Report cruelty
REPORT ANIMAL CRUELTY NOW!
Ohio revised code, section 959.131 Prohibitions concerning companion animals
Stray dogs and barking dogs
Stray dogs? Contact The Fairfield County Dog Shelter (740-653-4582)
Barking dogs? Contact local law
enforcement. Lancaster Police (740) 687-6683 or Fairfield County Sheriff (740) 653-5223
NOTE: There are currently no laws
(state or local) governing stray cats.
Cruelty, neglect, and abuse
If you believe you've witnessed a crime involving animals, provide complete information on the report form to initiate an investigation. We will not investigate complaints unless we have the complainants name and phone number (which is kept confidential) and a street address.
Due to the confidential nature of investigations, you will not receive any notification regarding the results or outcome of any investigation. Rest assured however that we take every complaint seriously and will take all steps within our authority to resolve them.
Listed below are the steps the Humane Agent takes when a report of cruelty is received
- The Humane Agent makes a visit to the location of the complaint
- If observations are made that
the complaint has some validity,
contact is made with
the responsible person or persons in an effort to correct the situation. NOTE: If the complaint is about physical abuse nothing can be done without an eyewitness willing to testify and/or documentation provided. (i.e. photos, video, etc.).
- Additional investigations and consultations with other law enforcement agents may be required until the condition is
corrected.
- If there is no cooperation within a reasonable amount of time, charges may be filed and the animal(s) may be removed.
Additional and unusual cases
People often think we deal with issues only related to cats and dogs. Below is an assortment of cases we have dealt with in the past.
- Assist Township Trustees with abandoned and running at large livestock (goats, sheep, chickens)
- Iguanas running at large
- Abandoned aquariums in rental properties (including snakes and alligators)
- Emu running at large
- We also assist in many wildlife questions or problems