ADA honored for animal protection work

Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Erin M. Aiello was honored for her extensive efforts to educate and raise awareness about animal cruelty at the annual meeting of the Animal Control Officers Association of Massachusetts. The meeting was held Friday night at a banquet hall in Auburn, MA.

Aiello received the Richard “Dick” Stein Award, given annually to someone who promotes professionalism of the animal welfare field through continuing education. The award is named in honor of the late Richard Stein, a founding member of the Animal Control Officers Association of Massachusetts in 1980, who served as Canton Animal Control Officer for over 30 years. Stein was a driving force in the move to educate and professionalize animal control officers, including helping to create the Animal Control Officers Association of Massachusetts certification course.

Upon receiving the award, Aiello thanked the animal control officers for their hard work and efforts to protect animals, noting that in every county she has worked in there have been “devoted animal welfare officers.”

“It definitely is a collaborative effort. We’ve had a lot of success in court because we have animal control officers who are willing to do the work,” she said. “I’m interested in handling these cases and making sure that people who hurt animals are held accountable.”

Aiello, a prosecutor in the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit, alluded to the correlation between people who abuse animals and those who abuse people. “Your work also plays a role in helping communities and humans and families that you also serve,” she said.

Aiello worked in the Plymouth County and Bristol County District Attorney’s offices and in private practice before coming to the Northwestern DA’s office in 2019. She earned her law degree from the Roger William School of Law in 2008 and her bachelor’s degree in politics and government from the University of Hartford in 2005.