By Hugh Leach
Lansing State Journal

(BECKY SHINK/Lansing State Journal) On the job: Jamie McAloon-Lampman is the new Ingham County Animal Control director. A Haslett resident, she worked previously for the Calhoun County Humane Society.

The Jamie McAloon- Lampman file   • Age: 47 • Home: Haslett • Family: Married, two grown children, one grandchild • Pets: Several dogs and cats • Occupation: Ingham County Animal Control director • Salary: $60,120 a year • Previous job: Seven years as executive director of Calhoun County Humane Society; former animal sanctuary director in Norman, Okla.; former veterinary technician in upstate New York • Education: High school in Messena, N.Y.; attended University of Oklahoma • Hobbies: Skiing, horseback riding, travel • Other: Hosts foreign exchange students To help • Meeting for volunteers or potential volunteers: 5:30 p.m. Feb. 2 at the shelter, 600 Curtis St., Mason • To donate or volunteer, call 676-8370 On the Web • www.ingham.org/AC/HOME.htm

MASON - Jamie McAloon-Lampman planned to ease into her new job as Ingham County Animal Control director.

Didn't happen.

In her first five weeks, she has:

• Replaced some cages with a cattery and started work on a private area for visitors to interact with prospective pets.

• Prepared a policy requiring animals to be spayed or neutered before they are adopted.

• Started work on simplifying and speeding up adoptions.

• Planned monthly trainings for new volunteers.

• Laid the groundwork for more aggressive enforcement of animal control laws.

"It's been kind of a whirlwind for the staff here," McAloon-Lampman said. "I think we're going to have to slow down so they have a chance to digest it all."

McAloon-Lampman comes from the Calhoun County Humane Society, which makes her the first Ingham animal control director in decades not from a veterinary or law enforcement background.

Humane societies focus on animal welfare, while animal control protects people from domestic animals and enforces the laws that protect animals from abuse or neglect. Both have shelters and make animals available for adoption.

Ingham County Commissioner Andy Schor, D-Lansing, said McAloon-Lampman was the best of about 30 people who applied for the $60,120-a-year job left open in September when Roger Fleming retired.

"We wanted someone with management experience who knew both animal and law enforcement issues," he said.

The commission eventually will vote on McAloon-Lampman's plan to require spaying and neutering before pets leave the shelter.

That likely would increase adoption fees, but save money in the long run, she said.

McAloon-Lampman said deciding to leave Calhoun County was not easy.

"A friend told me about the opening in Ingham County," she said, "but I didn't respond for a while because I liked what I was doing so much."

The challenge of the Ingham job, and the fact it's much closer to her home in Haslett, won her over.

"I just saw so many possibilities here. I would like to see this department become a model for the rest of the state."

One of her primary goals is to make the shelter friendlier for both people and animals.

Plans for a mural are in the works. And the cattery lets cats roam instead of being confined in cages.

"If they don't get along with the other cats, we give them a 'time out' and put them back in a cage," McAloon-Lampman said.

"We haven't had any that had to be put back in cages more than twice before they got the idea."

McAloon-Lampman said she knows her staff of 17 and budget of $1.2 million budget won't cover everything she wants to do.

She is working with the Friends of the Ingham County Animal Shelter, which provides volunteers and raises money for the shelter, to bring about improvements.

FICAS is "thrilled" to have her on board, said Holly Strobel, the organization's president and secretary.

"She has wonderful ideas for change that she is already instituting that will make the animals' stay at the shelter more comfortable," Strobel said. "Her cruelty investigation success is very exciting as well."

Steve Heaven, president and chief executive officer of the Capital Area Humane Society, has worked with McAloon-Lampman and said she brings a lot of energy to her work.

"It will be an exciting change" for the animal control department, Heaven said. "She's not one to give up at the first hurdle just because someone says she can't do it."

Contact Hugh Leach at 377-1119 or hleach@lsj.com.

Ingham County Animal Control

Statistics for 2004:

4,773

dogs and cats brought in

1,630

dogs and cats adopted out

1,547

dogs and cats euthanized

805

dogs and cats claimed by owners

Source: Ingham County Animal Control