Animal Control Officer Cheryl Gorveatt-Dill has been on the job less than two months, but perhaps you've already noticed that your neighbor's chocolate lab isn't running the neighborhood as often and, well... the streets are a bit cleaner.

“There was a time when we were in the midst of looking for an animal control officer, there was a time when we were without one ... [and] when animal complaints reach the level of the Board of Selectmen, there's a problem," Wareham Police Chief Richard Stanley said while introducing Gorveatt-Dill to the Selectmen on Tuesday. "And when I received phone calls at 8:00 in the morning [on a Sunday] from a Selectman wondering what we're going to do about a dead skunk, I know we've got a problem.”

Stanley called Gorveatt-Dill a "home run," noting that 36 people applied for the job, six were interviewed, and he and Lieutenant John Walcek offered Gorveatt-Dill the job on-the-spot.

"She hit the ground running," said Walcek, who was commended for his juggling of animal matters in the absence of a full-time animal control officer.

Gorveatt-Dill's efforts have not gone unnoticed.

"It's a huge improvement in the town," said Selectman Steve Holmes, who admitted to making at least one of those 8 a.m. skunk phone calls.

Gorveatt-Dill said she is often met with 25 or more phone messages when she begins her day.

"I take my job very, very seriously," she said, adding that she is trying to make herself visible in areas where there are a lot of animal problems. She said she plans to increase awareness about animal issues and educate children about the dangerousness of approaching wild animals.

By the way, if you're a dog owner who tends to forget to stop by the Town Clerk's office in the beginning of the year to drop off information about Fido's rabies shot and pay the $10 dog licensing fee... you may want to add that to your list of New Year's resolutions.

"There are a large number of animals that are getting rabies shots, but not getting licensed," Gorveatt-Dill said. "I'm going to make that a high priority in this upcoming year."