Middletown's Gail Petras is Animal Control Officer of Year

Middletown's animal control officer was chosen as one of the best in Connecticut in her field, earning the Animal Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award.  

At last week's annual conference for the Connecticut Municipal Animal Control Officers Association, the Middletown Police Department’s Animal Control Officer Gail Petras was given the distinction. 

Petras has been with the department since May 2004 and was nominated for the award by one of her peers for outstanding work in the field of animal welfare and going above and beyond to find suitable homes for misplaced dogs and cats, according to Lt. Heather Desmond, department spokesperson.  

She has set up and maintained social media sites to get the word out about pets available for adoption and is working to get a state-of-the-art regional animal shelter in Middletown to provide increased services for homeless pets and animals that may be a risk to the citizens.

Petras is the city's only full-time animal control officer in addition to one part-time ACO and two on call, who in total handle 1,200 calls for animal-related issues a year.

"The Middletown Police Department is very proud of ACO Gail Petras and the work that she does for the citizens of Middletown," Desmond said. "It is great to see ACO Petras get the recognition she deserves for all of her hard work, she has had a very positive effect on the lives of the animals in this community."