Former Portland ACO Writes Book on Animal Rescue

One of the most heart-breaking experiences in her more than one dozen years as a municipal animal control officer, Chris Sparks says, was the death of two pitbull dogs she found chained to a fence during a snowstorm. 

One of the most heartening, she adds, was the successful rescue of a pregnant pitbull who was thrown from a moving car. Sparks rehabilitated the mother dog, who had 12 puppies, all of whom Sparks placed in stable, loving homes. 

A former ACO in Portland and other Connecticut towns, Sparks recounts some of those experiences in the second installment of a book she wrote, "The Animals And Me: Escapades in Animal Control."

The book was published by Amazon last fall and Sparks recently wrote her second installment, according to the Hartford Courant. 

In a forward to the book, Sparks, who currently works as Bloomfield's ACO, says "In this first effort of mine, I am going to reveal a body of experiences I have shared with few, if any. I have endeavored and striven for a daily dedication to serving those who cannot speak, who dwell in a world sometimes filled with joy, and all too frequently with pain. 

"I measure my successes by the images I carry," she adds. "The unmitigated ecstasy on the face of a dog, upon discovering swimming for the first time, the rescuing of a cat who spent 8 torturous years in a bird cage and countless pictures of wildlife who regained wildness with pure joy."