They signed up for the job because they wanted to help animals.

But in their line of work, they chase just as many criminals as critters.

They’re Washtenaw County’s animal cruelty investigators.

“You can go from picking up that baby bird and bringing it back to the mom and going to someone’s house where they’re being arrested and they’re cussing you out,” said Matt Schaecher, the county’s director of animal cruelty investigation and emergency rescue.

Mixed in with the pictures of puppies and kittens that are tacked to the walls of the investigators’ office at the Humane Society of Huron Valley are large white boards with offenders, the investigators’ prosecution success record (53-1, as of last week) and mug shots of “frequent fliers.”

The team recently marked its 50th animal abuse guilty verdict, and has the highest prosecution success rate for animal cruelty out of any county in Michigan.

Most of the time, the jobs of the five investigators involve educating people, because people have different ideas about what constitutes cruelty, Schaecher said. Leaving a dog in a crate at home versus taking the dog with you to the store and leaving it in your car on a hot day is a common point of contention.

“There’s a wide range of things that we do. You get your day set up, and then something happens,” Schaecher said.

Some days, the investigators have to go to court to help prosecute the offenders they’ve worked hard to nail, leaving one person behind at the office.

Their 24-hour tip line seems to ring constantly.

The days are long, grueling and unpredictable. The stories are sometimes unbelievable.

A female deer, fatally injured after colliding with a train recently, died on the tracks. The two fawns she was carrying managed to survive by somehow escaping their mother’s body.

The team rescued the fawns and brought them back to the animal shelter. The fawns were so small that cruelty investigator Michele Baxter was able to hold both of them in her lap in a large towel.

The investigators’ stories don’t always end with a rescue.

Schaecher mentioned a call he responded to in which a litter of kittens had climbed into an air conditioning unit outside of an apartment complex while the unit was off.

And then the unit kicked on.

A day in the life

June 20, 9:30 a.m. Schaecher and Baxter investigate a report that three cats are losing weight and aren’t being cared for at an Ypsilanti apartment. The cats are actually well-fed and cared for. Baxter informs the owners of the Humane Society’s “Bountiful Bowls” program, in case the couple ever has trouble affording their cats’ food.

9:45 a.m. Someone has complained about a dog being left in a garage and barking all day. When the investigators arrive, the dog appears to be in good health and is not suffering. Schaecher advises the owner that it’s best to keep the dog inside - especially when temperatures escalate - and has the people take the dog into their house.

10 a.m. An employee at the Ann Arbor Materials Recovery Facility on Platt Road reportedly has been keeping his three dogs in his van while he is at work. The dogs are in fact in the van, but they aren’t panting or distressed. The dogs’ owner keeps the windows open and shades down in the vehicle, and says he lets the dogs out on his breaks. The investigators tell him that he needs to leave the dogs at home, and make a note to come back the next day to see if he has heeded their advice.

10:20 a.m. The investigators follow up on a man on probation to make sure he isn’t violating the terms, which stipulate that he is to have no contact with animals whatsoever. The team has received a tip that the man has three new purebred dogs and wants to breed them. A visit to the address the man has listed with the court reveals he’s staying with his mother, who does in fact have a dog. Technically, the man is violating his probation, but Schaecher doesn’t want to take the dog away from the woman. The team will be back.

11 a.m. Schaecher remembered seeing a Siberian Husky being kept in a closet at an Ypsilanti apartment complex while he was out on the call where the kittens had climbed into the air conditioner unit. A knock at the door of the apartment yields no results; there’s no sign of the dog.

11:15 a.m. The team makes a return visit to a house in the West Willow neighborhood on the eastern side of Ypsilanti Township. The house has been raided twice for drugs. During one of the raids, four dogs were confiscated. There’s a report of another dog at the property. Though the house is condemned, there’s fresh trash outside. But there is no answer to the team’s knock on the door. A quick conference with the Sheriff’s Department reveals someone is still living inside. The team will have to come back later.

11:30 a.m. Schaecher spots a stray dog while patrolling the West Willow neighborhood. During her attempt to catch the dog, Baxter finds its owner.

11:36 a.m. Baxter and Schaecher stop by the side-by-side residences of some prior offenders to make sure there are no ongoing problems. No one is home.

11:50 a.m. The team stakes out the West Willow residence of an offender who hasn’t been showing up for his court dates on animal cruelty-related offenses. The court previously ordered two of his three dogs be taken away. There are four warrants out for his arrest. It looks like he’s home.

12:05 p.m. A baby bird has been captured by employees at an Ypsilanti bank. Someone found it on the ground and thought it had a broken wing. The team suspects it’s a fledgling and is just learning to fly, which is the case. Schaecher and Baxter take the bird to a safe area and make sure the mother knows where the baby is. The bank employees were concerned that since they picked up the bird, its mother would no longer want it. Schaecher tells them that’s a myth.

12:30 p.m. Cruelty investigator Elise Ramsey meets the team at the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department, where a deputy suits up to assist the team in arresting the offender who is being staked out in West Willow.

1 p.m. Everyone is at the offender’s home … but he’s not. Time to wait.

1:30 p.m. The offender is arrested after he arrives home on his bike. He gives the team an earful as he is escorted to the deputy’s vehicle.

1:45 p.m. Lunch. The team members use the break to hash out their court schedules and upcoming events.

2:30 p.m. In Salem Township, Schaecher and Baxter investigate a report that someone is selling Boston Terrier puppies from a yard inside a trailer park. Though the puppies aren’t home, their mom is. That dog and another one at the location appear to be healthy, happy and well-cared for, so the team leaves.

2:41 p.m. The team arrives at the now-infamous Salem Township horse farm that was raided in December. Eighteen horses were seized. Though people are still calling to complain about the farm, the team says the horses look like they’re doing better and there's no cause for alarm.

3 p.m. Back to the office. Schaecher and Baxter have to fill out reports and update their database.

Armed animal lovers

The investigators are faced with a variety of reactions from people when they’re out doing their jobs.

For some calls, the investigators have to request assistance from law enforcement - and since they don’t carry guns themselves, confrontations can be precarious.

Schaecher says he hopes that’s all about to change. He has been petitioning the Humane Society board to allow investigators to be licensed to carry firearms. The investigators have all received the necessary training, but the board has yet to approve the measure.

The guns would be more for personal protection than intimidation, Baxter said.

You might think the investigators have seen it all, but there are still times when acts of animal cruelty catch them off guard.

“I don’t know if I would call it surprise, as much as ’You have got to be kidding me,’” Baxter said.

All of the cruelty investigators are animal lovers themselves.They all have pets at home and all still fight the urge to take home rescued animals.

“You bond with an animal because you just went through this rescue event,” Baxter said, explaining that after the initial adrenaline wears off, the decision to add another animal to your life may not seem so great.

Schaecher said he rescued a dog that had been set on fire in Detroit and really wanted to adopt it, but something inside held him back.

“It’s a weird field to be in,” Schaecher said. “You’re in it because you’re extremely passionate about animals … but you quickly see that not every rescue ends well.…

“You got in the position because you wanted to help, but it’s not exactly what you had in mind.”

“You have to grow that thick skin,” Baxter said.

Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.