Animal Control Unit

341 S. Birdneck Road

Virginia Beach, VA 23451

385-4444

The mission of the Virginia Beach Animal Control Unit is to balance the health, safety

and welfare needs of the people and animals in our City. Through our mission we will

educate the public about responsible companion animal ownership, aggressively investigate animal cruelty cases, provide

compassion and humane care for unwanted, stray, abused, and abandoned animals in our City, give adoptable animals a second chance at a forever home, and humanely euthanize animals when necessary and appropriate.

Animal Control is overseen by the commanding officer of Special Operations, Captain J.T. Orr.

The Animal Control Unit is divided into two section, the Animal Enforcement Unit (AEU) and the Animal Care and Adoption Center (ACAC).

The AEU is lead by a Special Operations Lieutenants, Lt. J. Lynch, and 2 Enforcement Supervisors, R. Franklin and M. Conti.

The ACAC is lead by a Shelter Manager, J. Ballance and 2 Shelter Supervisors, currently J. Hewes and J. Wilde.

Each locality in Virginia may hire Animal Control Officers to enforce state and local laws and regulations concerning domestic and livestock animals

Animal Control Officers have a limited authority, and can only enforce state and city laws concerning animals.

ACO’s are members of the Police Department, however they are not sworn officers, and do not have the right to detain or execute a search warrant.

There are 21 Animal Control Officer (ACO) positions in the AEU.

ACO’s must Be 21 years of age Have a high school diploma or GED Have related experience in the animal or public

service field Posses a valid drivers license Be willing to work shift work Complete a background check Pass a polygraph Pass a physical exam

ACO’s are required to attend an 80 hour Basic Animal Control Academy approved and regulated by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services within one year of their hire date as an ACO.

Along with the Basic Academy, new ACO’s are assigned to a Field Training Officer who provides approximately 12 weeks of on the job training.

New ACO’s also attend 2 weeks of firearms training and qualifications, defensive driving classes, and numerous other classes to prepare them to work independently on the street.

State law also required each ACO to complete 15 hours of animal related in-service training every 3 years.

ACO’s must also attend yearly required department sponsored in-service classes each year.

Officers are on patrol and available for calls for service from 7:00AM to 11:30PM.

They are broken into 2 shifts, day and evening.

One ACO is assigned Emergency Duty each night and is available to assist Police Officers from 11:30PM till 7:00AM.

Animal Control Officers responded to 20396 calls for service in 2018.

Officers respond to a variety of calls for service:

Stray Dogs and Cats

Barking dogs

Injured or Sick animals (domestic and wild)

Animal Bites, involving domestic and/or wild animals

Animal Attacks

Nuisance animals

Trapped animals

Animal Cruelty

Stray Livestock

Deceased animals (domestic and wild)

ACO’s enforce both state and city laws regarding animals.

State laws are found in Chapter 3.2 of the Virginia State Code.

The state laws provide definitions that are used throughout all of our state and city laws. They are found in 3.2-6500.

City Laws are mostly found in Chapter 5 of the city code.

Most of the laws are class four misdemeanors unless noted in the code sections.

May 31st, 2017 a two year old American Pitbull attacked a 91 woman in her home hours after being adopted from a private animal shelter

June 1st, 2017 the victim of the attack died due to her injuries

An investigation into the incident began immediately following the notification of bite

The results, criminal charges against the rescue, and new law was created.

Virginia State Senator Bill DeSteph patroned the bill with the support of the Virginia Animal Control Association and VBAC

The bill passed unanimously in both the State Senate and House of Delagates

The new law (it went into effect July 1, 2018) requires that any releasing agency, ACO, LEO, or humane investigator is required to both ask the bite history of any dog or cat they take into custody as well as subsequently disclose that information when the animal is adopted, returned to it’s owner, or transferred to another agency.

2019 is the third year that VBAC with the backing of VBPD Command Staff and City Council has requested a change to State Code 3.2-6570 with VA State Senator Bill DeSteph as the patron on the bill.

Under the current code a dog or cat must die or be euthanized for an act of Animal Cruelty to be eligible for a felony

We have requested this stipulation be changed so that dogs and cat that are saved are given the same protection under the code and the offenders are charged accordingly.

The bill pass through the VA State Senate Finance Committee and will next go to the full Senate floor for readings and a vote as Senate Bill 1604

In 2018 VBAC requested changes to three city codes, 5-531 – Keeping dogs under restrain; leash law, 5-532 –Barking dogs, 5-533 0 Nuisance animals generally.

All three code changes were approved by City Council. The leash law change provided clarification regarding what

constitutes a leash The barking dog code added language to include noises

past barking (whining, howling, or crying) and to include that the noise not be the subject of provocation.

The nuisance animal code was change to both correct a former error and add that multiple violations of barking dog (5-532) could also constitute a nuisance animal.

