Someone called Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control to report that the animal had been sprawled in a front yard for hours, hardly lifting its head. Was it hurt?
Eisenreich, 50, a seven-year veteran with the department, had to find out.
Before she could, the fox bounded off, stopping every few paces to look back at Eisenreich. Then it sprinted away again.
After a few minutes, Eisenreich decided the chase was over. She told her boss and suggested setting a trap for it.
And she was off again, on her way to check a report of a stray dog hit by a car in Delray Beach.
That's how it goes for officers with Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control, whose 10-hour shifts are often spent hustling from one emergency to the next. They have to respond to every report of neglect or cruelty, and also deal with injured animals or animals that injure people.
"You never know from day to day what you're going to be doing," said Eisenreich, a longtime animal lover who worked with horses before joining the county squad.
On any given day, the 17 officers make it out to about 10 calls, said Capt. Dave Walesky, who oversees them. The most pressing ones include dog bites and injured animals.
That puts the dog in Delray at the top of Eisenreich's list.
Neighborhood kids found the injured pooch in the grass. Someone put her in a cage and called animal control.
Eisenreich guessed the pit bull mix was about 10 months old. The puppy's back left leg was raw, the bottom half of it dangling. She had scratches on her head.
At animal control headquarters in West Palm Beach, vetrinarian Francesca Leavengood said it didn't look good. The puppy had severe injuries and no one to pay for the expensive treatments. She predicted they would have to euthanize her by the end of the day to keep her from suffering.
"It's hard to look at a dog like this," Eisenreich said while the puppy wagged its tail. "It's hard because they don't ask to be put in this position. I feel for the animals."
"Most of the time I can kind of shut down my emotions, but every once in a while one will sneak past."
The animal control officers try not to bring work home with them. But sometimes they do, literally, by volunteering to foster animals waiting to be adopted.
Eisenreich already has three dogs at home, but still takes in others and tries not to grow too attached.
She left the pit bull puppy with the vet, then headed to her next call, following up a dog bite case in Boynton Beach. The dog's owner was refusing to quarantine the animal, which is suspected of biting a 3-year-old.
When Eisenreich knocked on the door, the only answer was the dog, barking in the window.
She taped a $266 citation on the door and left.
It sometimes takes 10 to 15 visits before a case is closed because people don't answer their doors or refuse to respond to notices the officers leave behind. The rest of Eisenreich's day is more of that – knocking on doors to no avail.
Frustrating.
But things end on a positive note: Eisenreich gets word that Palm Beach Animal Hospital decided to rescue the injured pit bull. Although the dog will lose its wounded leg, doctors should she recover fully. And they gave her a name: Isla.
"I love when we can save animals," Eisenreich said.
(Sun Sentinel - Oct 26, 2013)
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