From New Jersey dog fights to California rat hoarders, Paul Miller has investigated more animal cruelty than many could stomach.

In a coast-to-coast career spanning nearly 30 years, he has gone undercover, written up charges and carries a badge – but he’s not a police officer.

Miller, executive director of the Humane Society of Washington County, is a humane officer. He is among thousands of animal welfare workers across the country whose nonprofit employers have contracted with local governments to provide animal-control services.

It’s a little-understood profession that sometimes produces big headlines. In early December, Miller investigated reports of a dead horse on a Western Maryland farm, and found 75 allegedly neglected horses