The Working Stiffs of the Animal World
Meet the Horses, Hawks, and Cats Who Put In 9-to-5 Days
Not all animals live lives of leisure. Some, like these 9-5ers, have real jobs. But they don’t complain. It’s always fortunate when one can turn their passion into their profession.
Sheriff’s Mounted Unit
The Mounted Unit of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office regularly deploys on any number of important assignments — the 10-member team offers search and rescue support; provides crowd control during large regional events, such as the massive Trump rally in Anaheim in 2016; and conducts regular rural patrols, including of Lake Cachuma on holiday weekends and county beaches during COVID.
But perhaps the unit’s most critical role, explained its leader Lt. Erik Raney, is public relations. “Everybody loves horses,” he said. “People come up to us all the time and ask about them. That gives us a chance to have casual conversations with folks without the law enforcement vibe.”
