Retrospective: Westlake Animal Control Officer Jim Wang Retires

One of the most interesting careers around belongs to Jim Wang, recently retired Animal Control Officer in Westlake.

After 24 years on the job, Jim decided last month to hang up his net and snare and retire.

It’s been a great career, and Jim has no regrets. “It was a great job,” he says. “If I wasn’t 72 I would have kept on going. But there was a lady a few weeks ago with a cat under her car. I was down there on my back under this car and I decided that this was enough.”

How did it begin?

“I had a chimney sweep business for a long time,” says Jim. “I got a lot of animals out of chimneys. I worked with a wildlife guy and ended up getting a state license. Then the job came up in Westlake and I was there for 24 years.”

Chimney sweeping and animal control go hand in hand in a lot of ways. Jim would get lots of calls to find critters in the chimney or get calls from homeowners who would hear noises in the night.

“I’ve dealt with every kind of animal there is in North America,” he says. “There have been a lot of birds of prey, hawks, owls. Then there was exotic stuff where people would die and leave behind snakes and iguanas, things like that.”

One of the weirdest happened about a year ago where deer were acting up and one broke through a window in a condo down by Crocker Road. “It was a mess,” says Jim. “There was blood and glass everywhere. I went in with a couple of cops and we were able to open some doors and get the deer out. And then it ran right into the condo next door! It was all bloody. There were a lot of people there because they were coming into work for the day. It was a mess.”

“I’d also get calls in the middle of night,” he adds. “Some of them were embarrassing. One guy saw a tail and it ended up being his son’s guinea pig that got out.”

Reuniting families with lost pets was also a big part of his duties. “That was a very fulfilling part of the job,” he says. “Sometimes they love their dogs more than they love their kids! Very rewarding. People don’t put tags on their dogs as much as they should. If they did, it would not be a problem.” Cats, too, need love. “But people don’t know we have a kennel for them.”

Jim still loves the animals. Over the years, he has taken many critters to the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center in Bay Village. Volunteering there may be in his future.

But Jim and his wife Debbie, who were named Mr. & Mrs. Westlake in 2024 for their community involvement, have long been antique buffs. They have collected many items that also need their time and attention.

“Yes, there were lots of entangled birds in nets, deer in houses. It has been a great job,” says Jim. “Growing up in Westlake, too, has been fun. You know the streets, and being with the police department I was able to meet with people I knew who were in jail for maybe drunk driving!”