Mendocino County, CA
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Responsible Pet Ownership
Consider the responsibilities of pet ownership before becoming one:
Owning a pet is a privilege, but the benefits of pet ownership come with responsibilities.
- Commit
- Avoid impulsive decisions when selecting a pet.
- Select a pet that's suited to your home and lifestyle.
- Keep only the type and number of pets for which you can provide appropriate food, water, shelter, health care and companionship.
- Commit to the relationship for the life of your pet(s).
- Provide appropriate exercise and mental stimulation.
- Properly socialize and train your pet.
- Invest
- Recognize that pet ownership requires an investment of time and money.
- Make sure your pet receives preventive health care (vaccinations, parasite control, etc.), as well as care for any illnesses or injuries.
- Purchase Pet Insurance to financially assist for emergencies.
- Budget for potential emergencies.
- Provide proper outside housing.
- Obey
- Clean up after your pet.
- Obey all local ordinances, including licensing, leash requirements and noise control.
- Don't allow your pet to stray or become feral.
- Identify
- Make sure your pet is properly identified (i.e., tags, microchips or tattoos) and keep its registration up-to-date.
- Limit
- Don't contribute to our nation's pet overpopulation problem: limit your pet's reproduction through spay & neuter, containment or managed breeding.
- Prepare
- Prepare for an emergency or disaster, including assembling an evacuation kit.
- Make alternate arrangements if you can no longer provide care for your pet.
- Recognize any decline in your pet's quality of life and make timely decisions in consultation with a veterinarian.
What to avoid in responsible pet ownership:
Irresponsible animal owners don’t get their animals vaccinated, microchipped, licensed, spay or neutered and fail to take measures at their residences in preventing the animals from escaping the property. Then when the escaped animals get picked up by the Animal Protection Officers or turned in at the Animal Shelter by concerned citizens the irresponsible animal owner fails to come to the Animal Shelter to pick up their lost pet. Failing to pick up the lost pet is usually due to the animal becoming a problem to the irresponsible animal owner and costing them money or getting them a citation for the animal running at large, no vaccination or no dog license. The animal now has lost its luster when there is accountability to the irresponsible owners.
When the Mendocino County Animal Shelter becomes overcrowded with animals it places us in the position of possibly euthanasia in order to gain kennel space.
Unfortunately, irresponsible animal owners don’t know all the problems that they create in the community and for the Animal Shelter due to their nonchalant ownership of the animals nor do they care. If irresponsible animal owners can’t take the time, effort or spend the required money to take care of an animal then they shouldn’t own an animal. Plain & simple message to irresponsible animal owners – you need to think twice about the next time you opt to “own” or “care” for an animal because you might be directly responsible for the Animal Shelter having to euthanize animals due to overcrowding at the Animal Shelter, which you have caused.
This is a harsh truth, but if it saves the life of one innocent animal it is worth it.
Euthanasia and Why it Happens
A large amount of the population in Mendocino County is facing economic hardships due to many variables. The average cost of keeping a dog is estimated to be approximately $1,400.00 a year. The decision to not adopt a dog comes down to dollars & cents for families. Mendocino County Animal Care Services understands why residents are not choosing to adopt a dog, surrender a dog or not reclaim an impounded dog.
When the time comes to euthanize healthy dogs please understand that is not for lack of effort on behalf of the Animal Shelter and that the Animal Shelter exhausted all the available resources prior to euthanizing a dogs to free up dog kennel space.
We ask that the community not criticize the decision to euthanize and understand the very difficult decision that had to be made in order to assist other stray dogs that need to come into the Animal Shelter.
The problem of the Animal Shelter being overcrowded with dogs is not going away anytime soon.
This is a problem facing animal shelters across the country: