Missouri Dispatchers Recall Odd 911 Calls

April 14—The call to the Clay County emergency dispatch center certainly was unforgettable.

911 Caller: "I'm late for work & there's a goat at my front door that won't let me out."

Dispatcher: "Do you have a back door?"

Caller: "Oh, thanks!"

Though the exchange occurred last year, a Clay County dispatcher sent out a tweet of it Monday to raise awareness of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.

The annual event during the second week of April recognizes men and women who work as public safety dispatchers.

"It was shared as an example of some of the interesting calls we've received on 911," Jon Bazzano, a Clay County dispatcher, said about the goat incident.

That tweet and several others included the hashtag #Notfor911. The sheriff's office provided them as part of a tweet-along that allowed followers to read about emergencies and other service calls.

Bazzano included several other tweets of actual calls received over the years.

Such as: "Hi, what time is it?"

And: "Can you tell me what it's like outside today?"

And: "Hi, can you tell me if I have a warrant?"

Oh, and so far this year, the sheriff's office has handled more than 800 calls to 911 that were hang-ups, misdials, open-lines or pocket dials.