Animal Control

The Animal Control Unit of your Public Works Department:

• Operates an animal shelter and adoption programs, to protect and find homes for unwanted companion animals
• Licenses animals to help identify and aid in the return of lost companion animals
• Enforces ordinances, such as leash law, cruelty and neglect, laws governing vaccinations and companion animal welfare
• Educates the public, to make citizens aware of the animal control problems and ways to solve them
• Animal Control personnel may also use their skills to protect and control wild animals.

Protection

Animal Control means protecting:

• People and property from the dangers and nuisance of roaming uncontrolled animals.
• Pets and wild animals from the dangers they face in the wild and on city streets.

Animal Control means knowing how to handle animals - and how to work with people.

Department Actions

Some of the actions that Animal Control perform include:

• Cruelty Investigations: Animal Control personnel enforce laws governing humane treatment of animals. If necessary, they may remove animals from unsafe or unhealthy conditions and begin legal action against negligent owners.
• Complaint Investigations: Animal Control personnel may look into complaints of noisy, destructive or threatening animals. If necessary, proper legal action may be taken including citations, fines and impoundment.
• Animal Rescue: Animal Control personnel use their special knowledge and equipment to help find and rescue lost or trapped animals.
• Animal Ambulance: Animal Control personnel transport injured animals safely and humanely to the appropriate health care facility when found on city streets or when taken from a neglect location.
• Animal Quarantine: Animals that bite are located and captured to make certain they are not carrying any disease.