MONSON – As an animal control officer, Doug Villone, 55, could easily flip open his thick legal pad and issue a summons on his first contact with someone who fails to comply with Maine’s domesticated animal laws.

Instead, the Monson man extends a little kindness on his first visit and finds it works to his benefit.

“My whole thing is cooperation. People have a variety of reasons why they don’t pay their dog licenses, but most just say they forgot,” he said Wednesday.

But if the gentle reminder and the kindness fall short, he has no qualms about taking an offender to court.

It is Villone’s approach, his love of animals, his thorough record keeping and his eye for details that have gained him recognition this year as Maine’s Animal Control Officer of the Year.

“I was stunned. It was like winning the lottery. I was moved and very humbled all at once,” Villone recalled about learning of his selection. He will be recognized officially at the Maine Animal Control Association’s annual meeting April 9 at the Ramada Inn in Bangor.

Guilford Town Manager Tom Goulette, who nominated Villone for the award, said he deserved it.

“He attempts to do his job in a nonconfrontational manner, that is, always worrying more about the animal’s welfare than punishment or penalties, although willing to use those tools to accomplish our mutual goals,” Goulette said this week.

Villone seeks out no-kill shelters and does a lot of behind the scenes work to find homes for animals in need, he said, adding that the animal control officer is also a “stickler for detail” in his monthly reports.

Piscataquis County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy said that, as far as animal control officers are concerned, Villone certainly is dedicated.

“He’s very concerned for [the animals’] welfare, and he also does an exemplary job of preparing case reports,” he said Thursday. “He’s certainly right up there when it comes to ACOs.”

Villone, who serves as animal control officer for Monson, Guilford, Abbot and Kingsbury Plantation, certainly isn’t in the business for the wealth.

“I like this job. Money is always nice, but that’s not an underlying factor in it,” he said Wednesday, while making his rounds. With his expense account, Villone grosses just under $5,000 a year, he said.

“I’m a very incentive-based individual,” Villone said. When he discovered that some elderly and low-income families in the region had difficulty feeding their dogs and cats during the cold winter months, Villone began a food cupboard for pets.

“It just seems that the poorest people take in the most strays – they just seem to be big-hearted,” Villone said.

Villone visited one such recipient, Bunny Knight of Monson, on Wednesday. As he plunked a 17-pound bag of dog food onto Knight’s kitchen floor, Villone inquired about her health as J.D. and Nala, Knight’s two black Labrador retrievers, vied for his attention.

“I’m doing good,” Knight replied, thanking him for the food.

“It’s a big help,” she said. Knight said it is very difficult to feed herself, her dogs and Emett, her cat, on her fixed income, but the animals are like family, and she would never part with them.

The initial startup funds for the food cupboard came from reward money donated a few years ago for the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for peppering a cat’s head with pellets. The cat lived, and a juvenile admitted the crime, but the reward money was never given away.

Villone called each donor, and some requested that the funds be returned, while others asked that it be put to good use helping animals. Now contributions from residents help keep the cupboard in operation.

Villone, who was seriously injured when gasoline ignited his clothes a year ago while he was repairing a vehicle, never falters in his job. Even while hospitalized, he filled out animal control officer paperwork, his wife, Judy Villone, recalled.

Judy Villone, who also is a certified animal control officer, typically accompanies her husband on his rounds, whether he’s serving notices to animal owners who have not licensed their domesticated pets, responding to complaints about barking dogs or investigating suspected animal abuse.

“He’s totally dedicated. It brings him great joy, especially when he can unite lost dogs with their owners,” his wife said. “I’m really proud of him.”