NORTHAMPTON — Looking to strengthen and better coordinate the work of animal welfare professionals in Hampshire and Franklin counties, the Northwestern district attorney’s office is launching a task force to share information and provide training.

A primary goal is to provide more support and free training to municipal animal control officers.

“The dedicated animal welfare people are just not receiving the help and support and resources they need, and I don’t think the public knows this,” said Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Erin Aiello, who is heading up the initiative.

Sgt. William Loiselle, an animal cruelty investigator with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the task force is an important step.

“We’re very lucky to have the Northwestern district attorney’s office supporting this, and Erin with her decades of experience,” he said.

When it comes to animal cruelty cases, Loiselle said, training, especially on how to conduct investigations, has sometimes been lacking.

“I hope this gives us the ability to provide training on how to identify animal cruelty cases, how to document things,” he said.

For the task force’s first session, Aiello and Loiselle will provide a training on the basics of animal cruelty investigations and report writing at a task force meeting Thursday at the Sunderland Police Department, 105 River Road.

Aiello said the response to the training session had been gratifying, with multiple officers from single departments expressing interest.

First responders

First convened in the fall, the Animal Protection Task Force brings together local animal control officers, animal welfare agencies, representatives of private animal shelters and county sheriffs’ offices, police, mental health professionals and prosecutors.

Aiello, who has prosecuted animal cruelty matters since 2010 and previously worked as local counsel for the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Westport, said she receives five to 10 calls weekly from animal control officers or local police seeking help with animal cruelty investigations.

“Considering how much people love animals, there does not seem to be much light shone on the actual day-to-day role of animal protection in our communities,” she stated.

Many of the 47 communities covered by the district attorney’s office do not have full-time animal control officers, which means animal welfare cases sometimes don’t receive the attention they need, Aiello said.

Northampton has one animal control officer, Belchertown has five, and Hadley has none, Aiello said. Easthampton is part of Westfield’s regional team. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Department has two animal control officers who are contracted out to cover 11 towns.

Smaller towns may have a part-time, per diem or shared officer.

Aiello said animal control officers’ responsibilities have really increased.

“They’re no longer the dog catcher,” she said. “The hope is for each town to have one designated person.”

Finding a place

The area also has a lack of shelter space. There is one dog shelter for the entire district — in Turners Falls — and no cat shelters at all since Dakin closed its Leverett shelter in 2022. Sometimes, Springfield is the only option

“Animals often have to be seized, and we don’t have places to put them,” Aiello said.

Animal protection workers rely heavily on the limited space at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Dog Shelter.

“We’re so lucky to have that,” she said. “That’s why we’ve had some success on cases up there.”

Amherst has a kennel, while Northampton has an agreement with Amherst for its needs. Northampton officials have tried several times to site a dog shelter in the city but have been repelled each time by neighborhood resistance.

Aiello, who used to work in Fall River, said the lack of shelter space in this area is a concern.

“I never had to worry so much about where the animal was going,” she said.

Becoming a burden

Another problem the task force hopes to address is the issue of animal caregivers who find themselves unable to properly care for their pets for financial or other reasons. Aiello said people struggling to care for their animals can reach out to their local animal control officer or the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which works closely with the local agencies.

Prosecutors won’t charge anyone who has made a good-faith effort to care for their animals, Aiello said.

“If somebody moves and leaves their animals behind, then we’d charge them,” she said.

Authorities would prefer that animal owners reach out before a problem becomes too big.

“We as an animal welfare community need to educate the general public about the resources available to them so that they are not charged with neglect. There are organizations that can help and vouchers that can be offered in some cases,” said Aiello. “We want to find ways to help people who are having trouble properly caring for their animals — the last thing we want is to punish poverty.”

There are many different scenarios, such as when an elderly pet owner needs to be hospitalized, leaving his animals in limbo.

Often, cases of animal abuse and neglect are connected to domestic violence and child abuse, Aiello said. In such situations, one partner may try to use an animal as leverage in their domestic disputes, or harm the animal as a way of wounding their partner or child.

Help is available for people struggling to keep up financially or otherwise with their animals, who can reach out to animal welfare officials, the MSPCA and Nevins Farm, which takes in large animals. Investigators will take factors such as mental health difficulties and lack of finances into account.

“The last thing we want to do is take animals away from people if we don’t have to,” Loiselle said.

Loiselle began his law enforcement career with the Northampton Police Department, then worked for the Massachusetts State Police until he retired in 2020. As an investigator for the MSPCA, he has certified police authority. His territory covers all of western Massachusetts and part of Worcester County.

Aiello is a trainer for the Law Enforcement Training Center of the Humane Society of the United States, which works with 10,000 law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and animal control professionals throughout the U.S. annually.

James Pentland can be reached at jpentland@gazetten.com.