St. Charles Hills subdivision, St. Charles, MO
St. Charles County Animal Control Department
Frequently Asked Questions, February 2018
- What if you are walking along the street and a dog spots you and starts to come near you? He is not a leash.
- If a stray dog approaches you, you should stand still with your hands flat at your sides. Do not make any noises and do not make eye contact with the dog. Dogs can consider eye contact a challenge and can be provoked into biting. Stay still, the dog will most likely sniff you and lose interest. If the dog knocks you down you should curl into a ball using your hands to protect your neck. Stay still until the dog is far enough away that you can safely leave the area. Always call animal control to report stray animals.
- What if a dog is not a leash and you don't see any potential owners in sight. What do you do? Who do you call? Day time and Night time?
- You have several options if you find a stray dog. If you are comfortable and the dog is friendly you can bring the dog to our shelter where we can check the dog for a microchip. You can call our office at 636-949-7387 to have an Animal Control Officer pick the dog up 8am to 630pm M-F and Sat 8am to 4pm. If you find a dog after hours you can hold the dog until officers are on duty and have the dog picked up. Or you can take the dog to the Animal Emergency Clinic 334 Fort Zumwalt Square, O'Fallon, MO 63366 who should be able to hold the dog until we can pick it up. Call them first to make sure they have space (636) 240-5496. Animal Control Officers are only allowed to respond to emergencies after hours and finding a stray domestic animal is not considered an emergency unless the animal is injured.
- What if a dog attacks your dog? Your dog is on a leash or comes into your backyard. What do you do? Of course your dog needs to go to the vet right way? Take pictures? Call police? What if it is day or night time? Who is responsible for the dogs vet bill?
- If your animal is attacked by another animal, never use your body parts to try to stop the attack. Use a stick, a rake, an umbrella or any object you can use to put between the animals. If it is during business hours call our office at 636-949-7387 an officer will be dispatched. Collect as much information as possible for the aggressor dog and any owner information if you can. If your animal needs medical attention then take your animal to the veterinarian. Take pictures of your animal's injuries if possible. If the attack happens after hours, call the police on the non-emergency line 636-949-3000 and they will contact us to respond. In the State of Missouri , animals are considered property so reimbursement of medical bills is a civil matter that our office cannot assist with.
- What are the requirements for one to adopt a dog? Are the requirements different from that of an aggressive dog or non-aggressive?
- You have to be at least 21 years old and have to either own your home or have permission from the owner to adopt an animal. We do not adopt out aggressive animals.
- What if you continually have issues with a dog? Not a leash or out of his rightful owners' yard at all times.
- For any issue with a neighbor's animals you can call our office 636-949-7387 and an officer will speak to owner. If the problem is not resolved then future incidents can result in citations or impoundment.
We deal with all issues from barking, running at large, acting aggressive and feces accumulation. We also will be happy to do anonymous checks on animals if you believe the animals are being abused or neglected.
- What if a dog poops in your yard and/or the parks and the owners sees it and does not dispose of it.
- If you can get a license plate or address for the dog owner we will educate them on the county's ordinances and if the issue continues we can issue citations based off of witness statements.
- How many animals can a household legally have ownership of?
- The pet limit in unincorporated Saint Charles County is 4 domestic animals to a property in residential zoned areas.
