The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control is the largest animal regulation agency in the United States.
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The Department operates six animal care and control centers. These shelters provide 24-hour, seven-day-a-week animal services to 51 cities in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The Department's service area covers more than 3,200 square miles and serves more than 3.5 million residents.
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The Department's basic mission is to regulate, license and provide public safety and humane control of domestic animals throughout Los Angeles County and the cities with which it contracts
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The Department has a fleet of approximately70 animal control field units that travel more than 1 million miles yearly to perform its public safety and service mission.
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Each vehicle is equipped with individual fresh air circulation vents, lighted transport cages and a raised floor to keep the animals more comfortable.
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Each animal control officer is equipped with a hand-held, extended-range radio to allow them to be in constant communication with their district shelters. This contact facilitates the communication of current licensing and vaccination information, the reporting of actual or potential problem situations requesting specialized equipment, such as large animal trailers, etc., and the return in the field to owners of their licensed stray pets.
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The field and shelter office staffs enforce all state, county and municipal laws regarding the care and control of domestic animals. Each of the Department's six shelters are responsible to:
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- Shelter stray dogs, cats and other animals, including livestock.
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- Enforce the leash law that forbids dogs from running at large.
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- Provide dead animal removal services.
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- Investigate cases of suspected animal abuse and neglect and the impoundment of animals seized in such cases.
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- Assist local law enforcement agencies in raids to end illegal dog and cock fighting activities.
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- Impound dangerous or vicious dogs and coordinate hearings on their disposition.
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- Respond to special animal control problems caused by natural disasters, such as fires, floods and earthquakes. The Department has a mobile field command post that can travel to the command center of a disaster area and operate as the on-site communications and control headquarters for animal-related rescue work.
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- The Department works with the California Department of Fish and Game and the County Department of Agriculture in dealing with predator animals such as mountain lions and coyotes.
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- Investigate complaints relating to excessive animal noise, including barking dogs and crowing fowl.
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- Inspect and license pet shops, animal boarding kennels, pet grooming parlors, wild animal compounds and exhibitions as well as guard dog firms and guard dogs owned by individual businesses.
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- License dogs in accordance with California Health and Safety Code Sec. 1920 and registration of cats under Los Angeles County Code Sec. 10.24.020.
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Among the programs and services that are unique to the Department:
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- Full-time, trained, uniformed officers who canvass the area the Department services to issue pet licenses. The cities we serve receive full credit for all license collection income. Additionally, pet licenses are sold at all county shelters, many city halls and at Department-conducted pet vaccination clinics.
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- A state-of-the-art computer system that tracks individual problem animals, alerting officers to previous complaints and expediting the direct return of stray animals wearing traceable license tags.
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- Rabies vaccination clinics for dogs and cats.
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- A volunteer program that assists in the grooming and placement of animals and the reunification of lost pets with their owners.
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- The non-profit LA County Animal Care Foundation, working with shelter staff and volunteers, offers financial assistance to animal owners who are unable to afford the cost of pet spay and neutering surgery for their dogs and cats.
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- Special adoption programs to help more shelter pets find new homes.
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If you need service, please contact your nearest Los Angeles County Animal Care Center
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