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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

  Animal Care & Services Home
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What We Do

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Photo - Animal Services Officer picking up an animal

 

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Animal Care & Services (ACS) is a full-service division that offers the community many valuable programs and services.  Within ACS are three units: Field Operations, Shelter Operations and Administration.  Although each unit is responsible for different aspects of ACS, they are dependent upon each other and work together cohesively to best benefit both the animals and the community.

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Field Operations

 


This branch of the ACS is sometimes referred to as Animal Control.  This unit is comprised of Dispatchers and Animal Service Officers.  Our Animal Dispatchers answer thousands of calls each year from people reporting or needing help with stray, injured, lost, dead, nuisance or dangerous animals.  They then prioritize the calls and "dispatch" our Animal Service Officers (ASOs) to the location where they do their best to resolve the various situations that occur each day.

Trained ASOs conduct the following field services:

  • Patrol the city on a daily basis
  • Enforce all animal control laws and investigate all reports of animal abuse
  • Pick up stray animals
  • Respond to animal-related emergencies
  • Rescue animals in distress
  • Transport injured or sick stray animals to receive emergency vet car (day or night)
  • Follow-up on citizen complaints
  • File bite reports and quarantine suspect animals
  • Permit animal-related facilities

 

Shelter Operations

 


This branch of ACS is responsible for the thousands of animals that are brought to the Animal Care Center by the public each year.  The unit is comprised of kennel and veterinary staff who work together to create an orderly and caring environment to best serve both the animals and the community.

Trained shelter personnel conduct the following services:

  • Provide food, water, shelter, medical care and a clean and comfortable environment for all shelter animals
  • Provide basic health screening for all animals including a preventative disease control program
  • Vaccinate domestic shelter animals against diseases
  • Adopt out stray, unwanted and abandoned animals
  • Humanely euthanize animals the shelter cannot place
  • Provide pet lost and found services
  • Provide adoption and behavior counseling
  • Groom adoptable shelter animals
  • Provide information and education on pet owner/guardian responsibility and care
  • Maintain accurate records on all shelter animals
  • Oversee shelter and community Low-Cost spay/neuter clinic

 

Administrative Services

 


This branch of ACS is responsible for facilitating support for both the ACS field and shelter units.  Administrative staff perform a wide range of integral duties, including:

  • Overseeing all ACS financing, budgets and databases
  • Selling dog and cat licenses
  • Providing customer service support
  • Recruiting, training and coordinating volunteers
  • Publicizing and promoting shelter animals
  • Implementing specialized ACS programs
  • Handling community and press inquiries
  • Organizing special events
 
     

 

 

Last Modified Date: 9/14/2004

 
 

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