(Chatham) — Pittsylvania County’s Animal Control Officer has received a very special award.
Paulette Dean, Executive Director of the Danville Area Humane Society presented the Emmett Edmonds Officer of the Year Award to Leslie Fowler.
Edmonds was Halifax County’s animal control officer for more than two decades. He died in 2009. “Emmett was my mentor and my friend and I miss him,” Dean said in presenting the award at a Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors meeting. “Many times since he died I have wished he were still here with us so I could call him for advice, or just to talk.”
Dean says Fowler has shown the same commitment to animal control as Edmonds. “He was a dedicated animal control officer who felt that going above and beyond the call of duty WAS the call of duty,” Dean said.
Dean says Fowler has routinely done more than what her job description calls for. “Leslie paid out of her own pocket to train her personal dog so he could help her herd livestock that went stray in the county,” Dean said. “From what I have seen Leslie has the grit of John Wayne and the compassion of Mother Teresa.”
The Emmett Edmonds Award was established in 2010 to honor animal control officers who have followed in his footsteps. Fowler has been the county’s animal control officer the past six years.