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Community fighting to get laid off Hartford animal control officer back to work

HARTFORD – Just one week shy of her 17th anniversary as an animal control officer for the city of Hartford, Sherry DeGenova was laid off. “It’s beyond devastati...
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HARTFORD – Just one week shy of her 17th anniversary as an animal control officer for the city of Hartford, Sherry DeGenova was laid off.

“It’s beyond devastating to me. It’s my passion. It’s who I am. It’s my identity,” she said.

DeGenova and another animal control officer, Carmello Mercado, were among the 40 city workers laid off this week in city-wide cuts to fix a $48.5 million budget gap.

“We've all heard about the cuts happening, but you just never think that. We're a small unit. We are needed. They need us,” said DeGenova. “What is going to happen to the community, the city of Hartford, the animals?”

With those two officers gone and a third on extended medical leave, only one animal control officer is left on the job for the entire city of Hartford.

For DeGenova, it was more than just a job. She worked off the clock to help city residents care for their animals, and to get animals without a home rescued. She even started a non-profit group called Kenway’s Cause to help animals in Hartford that the city couldn’t help for one reason or another. The future of that group is up in the air now that DeGenova no longer works for the city.

“We would show the dogs. We would promote them for adoption. We would find them new homes. Who’s going to do it now?” asked DeGenova.

As news traveled, the community she spent her career helping gathered together to fight for her. They are using social media to encourage residents to call the mayor and city officials to ask them to reconsider. A change.org petition to reinstate her, which was started on Wednesday, had 6,400 signatures as of Thursday night. They are also asking residents to attend Monday’s City Council meeting to speak in DeGenova and Mercado’s defense.

“Every day they're not on the streets doing their job are the days where animals are continuing to be abused, chained, starving, having litters, so the impact right there is immediate,” said Hartford resident Robin Kane. “Everyone’s hoping it’s a mistake. Maybe the mayor didn’t realize, he is new, maybe he didn’t realize exactly what DeGenova does for the city of Hartford out of her own pocket, on her own time.”

A spokesman for Mayor Luke Bronin said they are receiving calls and e-mails about this decision. The mayor's office is sending the following e-mail in response:

Of the difficult decisions that need to be made to deal with Hartford’s budget crisis, the toughest by far is the decision to eliminate a hardworking employee's job.  Facing a massive budget gap of $48.5 million next year, we have no choice but to reduce our workforce, including dozens of layoffs.

Nearly every department in our city is feeling the impact of personnel reductions, including the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Families, Children, Youth, and Recreation, the Department of Public Works, and many other areas.  The layoffs include two of four Animal Control Officers at the Hartford Police Department.

None of these layoffs are the result or reflection of any individual’s performance, and I wish that none of these painful decisions was necessary.  These workforce reductions are, however, part of the many difficult changes required to confront our city’s dire fiscal challenge.  I earnestly hope that we will be able to get enough savings from labor negotiations that additional layoffs will not be necessary.

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