Animal Control FAQ

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First Things First... Check the Lee County Animal Control website or call their staff to report a lost or found animal!  

Safety First

A strange, frightened, and possibly sick or injured animal can behave unpredictably. A sudden move on your part, even opening your car door, can spook them and cause them to bolt—possibly right onto the highway. If the animal looks or acts threatening, or if you feel uneasy about the situation, stay in your car.

If possible, restrain the animal. Create a barrier or use a carrier, leash, piece of cloth, or length of rope to keep the animal in the area. If applicable, signal approaching vehicles to slow down if you cannot confine the animal, or divert traffic around them if they appear to be injured and is still on the roadway.

Use caution

Use caution when approaching the animal. Should you succeed in getting close enough to capture them, you stand a good chance of being scratched or bitten.

When moving toward the animal, speak calmly to reassure them. Make sure they can see you at all times as you approach, and perhaps entice them to come to you by offering strong-smelling food such as canned tuna or dried liver.

If you are certain you can get help from animal control very soon, try to lure the animal into your car with food, close the door and wait for help. In most cases it isn't a good idea to attempt to drive somewhere with a strange dog unrestrained in your car; they may become frantic or aggressive. Cats may do the same, as well as lodge themselves under the car seat, and it can be dangerous trying to extract them.

Call for assistance

If you're not able to safely restrain the animal, call our agency (24/7).  Do so whether or not the animal is injured, and whether or not they are wearing an identification tag. Leave your phone number with the dispatcher, and try to get an estimate of how long it may take someone to respond. If possible, stay on the scene to keep an eye on the dog or cat until help arrives. Make sure you report to authorities precisely where the animal is by using exact street addresses, road names or landmarks.

PRIVATE PROPERTY:  If the animal is on private property, the owner, manager, or person in charge of property must be present and give our staff permission to remove an animal from the property.  There are exceptions to this rule and the responding unit will use discretion after investigating the call for service.

The Animal Control Unit does not respond for calls related to reptiles unless it's an emergency.  If you find an injured or orphaned wild animal you can go to www.ncwildlife.org, In the "At your service" box, select "Have a Problem?", click the tab "Injured/Orphaned Wildlife" and then select a county.  Please note that it is illegal to keep in your care any wildlife without the proper permit from the state government (and sometimes the federal government).

If there is any chance someone could have come in direct contact with the bat, the bat needs to be captured and submitted for rabies testing. Contact our agency.  If you can do so, try to safely capture and contain the bat (see below) right away to prevent it from landing on people or pets.

Here is a great resource for BAT information!

All animal bites should be promptly reported to Animal Control.   

• First of all, don't panic and don't overreact. Secure the animal to where it can't run away or where there's no danger of it biting anyone else. Don't worry that someone is going to take the animal away, hide the animal, or try to cover-up the incident. Also, don't harm the animal. It is very rare that a bite incident results in the seizure of an animal. There are medical reasons that the animal needs to remain alive and in good health, not to mention humanitarian and other legal reasons why the animal should not be harmed.
• Seek medical treatment for whomever was bitten if needed. If the bite broke the victim's skin, report it to animal services by calling 919-775-5531.  This may have already been done by the medical care provider if the victim sought treatment. However, make sure that you talk to an Animal Services Officer either way. Try to have rabies shot records available when you file the report.
• Once an animal services officer has taken a bite report, they will let you know about a bite quarantine. The vast majority of the time bite quarantines can be performed in the owner's home. Quarantines are done purely to safeguard the health of the victim(s), whether the animal was current on its rabies vaccination or not.
• At the conclusion of the quarantine, an officer will come out and look at the animal to make sure it is healthy, at which time you can usually return business as usual.
• If your dog or cat's rabies vaccination was expired at the time of the bite, wait until the quarantine is over to have it revaccinated.

Animal Control receives numerous inquiries about wildlife. Yes, coyotes are here in Lee  County. Are you seeing them or raccoons or bats in your neighborhood or along the wood lines? What is considered normal behavior for these animals? Are they looking for food, water or are they exhibiting signs of illness? Are they eating the fruit from your trees, eating the goldfish from your pond or drinking from your bird bath? Is there construction in the area? Here are some authoritative sources on wildlife.

• Coyotes
• Raccoons
• Bats
• Co-Existing with Wildlife

If wildlife is causing damage to your property, or maybe, you simply want the wildlife removed, contact a private firm for a consultation.

Stray  animals can lead to a multitude of problems. 

CATS: The person requesting the trap must come to the Sheriff's Office to sign a trap agreement.  Once cat is trapped, the citizen will need to transport the cat to the Lee County Animal Shelter on Horner Blvd.  

DOGS:  The person requesting the trap must come to the Sheriff's Office to sign a trap agreement.  Once  a dog  is trapped, the citizen would then call Animal Control and ask that a unit respond to pick up the dog / trap for transport to the shelter.  

TRAPPING WILD ANIMALS:  We do NOT under any circumstances intentionally set traps for wildlife.  If you are experiencing an issue with wildlife, contact a Wildlife Officer to obtain their own depredation permit or hire a private individual that is license for trapping. A NC Wildlife Officer can be reached by calling their website or dispatch center.

WILDLIFE: 

Unlike animal control, which is often a government-funded agency, wildlife removal companies tend to be for-profit businesses. Wildlife removal also focuses primarily on issues caused by non-domestic animals like raccoons, bats, snacks, etc., coming into conflict with humans. These professionals are often skilled at problem-solving and dealing with a wide variety of wild animals. When in doubt, contact our agency to perhaps attain some advice prior to calling a wildlife extraction professional service.

OUTSIDE OF RESIDENCE: If the animal appears sick, injured, or exhibiting signs of Rabies, then please contact us for assistance / guidance.