In 2019 we are asking for additional changes to the Leash Law and Beach Laws.

Mon: 11:00–18:00

Wed: 11:00–18:00

Thurs: 12:00–19:00

Fri: 11:00–18:00

Sat - Sun: 10:00–15:00

Adoption Hours

Closed for adoptions on Tuesday BUT we are open from

10:00-15:00 for surrenders and reclaims

Shelter Manager

Shelter Operations Supervisors

Vet Suite – Veterinarian, Vet Tech, Vet Assistant

Behavior Consultant

Administrative Assistant

Caretaker

Clerk

We have 10 full time animal caretakers responsible for caring for the entire

shelter.

Every day they clean every kennel/run before the shelter opens. They

provide food and water, medications, bedding, enrichment items, and

anything else the animals need.

In addition to animal husbandry, the caretakers hold a vital role in adoption

counseling, and assisting families looking for lost animals.

The vet staff is responsible for caring for every animal under the shelters care (in house and in foster)

We have a restricted vet license which only allows us to treat “our” animals (exception to the rule is a rabies clinics we hold every year)

Our vet staff handles everything from routine sterilizations and vaccinations to court cases and emergencies

The vet staff also treats the PD horses and K9’s

They are the front line to the shelter (first and last face people

see)

Customer service/adoption counseling

Perform adoptions, reclaims, licensing, and trap rentals

Record entry

Phone calls

Any stray animal in the city of VB is directed to our facility

We can impound them at the shelter or take a found report

Impound fee for any animal is $50 for the first day and $2 additional each day after

We have to make every attempt to reach/make contact with pet owners as possible

Animals without any identification or signs of ownership are held for 5 days

Animals showing signs of ownership are held for 10 days.

Adoption fee: $20 for cats & $25 for dogs that come to us previously

altered

Additional $40 for cats and $100 for dogs that we need to sterilize

All animals leave altered, micro-chipped, vaccinated, and tested for

heartworms or FIV/FELV

License for VB residents is $5 for cats $7 dogs once adopted

Released to other approved releasing agencies and rescue

organizations

Foster care (short or long term)

Specialized programs like our “Barn Buddy”

Euthanized

2018

INTAKE RTO ADOPTED TRNSFERRED EUTH LRR

DOGS 2751 1552 866 158 187 93%

CATS 2285 189 836 378 876 62%

OTHER 208 13 123 55 8 96%

ALL SPECIES 5515 1761 1913 670 1165 79%

2018 PENINSULA REGIONAL

INTAKE RTO ADOPT TRANS EUTH LRR

DOGS 2911 969 1116 241 536 80%

CATS 2682 70 1098 216 1156 52%

OTHER 297 8 140 114 38 88%

ALL SPECIES

5961 1052 2415 574 1732 68%

2018 NORFOLK ANIMAL CARE & ADOPTION CENTER

INTAKE RTO ADOPT TRANS EUTH LRR

DOGS 2263 832 841 115 444 79%

CATS 2205 67 1102 135 836 59%

OTHER 336 0 211 81 38 87%

ALL

SPECIES

4866 913 2197 331 1322 71%

2018 PORTSMOUTH HUMANE

INTAKE RTO ADOPT TRANS EUTH LRR

DOGS 937 227 557 74 72 92%

CATS 920 18 696 50 53 83%

OTHER 80 0 70 1 1 89%

ALL

SPECIES

1939 245 1325 125 126 87%

2018 CHESAPEAKE ANIMAL SERVICES

INTAKE RTO ADOPT TRANS EUTH LRR

DOGS 1510 607 530 126 245 84%

CATS 1307 57 432 199 544 53%

OTHER 122 4 73 34 6 91%

ALL

SPECIES

2960 676 1047 360 795 70%

2016 2017 2018

# of Volunteers Youth137

Adult 325

Youth141

Adult 258

Youth82

Adult217

Service Hours 2396 58,607 3218 47,012 3,079 48,020

A healthy volunteer program is essential for the shelter to progress and achieve

success. Here are the ways that volunteers help us achieve our goals:• Cat Room Ambassador Call taker Dog Walker

• Adoption Follow-up Youth Mentor Adoption Counselor

• Grooming Volunteer Coordinator Dog training/Agility

• Caretaking Foster Parent Emergency Pet Sheltering

• Off-site/On-site special events Transporter Small Animal Companion

socialization Professional Vet Services

• Vet Assistant Greeter/Shelter Guide Volunteer coordinator (1)

• Petsmart Volunteer

Education on responsible pet ownership

We offer shelter talks/tours to groups

We visit schools, nursing homes, and various clubs to offer

specialized presentations

Media and public relations

Partnerships with other shelters

Events

Facebook

Juleen Ballance

Shelter Manager

Jballanc@vbgov.com

757.385.7476

Rebecca Franklin

Animal Control Supervisor

rlnfrank@vbgov.com

757.385.6579