How Centre County’s first humane society officer is meeting ‘a big need’ in area
From a herd of 150 rabbits to a miniature donkey named Waffles, Mark Rusnak has seen it all in his short time as the humane society police officer in Centre County.
Rusnak, who investigates potential cases of animal cruelty and neglect, estimates that he’s answered 3-4 calls per day since he began last August. He’s the first full-time humane officer to work out of the Centre County Sheriff’s Department, one of only two in the state to have such a position. Most humane officers in Pennsylvania are volunteers via nonprofits, Rusnak said.
Rusnak was a deputy sheriff for nine years, and he said the humane officer position was “right up my alley” because of his love for animals.
“It’s awesome to have it through the sheriff’s office because it’s my full-time job,” Rusnak told the CDT. “It’s what I’m paid an actual salary to do, so it’s getting done. I have all the equipment and stuff that I need. I don’t think anyone else has that kind of capability in Pennsylvania.”
Sheriff Bryan Sampsel said he was approached last year by county commissioners and community members about “a big need” for a full-time humane officer in Centre County. At the time, the county relied on volunteers or other officers to handle humane cases. And with the volume of cases in the area, many of them fell on the back burner, if they were picked up at all, he said.
Rusnak estimates that he’s answered between 300-400 total calls since he began; not every call he gets leads to an investigation, but the ones that do can be intensive.
“The cases that I get consume a lot of time, like I can spend weeks on just one case, and regular patrol officers don’t have time to do that,” Rusnak said. “It’s just not feasible at all, so it was just kind of getting pushed to the side or not looked into as deep as what I can look into it.”
Rusnak spends his days driving to properties all around the county to investigate tips he’s received. During his lunch break, he listens to voicemail messages from calls he missed while he was gone. Rusnak said he’s “only one person” and has cases backed up just because of the sheer number of them.
Sampsel said he plans to request another humane officer to help lighten the workload and hopefully work through cases even quicker. He compared Rusnak’s current role to a police dispatch, except he’s the only officer available.
“That’s a plan for me down the road,” Sampsel said. “The (Centre County) commissioners have been generous with what they’re doing now to help this program start off, and it’s a conversation we’ll have next budget season.”
In cases of abuse or neglect, the owners are given the chance to voluntarily surrender their animals to local shelters. It’s not always a same-day process, though, which Rusnak said can get “very emotional.”
“The toughest part is when you have a real case that’s kind of gruesome, but there’s nothing I can do about it that day, and I have to go home knowing that they’re still in that bad situation,” Rusnak said. “That’s never a fun thing to experience, but at the end of the day, dogs that are neglected and treated wrong are going to get taken care of.”
Centre County PAWS, a nonprofit shelter for cats and dogs, works closely with the sheriff’s department to take in and care for surrendered animals.
PAWS has received more intakes and fewer adoptions in the last few years — part of a national trend that started at least five years ago, according to Shelter Animals Count, a database that tracks animal welfare statistics.
“We’re getting more calls for ‘I can’t keep my animal anymore,’ landlord issues, a ton of different things,” operations manager Hannah Beck told the CDT. “We’re getting more strays than ever before. ... It’s just our community needs resources more than ever for these animals.”
Rusnak is motivated by his love for animals — not only does he want to protect them, but he wants to see them live happy lives even after their case is closed. He’s become a regular at shelters in the area, including PAWS, and likes to take breaks to hang out with the animals.
“He checks in and follows up and wants to know when they’re adopted. He likes to see the adoption photos,” Beck said. “That’s why I think he stands out, because he genuinely loves these animals and cares, and he cares about us, and he checks in on us, and he’s a really great partner for us to work with.”
If he could, Rusnak said he’d keep every animal he helps at the office. Even as a one-man crew, he hopes to set an example for the impact a humane officer can have in a sheriff’s office.
“If you take a look at just statistics from what I’ve done so far, I’ve handled a lot of cases, I’ve prosecuted a lot of cases so far,” Rusnak said. “I think if there’s abuse or neglect going on in Centre County, people should expect me to come knock at their door, and one way or another, it’s going to get resolved.”
Concerns of animal cruelty or neglect in Centre County can be directed to the sheriff’s office at 814-355-6803. Humane officers in other counties can be found via the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s registry.
This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
