Hanson looks to continue Inabnitt’s legacy

With the retirement of former Animal Control Supervisor Ann Inabnitt, Brendan Hanson acknowledges that there will never be another Ann. However, he feels prepared, capable, and eager to do his best in his new role as the Boulder City Animal Control supervisor, building on the strong foundation Inabnitt built and is excited to continue her legacy.

Hanson has been with the Boulder City Animal Control Shelter since 2017 as an animal control officer, but has been working in animal control for 13 years. He has a rich love for animals and serving the community. Originally, he is from Northern Virginia. He grew up with pets and after high school decided he wanted a change of scenery. He then moved to Utah and became an animal control officer. There, he met his now wife, who is originally from Las Vegas. He loved working in animal control in Utah, and when he got the opportunity to come to Boulder City the opportunity made sense.

He said he’s loved his time here in Boulder City and learned a great deal from Inabnitt. She played a monumental role in Boulder City Animal Control and turned the shelter into a model of what the type of facility can be. Many animal shelters greet customers with waves of fear, but the Boulder City Animal Shelter is the exact opposite, warm, inviting, and fear free.

“I have nearly 13 years as an animal control officer, so I feel I have learned a lot, and I continue to learn, and Ann has played a huge role in that,” Hanson said. “She totally changed the culture of the animal shelter and did wonderful things for the shelter, for the community, and I have had the joy, since 2017, of working with her, learning from her, and her impact is immeasurable.”

With Inabnitt’s retirement, Hanson’s main goal is to continue building on what she established, and continue to build on making a difference in the community. He trusts his team and knows that the future of animal control in Boulder City is bright. Inabnitt’s leadership was fun, effective, and made changes in the community that will last for years to come, he said.

Hanson just wants to keep that spirit alive and well, to nurture it as their entire team nurtures the animals in their shelter.

“There’s nobody that can replace her, so I believe she has taught me so much over the past eight years, that I’m ready and capable, and excited,” Hanson said. “She created a wonderful foundation. I think we can continue to make a difference with the community as far as the animals and help the animal owners as well.”

A normal workday for Hanson entails responding to calls for service from the public and running the animal shelter. The animal shelter responsibilities include caring for the animals, from cleaning, feeding, to medicating. However, unlike other bigger communities that have shelters and control separately, Boulder City has a team taking care of both workloads.

“We stay pretty busy just because we do animal control and the animal shelter. A lot of cities either have animal control officers that are strictly in the field, or strictly at the shelter,” Hanson said, “but here we do both, so we do a little bit of everything.”

Unlike larger city shelters that experience overcrowding of animals, the Boulder City animal shelter has room for more. They have been able to take care of their animals and find their forever homes effectively. The animals that are in their care are friendly and healthy, which could not be the same story for other larger animal shelters. The well-being of the animals at the Boulder City Animal Control Shelter is a direct reflection of the caretaking-ability of the staff, and Inabnitt’s legacy.

What also separates Boulder City’s from others is its backing from the community. Hanson’s favorite part of the job is the city, the people, and the amount of support from the community. He’s thankful for the support that his team receives as it makes a big difference to him. In addition, he loves working with animals and has for a long time. Having a house full of animals himself, he wants to help those in the shelter find their forever homes. He finds this work to be rewarding, serving the animals and the community alike.

Changes are coming in Boulder City regarding animal regulations, leash laws being one of them. City council has a list of issues involving pets in Boulder City and Hanson thinks a lot of them may change soon.

Hanson also mentioned discussion about microchipping animals, which would be beneficial in helping animal control get animals back to their owners. However, regardless of how policies change, Hanson and his team are equipped and eager to serve the Boulder City community to the best of their ability, and continue to build Inabnitt’s legacy.