As the Finger Lakes SPCA of Central New York works to replace its humane law enforcement officer, the shelter is helping to create an animal abuse registry in Cayuga County.
Tom Adessa, who investigated animal abuse and cruelty cases for the Auburn shelter, told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV he turned in his resignation Sept. 12 and his last day was Sept. 26. He had been the shelter's humane law enforcement officer since January 2020 after initially serving in the position from 2000 to 2003. In a Facebook post, he called it "the best job I ever had."
"Humane law enforcement is heartbreaking and heartwarming on the same day," he wrote. "But, all jobs have an expiration date."
Adessa also praised the law enforcement agencies he worked with, such as the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office and the Auburn Police Department.
"It's not a position just to enforce the law," he said. "It's a position on how to take care of animals and promote the welfare of animals."
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Nick Lapresi, the SPCA's executive director, told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV the organization wishes Adessa the best in his future endeavors.
"We want to thank him for all his years of hard work here," Lapresi said.
Having a humane law enforcement officer helps the shelter fulfill its mission statement of alleviating the suffering of animals, improving their conditions and preventing cruelty, Lapresi said. In the absence of one, the SPCA is working with Auburn and New York State Police and the sheriff's office "to make sure we are still doing what we can at this time to address these crimes," he continued.
Someone has accepted the officer position, Lapresi said, but the organization is not yet ready to make an announcement. Their start date is still being determined.
Cayuga County sheriff working on animal abuse registryÂ
Meanwhile, the SPCA is working with Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck on another method of humane law enforcement.
Schenck told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV he is drafting a proposal for a law that would create a publicly available registry of people who have been convicted of an animal abuse crime.
"Hopefully that would impact whether or not they would have the ability to get additional animals in the future," he said.Â
The sheriff plans to discuss the proposal at the November meeting of the Cayuga County Legislature's Judicial and Public Safety Committee, in hopes of discussing it with the Legislature soon after. He has had conversations with Lapresi about the registry, he said, and feels strongly that it's needed in Cayuga County. Since COVID-19, he's seen a local increase in animals not being cared for appropriately.Â
Preventing such crimes is just as important as deploying police resources to deal with them, Schenck said.
"I think that we have to do all we can to address these types of challenges," he said, "not only with law enforcement prevention."Â
Lapresi noted that 25 counties in New York state already have . He has heard from many people trying to rehome an animal who are "weary of who they're giving a pet to because they're afraid (that) something along a criminal level is going to happen," he said. A registry could help those people, as well as breeders, pet stores and shelters, address those concerns.
In that way, Lapresi said, an animal abuse registry is similar in importance to a child abuse one.
"For me, it kind of falls into that same kind of category," he said. "These animals don't have a voice, they can't tell us what happened, and we need to make sure that they're going to be protected."Â
Staff writer Kelly Rocheleau can be reached at (315) 282-2243 or kelly.rocheleau@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @KellyRocheleau.