Text 
For the love of animals / West Weber woman dedicated to helping the helpless
By JAMIE LAMPROSOGDEN -- If you don't want to have a run-in with Mandy Hamblin, you'd better be nice to your pet.
Otherwise, you'll have to deal with the tough Ogden city animal-control officer, and she won't go easy on you.
Hamblin, 33, of West Weber, knew she always wanted to work with animals.
In fact, at age 9, her first job was caring for animals and cleaning out fish tanks at a local pet store.
But what really made her want to become an animal-control officer was when she began witnessing abuse and neglect first hand.
Her first job at the Ogden City Animal Shelter was as a kennel worker.
Some of the animals she loved and cared for were suffering from neglect and cruelty, and the more she saw that pet owners didn't think there was anything wrong with their actions, the more she wanted to take action against them.
"I wanted to be an officer and cite these people and be the voice for the animals, and I really just wanted to get out there and educate people and help the animals before things came to this point of the animals suffering and ending up at the shelter," Hamblin said.
Today, she rescues strays and injured or abandoned animals, and investigates cruelty and neglect cases. She also enforces leash and license laws.
"I also work in all areas of the shelter from time to time, from kennel work to receiving adoptions, and my other main function is to contact rescue groups," Hamblin said.
"We don't really have a rescue program here, but do have adoptions and do all we can to get every animal adopted, but mostly we depend on the public adopting and outside rescue groups coming in."
Hamblin also places ads on several Internet and newspaper sites to help find homes for the animals.
She said her main goal is to educate the public about animal care and to also ask people to stop breeding their animals unnecessarily. She said the litter often ends up at the shelter.
"Trust me. We have all the designer breeds and purebred dogs and cats you could want at the shelter. People need to educate themselves before they rush out and get a pet," Hamblin said.
"They need to realize that it's a lifetime commitment and know about the animal they are getting and if it's the right pet for their lifestyle."
Hamblin said some sad cases have resulted from lack of education.
She remembers one incident last month in which a dog had fallen from a roof and broken its leg. The owners knew the dog was injured but did nothing to help it, Hamblin said.
"We had an officer go out and impound the puppy and cite the owners for cruelty and neglect. We took the puppy to the vet and had his leg fixed," she said.
The puppy recovered and has since been adopted. Although that story had a happy ending, Hamblin said many do not.
She said not being able to save them all and the abuse she sees are the hardest parts of her job.
"To see how many people really don't care and treat animals like trash they can just abuse or throw away is hard," she said.
"Animals are very smart, a lot smarter than people give them credit for. Of course, they are not humans, but they can sure outsmart me sometimes, and I've seen some dogs and cats do some amazing things that could only come from being smart."
Hamblin was born and raised in Ogden. After graduating from Ben Lomond High School, she graduated from grooming school and an animal-control school.
She and her fiancé have six children between them, three dogs, four cats, five horses, two goats and six chickens.
Hamblin said animals can bring great joy, comfort and health benefits to those who are willing to care for them properly.
She also said she has adopted all of her pets and they have been the best animals she has owned.
"I think animals can do everything for people, from assisting them all the way to making you feel better when you come home from a bad day," she said.
"I myself believe that they help us emotionally, medically, physically and mentally in all ways. I've seen them do a lot for people, including myself, through life."
Add Your Comment
mandy breeds her animals and is just in it for the money
Please read our posting guidelines before reporting a comment.