Employee Focus

By Sarah Cormier, Macomb County Executive Office

You don’t have to be an animal expert to know how to love an animal and take good care of it. This is especially true for Michael Hudson, animal care and control assistant at Macomb County Animal Control.

Hudson acts as an assistant to Animal Control Chief Jeff Randazzo, helping to do whatever it is Randazzo needs – everything from new hiring to social media to taking care of the animals if necessary.

“It’s always different. It’s not a regular desk job,” said Hudson.

This is a new gig for Hudson, who formerly worked in marketing for the Ann Arbor Art Fair. He is graduating this semester from the University of Michigan with a master’s degree in public administration. He is interested in nonprofit work.

“I had a professor tell us that we should focus not on what position we wanted but what cause we wanted to take on and get involved that way,” he said, adding that he’s always had a passion for animals.

He said the job at Macomb County Animal Control seemed like a good fit.

“It was something where I could contribute to that cause,” he said, adding he has learned a great deal about the law enforcement side of animal control, which he has great respect for.

Hudson said a key part of his job is grant writing. The shelter relies heavily on grants to get some of its most important work accomplished. He said he recently secured a $5,000 Petco grant to help pay for a recent case where the shelter took in 16 small breed dogs that have since all been adopted. In addition to looking for grant money for specific cases, any available money for facility upgrades is pursued.

When he’s not working, Hudson hangs out with his dog Zoey, a 1-year-old female corgi-beagle mix. He also likes to cross-country ski and play basketball. He lives with his girlfriend in Detroit, but wants to move to Macomb County in the near future.

Randazzo said Hudson offers a lot to Animal Control.

“He shows a lot of compassion and offers great solutions when a problem arises,” said Randazzo. “He has a very high level of professionalism that we like to see in our employees.”