When our animal friends need a helping hand, who’s there to help them? King County TV recently rode along with employees from King County Animal Control Services as they responded to reports of injured or escaped animals.

“We are a relatively small unit,” Dr. Gene Mueller, manager of Regional Animal Services, said. “We are covering almost a thousand square miles and almost a million people in our jurisdiction.”

Animal Services covers all of unincorporated King County and 25 contract cities, and responds to anything from dog bites to animal cruelty complaints, Animal Control Sergeant Tim Anderson said. Each year, King County responds to over 300 calls and complaints.

When an officer responds to a call about an injured animal, they check not only the health of the animal and whether it has been treated, but also its living conditions.

Many of the calls Animal Control officers respond to are stray dog complaints. These calls range from a lost pet roaming a neighborhood and being a danger to itself and cars on the road, to collecting a lost pet from someone who found it.

“It’s never boring; we always have plenty to do,” Animal Control Officer Steve Nickelson said.