Meet Animal Control's Nikki Wood & Sonney White

Missoula City-County Animal Control Shelter Attendant Nikki Wood (left) and Officer Sonney White (right).

The Missoula Animal Control organizational structure can be narrowed into three distinct functions: Shelter Attendants, Officers and Volunteers. Shelter Attendants are those who work at the front desk, help the public obtain dog licenses, answer questions about animals, dispatch officers, plan events and organize outreach efforts. They also, and very importantly, form relationships with the animals at the shelter by learning behaviors and assessing their physical, emotional and medical needs. Officers, on the other hand, are out in the field to investigate cases of neglect and abuse. They are more of Animal Control’s law enforcement agency. Both, however, have the same goal in mind; to either reunite lost animals with their home or to find them a new loving family.

Nikki Wood is one of Animal Control’s Shelter Attendants who has worked with animals throughout her 15 year career. Nikki has a degree in Professional Zoo Keeping and worked at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo in Fresno, California in the mammals division. There she cared for all types of animals, ranging from lemurs, sea lions, wolves, tigers, bears to ant eaters. Nikki loved her time and experiences in California, but  having grown up in Helena,  decided to leave the zoo and come back to Montana to be near her family and friends a few years ago.  Shortly after returning to the Missoula area, Nikki applied for her position with Animal Control and has been happily serving our community ever since.

Having worked with animals for so many years, Nikki has a true passion for her profession.

Nikki Wood and Lebowski. 

“We genuinely care about the animals here. Everything we do is for them, whether it’s fundraising or working with those who have very poor social skills to help them find homes,” Nikki said.

There are many things Nikki enjoys about her work, including her coworkers and interacting with the public, but most of all Nikki says the best part of her job is being able to build trust with an animal so that she can then help find the perfect home.  Similarly, it can be challenging when animals are very aggressive and hard to care for. But once that relationship is built, Nikki says, there is nothing more rewarding.

Animal Control Officer, Sonney White, agrees that nothing is more gratifying in his job than when he is able to help an animal find his/her home. Sonney is a recent addition to the Animal Control office, having spent 11 months in his current position. Before working at Animal Control, Sonney served the Granite County Sheriff’s Office for more than 30 years. During this time, Sonney was the Search and Rescue coordinator, a DARE officer and served six years as Undersheriff. Throughout this tenure, Sonney often worked on Animal Control issues, including licensing, abuse cases and locating strays.

“I retired three years ago from the Granite County Sheriff’s Office so that my wife and I could move into our beautiful home in Stevensville,” Sonney said. “I was working part time as a University of Montana campus officer a year ago and saw that this position with Animal Control was available. I knew Jeff [Darrah, Animal Control’s Director] and thought it would be a good opportunity. I like it here very much.”

Sonney White with his Animal Control Officer vehicle. 

In his role, Sonney patrols parks and other County spaces to ensure owners are compliant with city and county ordinances. Sonney also is in the field investigating cases of neglect and abuse.

“It can be a hard job but it’s all worth it when you know you helped someone find a good home,” Sonney said.

Sonney enjoys helping lost animals find their home or helping them find a home by keeping them safe. Sometimes, Sonney says, it can be very challenging for officers to help educate the public as to why they need to license their dogs and why it is important.

“People sometimes don’t realize that by licensing your dog you are helping to keep your animal safe in case they get lost or if we need to monitor rabies,” Sonney said.

Although their roles may vary, Missoula’s Animal Control staff care very much about the work they do for our community.  If you’re interested in learning more about Animal Control, please visit their website.