The Bite Lady's Farewell

She wore many hats in her 23 years at Hillsborough County Animal Services, but Barbara Bailey's headgear during her retirement luncheon seemed the most appropriate.

Placed on top of her blond curls was a purple tiara.

"I hope this doesn't mush my hair," said Bailey, 58, a longtime Plant City resident who retires Wednesday.

The crown was fitting because over the years she has developed a reputation of being a fashion queen, said many of Bailey's coworkers, friends and family members who attended the recent luncheon at the animal services facility on Falkenburg Road.

"She manages to drive a convertible Corvette," animal services spokeswoman Marti Ryan wrote of the office assistant when she was nominated for a recent award, "without mussing a hair out of place."

In a career that has spanned more than two decades, nicknames were also bestowed on Bailey: "Tags," "Officer Bailey," "The Bite Lady." It started in 1984, when she was hired by the department as a temporary clerk/typist because she could not tap out the 20 words per minute the position demanded.

Her supervisors told her to keep practicing and she would be hired on a permanent basis. Bailey took the test at least four times.

"I'd go and test, and I still wasn't fast enough," she said. "Kids in high school typed faster than me."

Regardless of her skill level, Bailey stayed with the department. Her colleagues said her gifts are her outgoing personality, an ability to encourage others and her positive outlook on life and work.

"She's a talker," accounting clerk Shannon Pinkston said. "She's always somebody who's good to talk to."

"She's very friendly," said Scott McAlister, who worked with Bailey for nine years before he accepted a position with the county's tax collector's office. "She's very willing to help others."

Bailey's gregariousness was put to use when supervisors asked her to visit local schools and talk to students during career fairs. She would wear animal services' furry dog suit and assume the role of mascot Tags, or wear a badge and uniform and become the more formal Officer Bailey.

She would give talks about rabies and file stacks of paperwork on animal bites, earning her the moniker "The Bite Lady."

She still held the position of secretary during that time - while processing hundreds of nuisance affidavits and working the main switchboard - but became the department's de facto speaker and public relations specialist before animal services created a post for public information officer, Ryan said.

"It's been interesting," Bailey said. "I've done a lot of different things."

She said she will never forget her first time in the field with animal investigators 15 years ago. Investigators discovered about 100 animals in a cramped, "stinky" Tampa apartment, Bailey said. Emaciated dogs were kept in stacked cages. A cat was locked in a bathroom. Snakes illegal in the United States were slithering freely across floors.

Bailey said she was appalled at the conditions of the apartment but called the experience educational. She was involved with the case from the moment investigators opened the door to the apartment to when the case went to court.

Through it all, her pleasant disposition held steady, even when dealing with irate clients, pet owners and government officials.

"Some days you're the dog," Bailey wrote in a farewell letter to her coworkers, "and some days you're the hydrant."

Bailey said she has spent years letting the community know that animal services employees are "not the bad guys."

"You realize you represent the county with whomever you come into contact with," Bailey said. "It's important for us to put our best foot forward."

Animal services investigator Cpl. Ken Vetzel said he rues the day when Bailey leaves because he will not see her smile every day.

"She's a great lady," Vetzel said. "She'll be missed."

Bailey said she is looking forward to retirement but will likewise miss her colleagues.

"It's like a family," she said. "I've had some great friends here. I still do."

Bailey said she and her husband, Randy, plan to travel, play golf, go fishing and camping and spend months at their vacation cabin in North Carolina. The couple will cheer for their University of Florida Gators year-round. She and Randy will ride their Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Both are certified SCUBA divers.

"I don't have enough weekends to go around," Bailey said. "That's why I'm retiring."

She said it is hard to believe that being hired as a secretary would lead to a myriad of opportunities with animal services.

"I had no idea what the job would involve," Bailey said.

She leaves her workplace of 23 years as a respected employee.

Bailey, said Ryan, won the 2007 Florida Animal Control Association's Office Worker of the Year Award.

On Wednesday, Bailey says goodbye to people who admire her and enjoy her company.

"I would imagine everybody here loves Barbara," said Doris Wisner, who worked with Bailey for 19 years. "Don't worry, she'll come back for the parties."

Bailey also leaves animal services with skills she never imagined she would develop.

"About 10 years ago, I took the data entry test just for fun," Bailey said.

She now types 147 keystrokes a minute. The minimum requirement is 120.

"So," she said, "I have improved."

BAILEY BITS

During her 23-year career at Hillsborough County Animal Services, Barbara Bailey has had a number of duties, which include:

•Clerk/typist

•Switchboard operator

•Cleaning kennels

•Working with investigators in the field

•Talking to students at local schools

•Giving tours of the animal services shelter to children and special needs clients

•Representing the department on county government channel HTV22

•Orientation leader for new employees

•Filing nuisance and animal bite reports

•Delivering tags to local veterinarians

•Wearing the mascot costume of Tags, the dog

•And most recently, office assistant