Animal Control gets a new officer
‘It’s good to be that voice for the voiceless,’ says Kolnowski
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ALPENA -- The Alpena County Sheriff's Office hired its new Animal Control Officer this month, bringing on a local animal rehabilitator, Ashley Kolnowski, to run the law enforcement side of animal control.
Kolnowski owns and operates Alpena's Bird Center (ABC) in Ossineke. She is a licensed bird rehabilitator and has run ABC since 2023. Kolnowski has worked with other animal sanctuaries across the state in different capacities.
Beyond her work with feathered friends, Kolnowski also has volunteered at Second Chance Shelter in Alpena and was instrumental in assisting Animal Control with a cat hoarding case back in February.
Kolnowski said that she grew up with animals and showed livestock at the fair. As an adult, she began working in education and later started rehabilitating injured wildlife. She's worked in partnership with other sanctuaries and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
"I definitely know a lot about animals," she said. "I do not know much about the law enforcement so that is where I am training and doing all of that."
Kolnowski added that she is excited to help teach the community on how to care for animals and caring for displaced animals herself.
"I'm a teacher, so I like to teach," she said.
She said she is eager to get started and to start making an impact in Alpena County.
"Animals are animals and they all need a voice," Kolnowski said. "It's good to be that voice for the voiceless. There's a lot of people that have animals and they are like family."
"Some days we rescue. Some days we educate. Everyday, we make a difference," Kolnowski said.
Alpena County Sheriff Erik Smith said that Kolnowski was the right fit among other candidates the office interviewed because she has a "passion for animals."
"She's a very spunky and outgoing person, easy to talk to," he said.
Prior to her new role with the Sheriff's Office, Kolnowski was a school teacher at Alpena Public Schools.
"I think the customer service side of things and understanding chaos, multitasking, and communication ... that's going to be wonderful," he said.
Though Kolnowski does not have training as a certified law enforcement officer at this point, Smith explained that Kolnowski will undergo "a lot of training."
He added that state laws allow the office to hire Kolnowski as an animal control officer without the officer credentials, though the office has the intention to get her certified and trained as a law enforcement officer (LEO).
"She can do animal control enforcement without being a certified officer, but it's our goal to get her to that level," he said.
Smith noted that the Michigan Dog Law of 1919 does not require an animal control officer to be a certified LEO. He said each county in Michigan approaches the management of its animal control differently, and there are "numerous counties that operate" animal control without certified LEOs.
"All 83 counties do it differently," he said. "Is it the best situation? I don't know ... other counties make it work," he said.
However, Smith said the "ultimate goal" is to get Kolnowski properly trained and certified to have the LEO credentials to run Alpena County's animal control.
"We'll get there," he added. "I'm not concerned about that."
Moving forward, Smith said that he wants animal control to evolve to better serve the community and the community’s four-legged residents.
"I want it to be consistent," he said. "We need to get things established and be consistent and provide a service to our community. And that's for the citizens but also for the animals, too."
He said that the current shelter is "too small" but that the shelter has to "get our basics done first."
"We always have to operate within a budget," he added. "If I had all the money in the world, I could fix the problem, but I can't. We have to live within a budget."
Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.