Tales from a Dog Catcher » (First)

Lisa Duffy-Korpics, a writer and a high school social studies teacher, was previously an animal control officer. Her stories have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Cat & Dog Lover’s Soul and four other Chicken Soup books. She lives in Orange County, New York.

Tales from a Dog Catcher is based on the author’s experiences in a smallish city in the northern suburbs of NYC. Reminiscent of both All Creatures Great and Small and Marley & Me, it offers the stories of everyday people who, whether by accident or design, come into contact with the sad, funny, and often profound world of an animal control officer. 

Florence Scarinci - Library Journal

The title of Duffy-Korpics's memoir conjures up visions of a mean-spirited civil servant netting strays and taking them to a dingy shelter where a dire fate awaits. The author, a social studies teacher, worked her way through college as an animal-control officer in an upstate New York town. Writing in a style reminiscent of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small, she recalls her experiences in 22 vignettes that dispel and replace stereotypes with an image of a compassionate individual concerned with animals and people alike. Like Herriot, she is a gifted storyteller and an astute observer. While describing incidents involving a constantly barking Pekinese, a hostage-taking feral cat, marching turkeys, voyeur raccoons, and many other creatures, she gives us a peek into the loving relationships we have with our pets and the sometimes cruel and careless ways we treat them. At times amusing and heart-wrenching, this memorable book deserves wide readership. Highly recommended for public libraries.

Table of Contents

My Fair Charlie

• A badly behaved wild cat accidentally spends a few uninvited months of “rehab” on top of a kitchen cabinet to prepare for a homecoming no one could ever predict, and a recently widowed woman discovers that sometimes what you need can be exactly what you thought you didn’t.

Bless the Beasts and the Children

• A mysterious white dog whose life spent at a convent meets a tragic end only to reappear later to those who have faith.

The Few, The Proud, The Pekingese

• When this bad dog bites the hand that feeds him, his owners finally have him taken away, But the question remains; are there really bad dogs…or just bad people?  A former Marine police Sergeant who rules his shift straight by the book finds that in some matters …it’s best to rule with your heart.

 Rescued by Love (previously published in Chicken Soup for the Cat & Dog Lover’s Soul)

• When a developmentally disabled man finds that he can not have his dog in public housing, he chooses to live in a car. His brave decision and selfless actionsillustrate that sometimes those least able in our society, are the real role models

The Lions of Bear Mountain

• A recent transplant from New York City who incorrectly assumes that she lives in the wilderness, insists that the wild animal trapped in her garage could be a mountain lion. Bad colds and bad attitudes abound until I realize that getting to know about a new neighborhood can be the difference between a place where youlive…and a place where you’re home.

He Who Barks Last

• A decade’s long feud between two long time enemies, who use each other’s dogs to hurt each other, culminates in a dramatic courtroom battle where they unwittingly end up helping each other.

Groundhog Day

• Struggling with grief from the recent death of his wife, the task of calling the department to pick up a dead animal from the parking lot outside his building seems to give the usually jovial building superintendent even more reasons to be depressed. When the dead groundhog suddenly comes back to life, unsecured in my car, the sadness is lifted a bit when he realizes that it is the first time he has laughed since his wife had died

The Serial Killer of Main Street

• A black and white Great Dane named Sammy may be responsible for a canine crime wave. Can a mentally imbalanced dog actually entice other dogs into the middle of a busy main street with the intent to kill? The extreme measures I go through to try and prove this theory and stop Sammy before he targets his next victim meet with mixed results and also causes some questions about my own mental state!

Odd Blessings

• A call to surrender 23 cats turns into a surprising revelation that this elderly woman unknowingly created a turning point years before, that shaped my views on life forever, however, she will never remember.

For Every Cat there is a Reason (previously published in Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul)

• In the busy world of city government, an orphaned kitten brings an entire police department and city court together to ensure her survival.

Of Moons and Minks

• A language barrier, a culture barrier and much confusion help to create a situation where a woman ends up watering her cats like plants. All ends well, save for some damp kittens, but the laughter continues for miles.

Buster’s Last Stand (previously published in Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul)

• The final adventure of an aging bulldog known for terrorizing the neighborhood takes him to a high school where he holds an entire hallway filled with students hostage while his seemingly emotionless owner illustrates that appearances; both human and canine, can be deceiving.

His Master’s Voice

• When a loyal Schnauzer is separated from his beloved owner by the man’s death, the next of kin make a decision about the dog’s fate that is unacceptable to many members of the police department. In a race against time, everyone eventually becomes involved trying to beat the clock so that a day that began with the tragedy of one death, does not end with two.

The Protest March