Annemarie Lucas Q & A

If you’ve watched Animal Planet’s award-winning reality series Animal Precinct, then you’ve met ASPCA Supervisory Special Investigator Annemarie Lucas. She’s been a Humane Law Enforcement Agent with the ASPCA for the past nine years, and has helped to rescue countless animals from abuse.

Q: What are the most common cases that you investigate?

A: The most common cases that we investigate involve neglect and intentional abuse. But even though most of the complaints we receive have similar themes, every day is different, challenging, and oftentimes surprising. You never really know what you are going to come into when you arrive at a scene. For example, I could be called to investigate a complaint about someone not feeding their dog who is living outside in their yard—and upon arrival, I could find a dog who is skin and bones and half dying, and has never been to a vet.

Q: How do you interact with New York’s other law enforcement agencies?

A: We cooperate with each other very well. We are the animal experts; if they contact us after entering a scene and find an animal in need, we will be right there to assist. The same is true on the reverse end. We once responded to a complaint about dogs and cats who were being neglected; when we arrived, the animals were fine, but an eight-year-old boy at the scene was not. We immediately called the police to assist. You could say that we have a reciprocal relationship.

Q: What are some of the challenging and frustrating aspects of your job?

A: It took me a long time to get my emotions in check. It is really difficult to see the animals in the conditions that we find them in. Sometimes I have wanted to go crazy on people, but you can’t. I’ve wanted to scream at them for their callous disregard, and ask them what the point is of having an animal if they are going to abuse or neglect that animal. It’s mind boggling to me, and very frustrating. It is also very frustrating when I have built a strong case against someone, and the judge treats it like a simple violation. I just have to keep reminding myself that the most important part of my job is getting the animal out of a bad situation.

Q: What has been your most rewarding case?

A: My most rewarding case has to be Cherokee. This dog was brought in with two broken legs, several other fractures, and an indentation on his nose from being tied by a rope. The woman who had originally given the dog to his owner made the initial complaint; apparently, his owner left him in a vacant lot because he did not want him anymore. The owner admitted to me in a statement that he “raised” his dog the same way that he “raised” his daughter—by beating him. He was so arrogant that he truly believed he did nothing wrong.

After arresting the man, he decided to go to trial. A year and a half later came the big victory, when he was found guilty. However, I was disappointed that all he received was probation; it was a bit of a setback. The degree of punishment that these people get can often be frustrating. Actually, the biggest victory was getting the dog away from him. I followed the whereabouts of Cherokee once he was placed up for adoption, and he’s now a spoiled rotten and very happy dog.

Q: What do you hope people will learn from the Animal Precinct series?

A: I hope this series evokes compassion in people and makes them realize that animals are living creatures who have the ability to feel pain, joy and sadness. I think that people will definitely see these emotions on the faces of the animals when they watch the show. I think that it is really great that people will get the chance to see what I see every day, and I hope it occurs to them that the types of situations I am confronted with could happen in their neighborhoods, too.

Want to learn what YOU can do to help fight animal cruelty? Read Annemarie's Top Ten Tips.

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