Editing Animal control service (section)

==Politics==
An American colloquialism labels an unpopular politician by saying that they "couldn't be elected dogcatcher", with "dogcatcher" referring to a very low-level elected office.

In practice, animal control officers are generally appointed by an executive authority and not elected.<ref name="Slate">{{cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2273842|title=Dog Race: Is dogcatcher actually an elective office?|last=Beam|first=Christopher|date=November 5, 2010|newspaper=[[Slate Magazine]]|access-date=November 6, 2010|archive-date=November 8, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108135937/http://www.slate.com/id/2273842/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, historic equivalents such as [[poundmaster]], which was tasked with the control of stray livestock, and [[hog reeve]], whose mandate extended exclusively to stray [[swine]], were elective offices in Colonial and early American [[New England]]. The town of [[Duxbury, Vermont]], was said to be the only place in the contemporary United States that actually elects a dog catcher,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/03/24/595755604/cant-get-elected-dogcatcher-try-running-in-duxbury-vt|title=Can't Get Elected Dogcatcher? Try Running In Duxbury, Vt.|last=Kolb Noyes|first=Eileen|date=March 24, 2018|language=en-US|access-date=March 24, 2018|archive-date=March 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324182836/https://www.npr.org/2018/03/24/595755604/cant-get-elected-dogcatcher-try-running-in-duxbury-vt|url-status=live}}</ref> but electing of dogcatchers was found to be illegal<!-- not the phrase used in the sources, but I'm not sure of a better one --> in Vermont in 2018. The job was then designated as appointment-only, with Zeb Towne, the last elected dogcatcher in Duxbury, being unanimously appointed to the position.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gardner |first1=Tommy |title='Awesome' Duxbury dog catcher just not electable anymore |url=https://www.vtcng.com/stowe_reporter/news/local_news/awesome-duxbury-dog-catcher-just-not-electable-anymore/article_0b82995a-43e7-11e8-bd9b-039b7adcae4c.html |work=Vermont Community Newspaper Group |date=19 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112043724/https://www.vtcng.com/stowe_reporter/news/local_news/awesome-duxbury-dog-catcher-just-not-electable-anymore/article_0b82995a-43e7-11e8-bd9b-039b7adcae4c.html |archive-date=12 November 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Detrow |first1=Scott |title='You Couldn't Get Elected Dogcatcher!' No, Seriously |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/04/07/600482792/you-couldn-t-get-elected-dogcatcher-no-seriously |date=April 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112043722/https://www.npr.org/2018/04/07/600482792/you-couldn-t-get-elected-dogcatcher-no-seriously |archive-date=November 12, 2023}}</ref>