal.
Waller is already planning to cite a woman in Lyndora on an abandoned cat case. She said a witness knows the woman dropped off two cats at the end of a driveway. The cats are now being fostered.
“But what she did was abandonment and it's against the law,” Lawniczak said.
She said she can take animals from owners who are not following her instructions or that are in a life-threatening condition or situation.
The animal would first be taken to a veterinarian by Lawniczak, and would then be taken in on a temporary basis by one of OVADA's foster families.
But Lawniczak said she hopes that most of the cases she investigates can be resolved by educating and instructing animal owners.
“My goal is to end animal cruelty,” she said.
Those who know of a case they feel should be investigated by Lawniczak can contact her through the OVADA Facebook page or her own page, “Janice Marie HPO.”
