Though Tony Crutchfield may run Crutchfield Surveys, it’s Leo the dog who does all the running for Crutchfield Surveys. Literally.

By Charlotte Underwood

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF)- Crutchfield Surveys is WLAF’s Business of the Week. The locally owned and family run survey business has been serving clients in Campbell County and surrounding counties since 1990.  They offer land surveying services for both residential and commercial properties. 

Crutchfield Surveys offers land surveying services for both residential and commercial properties.  Their practice areas include: Boundary Retracement, Topographic Surveys, Subdivision Layouts, Development Consulting, Construction Staking, Records/Title/Archival Research, ALTA-NSPS Land Title Surveys, FEMA Elevation Certificates, and Court Trial Consulting.

Crutchfield Surveys owner and company president Tony Crutchfield has over 30 years of surveying experience. He is pictured here with his favorite employee. Leo delivers documents to the attorney’s office next door, acts as an office door alarm and participates in field survey work.

Company president Tony W. Crutchfield started his full-time survey career in 1990 and has been president of the company since 2002.  Tony is also a Tennessee Certified Floodplain Surveyor as well as a TDEC Erosion Prevention & Sediment Control Certified Personnel Level 1.

He has over 30 years in surveying and learned the survey business from his father Jerry at a young age while he was still in school.

Jerry Crutchfield founded Crutchfield Surveys in 1990.

Crutchfield Surveys was founded by Jerry W. Crutchfield in 1990.  Jerry began his career with the Engineering Division of the Tennessee Department of Transportation in 1964 and worked in various positions in private practice for more than fifty years.

“I was gang pressed into this early; my father actually learned about surveying when he was employed with TDOT. He worked for them for about 20 years. He began working with another firm and eventually he got licensed as a land surveyor, and I helped him. I was young at the time and in school and I provided the labor. I started working full-time in 1990 and got licensed in 1995,” Crutchfield said.

Crutchfield said he enjoys his job and that it is never boring. Surveying is a “niche field” with probably less than 1,000 practicing surveyors in the state of Tennessee.

Leo the Delivery Dog running paperwork over to Attorney Joe Coker’s office on Wednesday. Leo works for treats and is always popular with the ladies!

Some of the challenges include surveying properties that may have grown up a lot or changed over the years since the landmarks were listed on the deed. Sometimes, landmarks disappear completely.  In those situations, Crutchfield looks at the adjoining properties to see if the deeds and property markers match, which helps “narrow down where the old property markers were.”

“It is a demanding field, you have to know a lot of different things to make it go, like research, land records, property law, how to navigate your way in the field and be very cognitive of the natural features that are on the ground to provide the best service for your client,” Crutchfield said. The majority of the business that his office sees is boundary surveys and simple divisions.

Crutchfield said he enjoys helping people to resolve issues and provide the various services they may need.

“I try to help them and guide them along and help them to navigate the steps and process of property transactions which can get complicated; I get a lot of satisfaction from that,” Crutchfield said.

Doggone good dog! Leo is the company mascot at Crutchfield Surveys. The 8-year-old Terrier-mix loves to come to the office, run paperwork errands and act as the business’s door alarm.

The best part is he gets to bring the company mascot, his dog Leo, to work with him each day.

Leo the delivery dog is the long-running employee of the month at Crutchfield Surveys. The eight-year-old Terrier mix has been coming to work with Tony since he was a pup. He can sometimes be seen ferrying documents and paperwork back and forth between Crutchfield Surveys and Attorney Joe Coker’s office, the next street over.

According to Crutchfield, the ladies over at the law office really like Leo and they keep him stocked with special treats.

“They give him treats over there, so he likes to go over there. Sometimes Joe (Coker) and I will run documents back and forth and will stick them in his collar and he will run over there and run back,” Crutchfield explained.

Leo comes to work with Crutchfield each day and is “very familiar with the neighborhood and the people that come into the office.”

He also serves as the office’s “door alarm” and alerts when anyone comes into the office.

If Coker and Crutchfield are working with mutual clients and Coker sends emails to those clients, he will “include Leo’s name on there as if he’s a staff member and then when the clients come over and meet Leo, they discover he is a dog and not one of my guys that goes out in the field,” Crutchfield said with a laugh.

Employees over at the Campbell County School Administration building also keep an eye out for Leo and enjoy watching him work.

When it’s time to go to work in the mornings, Leo is at the door waiting to go.

Leo also gets to go with Crutchfield to appointments and in the field and when it’s an open wooded area or a farm, he gets to participate in the “field survey work.”

Crutchfield Surveys is WLAF’s Business of the Week. It is located at 105 Liberty Street, Jacksboro, on the hill beside the post office.

“He’s great about sticking around close to me, when we’re out working; we don’t get separated,” Crutchfield said.

Give Crutchfield Surveys a call at 423.566.1483 or contact via email at mail@crutchfieldsurveys.com. You can also check out Crutchfield’s website.

They are open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm or by appointment. The business is located at 105 Liberty Street at Jacksboro up above the post office. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-02/28/2025-6AM)

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