Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 115, No. 10	March 5, 2008

New animal control employee demonstrates pet passion

Photo by Larry See Jr.
Chief assistant animal control officer Mike Barton Perez holds one of the cats up for adoption in the “cat corner” of the animal control offices. Perez, a Meade County native, comes well-qualified for the position.

By LARRY SEE JR.
Messenger Staff

He’s a musician who has a passion for animals.

Lots of animals.

“I fell into this position right out of high school,” newly-hired chief assistant animal control office Mike Barton Perez said last week.

“I guess you could say I hit the jackpot here,” he continued. “I was looking for something that I could make a career out of and be happy with my life and I have found it here. I wanted to wake up every day and wanted to go to work.”

If Perez didn’t hit the jackpot, he most assuredly found the “Mother Lode,” not only for his personal collection of animals, but for his love of them.

His personal pets are “Dude,” a Labrador/Rottweiler mix who has been part of his household for five years, a leopard gecko which eats crickets and two cats, “Jerry” and “Little Baby.”

“Dude loves to get up and lay on me,” Perez said. “Little Baby was a stray cat I found during the ice storm and I just wound up keeping her.”

Both cats aren’t of any particular breed.

Born and raised in Ekron, Perez initially started as a driver with the Kentucky Humane Society, stationed in Louisville.

In this stint, he took “adoptable” animals to various shelters so they could have new homes and made daily runs for stray animals.

He later “graduated” to being the euthansia technician, responsible for taking care of older or sick animals which are unable to be adopted.

While his services were mostly utilized in Jefferson County, he occasionally made visits to Bullitt County and worked with several smaller societies in the immediate area.

He also worked as a “night pet care specialist” for a large retail pet store chain.

“One of our clients was Felton Spencer, a 1990 University of Louisville graduate who went on to play for the New York Knicks,” Perez said.

“I was the only one in the whole building all night long,” he said, adding his duties were to insure the celebrity pets had a restful sleep with minimal interruptions.

“It has always been my goal to work with and educate people and help them become more aware of and take better care of their animals,” Perez said.

“These are animals and you need to make them a part of your household. People really need to become more aware and spay and neuter their animals. There are a lot of animals out there and there are not enough homes for all of them.”

Perez wanted to find a job he could make a career out of, be happy and help others in the community.

“That means a big deal to me,” he said. “And this is it. I hope to be here for a long time to come.”

He had nothing but praise for the Pets in Need Society, which actively assists animal control with educational needs as well as a spay and neuter program.

“Like I said before,” Perez said, “I want to make sure everyone has an animal and that it is properly taken care of, fed and sheltered. That’s my goal. I’m not saying that I am not going to come out with the sheriff and take your animals and put you in jail, those situations will arise.”

When he’s not feeding animals at home or the shelter, or investigating possible cases of unwanted animals, Perez can be found playing his guitar or listening to music.

“I play the guitar and sing,” he said. “I like all music, jazz and blues and classic rock. I have never been much of a country fan though.”

His “man of all time?”

“Jimi Hendrix,” he answered, without hesitation.

“I would like to meet him if he were alive today,” Perez said. “Aside from all of the problems he had, I thought he was a great man. He had a great outlook on life.”

What Hendrix has done for the music field, Perez is hoping to do for the animal field.

“I would love to pet a tiger or a bear. I also might want to pet some kind of exotic reptile,” he said.

It just might happen.

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