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“You Couldn’t Get Elected Dogcatcher!”
The Evolution From Dogcatcher to Animal Control Worker
It used to be an insult, and it was implied that the office of “Dogcatcher” was the lowest political office that existed and was the easiest to get elected to. If you couldn’t get elected to Dogcatcher, you wouldn’t have a chance of getting elected to any higher office.
There used to be a Dogcatcher job; think of it as animal control. Dogcatchers first appeared in America in the late 1700s to deal with packs of rabid and vicious canines that terrorized Colonial Americans. Duxbury, Vermont, was the last place with an elected dogcatcher until Vermont declared electing dogcatchers illegal in 2018. Zeb Towne was the last elected Dogcatcher in America. In 2018, he was unanimously appointed to the position he’d previously been elected to. Nobody else wanted the job.
Meet The Country’s Only Elected Dogcatcher, Vermonter Zeb Towne | Vermont Public
Most early dogcatchers were appointed rather than elected. The job involved more than collecting stray dogs. It often involved catching cats and chickens. Sometimes, the task was merged with the poundmaster’s, giving them responsibilities for cattle and other livestock like pigs and sheep. The poundmaster was mainly a separate position from the Dogcatcher, but only sometimes.
