GREENFIELD — Greenfield-Hancock Animal Management soon will reinstate its Saturday pet adoption hours under the direction of a new department head.
Amanda Dehoney of Indianapolis started her new job as animal management superintendent this week, which pays about $50,000.
The department has had no director since February when then-director Paul Miller resigned. Mayor Chuck Fewell suspended the department’s Saturday adoption hours because the office was understaffed. In coming weeks, he plans to reinstate those hours after giving Dehoney a few weeks to adjust.
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Dehoney replaces Miller, who was appointed to the position in May and announced plans to step down after the first of the year. Miller replaced longtime superintendent Jeff Leffel, who resigned from the position after six years in February 2015.
Dehoney brings 17 years of experience working with animals to the department. She worked as a vet technician until 2010, when she took a job as an animal control office at Indianapolis Animal Care and Control. She spent the past few years serving as the Indianapolis office’s deputy director.
Animal management, 809 S. State St., serves the entire county and is responsible for sheltering lost and stray dogs and cats, finding families to adopt animals and investigating cases of animal cruelty. The facility has the capacity to house 43 cats and 44 dogs and receives funding from the city of Greenfield and Hancock County.
Dehoney will be responsible for managing a nearly $500,000 budget and overseeing six employees, including a part-time employee who was recently hired, said clerk-treasurer Lori Elmore. She will also be responsible for directing the daily operations of the department and enforcing all city, county and state laws regarding the treatment of animals.
Before becoming an animal control officer in Indianapolis, Dehoney was a veterinary technician. She’s been working with animals since she was 16.
Her passion for animals and experience working in animal control in Indianapolis, which was housing more than 100 adoptable pets this week, will make her a great leader for the department, Fewell said.
“She will bring a lot of expertise,” he said. “I think it’s a good fit,” he said.
Dehoney’s first goal for her new job is to get to know the staff members who will work under her and discuss goals they have for the shelter.
She’s also making an effort to get to know the community and to stress that her No. 1 priority is to take good care of the animals. Her office door will always be open to any community members with concerns about the department.
“This is where I plan to stay and make my career,” she said.
