Quinn the Shih Tzu was paraded around the vestibule of Anne Arundel County Animal Care and Control recently in the arms of her owner, Claudia Roll. The pair, to the amusement of staff in the waiting room, were matching in branded sweaters representing the agency which Roll took the helm of in July.

Roll brings her 12 year-old adopted dog to join the dozens of strays, abused and injured animals inside the walls of Animal Care and Control as often as she’s able. This, among many other efforts, is part of an endeavor to create a new culture at the agency that is overseen by the county’s police department and has a budget of $4.1 million. Public safety accounted for 21 percent, or about $485 million of the county’s more than $2 billion expenditures in fiscal year 2024.

“When I came in, there were some divisions in the building,” Roll said. “We’re working on culture. This is a hard business to be in, there are many more happy endings than unhappy endings, but the unhappy ones hit staff and volunteers hard.”

The agency is responsible for responding to animal-related complaints, conducting investigations regarding cruelty and providing temporary housing for the animals involved.

Roll, a Severna Park resident who grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, was hired after her predecessor, Robin Catlett, separated from the agency last May. The move came after allegations that Catlett encouraged the practice of overmedication in an effort to have aggressive dogs adopted by unsuspecting owners.

Zachary Aman of Virginia-based Spiggle Law Firm, who represents Catlett, did not respond to a request for comment.

Roll was hired by County Executive Steuart Pittman, a Democrat, in July to “transform and restructure” the direction of the agency. She said with some minor adjustments and increased levels of care she’s managing to do so.

“I’m working on reminding people to celebrate the small wins: every single adoption, and my favorite thing, when people come to reclaim their lost pet,” Roll said. “We’re working on culture and having as positive an environment as possible through supporting each other. This is a field where that can sometimes start to break down. It needs constant attention.”

Roll graduated from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, with a bachelor’s degree in political science. She then taught high school in Connecticut before moving to Maryland and volunteering with the Baltimore Humane Society.

Most recently, Roll was the chief of staff for the Humane Rescue Alliance in Washington, D.C. where she oversaw an 80-person staff. She’s lived in Severna Park for eight years.

“I’ve been in this field for about 30 years, this is the first time I’ve actually done the work in my own community,” Roll said. “To have this job in my home county is great.”

Since joining Animal Care and Control, Roll has hired an in-house veterinarian, raised online visibility of what the agency does, modified the background check process for staff and increased holiday staffing. Over 100 people volunteer for the agency and it has 45 employees.

“Right before [Roll] was hired there were some things in the news, there was a lot of conversation about things not being in good shape at the facility,” Pittman said on the Pittman and Friends Podcast in January. “There were a lot of factions and people with very different opinions about what needed to be done. I knew we needed a strong leader.”

In July, Pittman proposed that Animal Care and Control transform from a government agency associated with the police department into a quasi-governmental nonprofit like the Anne Arundel County Economic Development Corporation. Pittman and Roll ultimately decided against the idea.

In January, Pittman and Roll said on the Pittman and Friends Podcast, that they would make Animal Care and Control a stand-alone department within the county. Legislation to do so is being drafted, Roll said.

Roll said community engagement and adoption events are coming this spring.

“People have various reasons for having to give up their animal,” Roll said. “Our field, animal welfare, used to be really, really judgmental. I’ve told the staff before, ‘Life happens.’”

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