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 A Division of the Code Enforcement Department
19450 Oliver Street
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Visiting Hours
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Top of Page Hernando County Animal Services |
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Q. What Should I do If My Pet or Myself is Bitten By another Animal? A. Animal Bites are investigated by the
Hernando County Health Department. If you have an animal bite to report please call them at (352)
540-6800 or call Animal Services and we will relay the information to the Health Department. If you are bitten by any animal or have knowledge of anyone being bitten by any animal state law requires that the incident be reported due to the possibility of exposure to rabies. Without treatment, rabies is a fatal disease to animals and humans. If you are bitten by any animal it is recommended that you seek medical treatment immediately for protection against infection and other potential risks associated with animal bites. Q. What Should I do if I find a Dead Animal on My Property or on a Road? A. If you have a dead animal on your property you may bury it at least two feet below the surface. It is recommended that any shovel or other tool used should be cleaned with bleach or other chemicals to disinfect it and individuals should not touch the dead animal without gloves or other protective measures. Animal Services will remove small dead animals from private property for a fee of $25.
Q. What Can I do if I Can No Longer Keep My Pet? A. If you are unable to keep your pet, you can bring it in to Animal Services free of charge during our visiting hours. We will pick the animal up for a $25.00 charge but, you will need to be home for the pick up. Animal Services does not make any guarantees that your animal will be placed in a home or how long your animal will be held before being
euthanized. If you do not want your animal put to sleep then please do not bring it to Animal Services. Check out all other options first. Contact the Humane Society at 796-2711 and the SPCA at 596-7000. Advertise the animal in the newspaper or on the radio to try and find a new home for it. Q. What Should I do If My Neighbor or Someone I Know Mistreats Their Pet? A. Animal Services will investigate cases of animal abuse, neglect and mistreatment. This includes dogs tied
outside without proper shelter and water,
animals left in cars without proper ventilation, animals with injuries that have not had proper veterinary care, animals abandoned at a residence when owners move or leave town and other types of animal mistreatment. Most cases can be handled anonymously. To report a case of mistreatment or determine whether a particular situation is covered under mistreatment and cruelty laws please call Animal Services at 796-5062. You will need the address or good directions to the animals location. Q. What Should I do If I have Wild Animals Causing a Nuisance? A. If you are having problems with any nuisance wildlife, including opossums, raccoons, armadillos or squirrels please contact one of the trappers or contact Animal Services for brochures on how to handle the problem yourself. Q. What happens When My Pet is Impounded? A. If your animal is impounded at Animal Services you will be required to pay a $25 impound fee and $10 board fee for each day the animal remains at animal services to reclaim your pet. You will also be required to show proof of a current rabies vaccination and county license. If your animal is wearing tags which can be traced to you Animal Services will make every effort to call you to let you know that your animal was impounded. Please read the new ordinance information . Also note if your animal is picked up for the first time and is currently licensed and sterilized you may be offered a Free Trip Home, a savings of up to $200. In order to qualify for this incentive your pet must be sterilized, currently vaccinated for rabies, and currently licensed. The Free Trip Home is offered to the owner of pets that are running loose and have not shown any signs of aggression, caused property damage, or participated in other nuisance or destructive behavior. If your animal is impounded at Animal Services you will be required to pay a $25 impound fee and $10 board for each day the animal is here to reclaim the animal. You will also be required to show proof of a current rabies vaccination and county license. If you do not have this information you will be required to have it done within a specified time period. Additionally there may be a citation issued depending upon the circumstances that the animal was picked up under. If a citation is issued you will have the option of paying the fine within 30 days or contesting the fine in court. Q. What should I do if My Pet is Lost? A. If you have lost an animal please come to the shelter at least once every four days during visiting hours to see if your animal is there. If your animal is not at the animal shelter you may fill out a lost and found report and turn it in, but continue to come in and look at least every four days. Animal Services generally holds stray dogs and cats for five days from the day they are brought in. There are some exceptions to this holding period, such as if the animal has suffered severe injuries. We recommend that you begin looking for your animal as soon as possible. If you live near a county line we recommend that you contact the Animal Control Departments in the neighboring counties. If your animal is wearing tags which can be traced to you Animal Services will make every effort to call you to let you know that your animal was impounded. If this is the first time your animal is picked up and it is currently licensed and sterilized you may be offered a Free Trip Home, a savings of up to $200. In order to qualify for this incentive your pet must be sterilized, currently vaccinated for rabies, and currently licensed. The Free Trip Home is offered to the owner of pets that are running loose and have not shown any signs of aggression, caused property damage, or participated in other nuisance or destructive behavior. If your animal is impounded at Animal Services you will be required to pay a $25 impound fee and $10 board for each day the animal is here to reclaim the animal. You will also be required to show proof of a current rabies vaccination and county license. If you do not have this information you will be required to have it done within a specified time period. Additionally there may be a citation issued depending upon the circumstances that the animal was picked up under. If a citation is issued you will have the option of paying the fine within 30 days or contesting the fine in court. Q. What Should I do if I Have Found an animal? A. If you have found an animal please call Animal Services at 796-5062 to report it. We can take a found animal report so that if the owner calls we can put them in touch with you or we can make arrangements to pick up the animal. If you would like to bring the animal in please do so during our visiting hours. Q. What is Rabies? A. Rabies is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system of mammals including people Q. What should I do if I receive a warning for Rabies Vaccinations and County Licenses for my Animals? A. If you received a warning you have three options. The first option is to take a copy of your animals rabies vaccination certificate and county license certificate to Animal Services within fifteen days of receiving the warning. Please be aware that the rabies vaccination and animal license are two separate items. Many people believe that their rabies tag is their county license tag and this is not true. Just because your animal has a rabies vaccination does not mean the animal is licensed. The second option is to pay a fine in the specified amount at the Hernando County Courthouse within thirty days of receiving the warning. The third option is to appear in court on the date and time specified on the warning. Failure to do any of these three items will result in a bench warrant being issued for your arrest, so please don’t forget about this and make sure it is taken care of. Q. What should I do if I receive a Notice to Appear or Comply for Rabies Vaccinations and County Licenses for my Animal(s)? A. If you received a Notice to Appear or Comply for
rabies vaccinations and county licenses you have two options. The first option
is to take a copy of your animals' rabies vaccination certificate and county
license certificate to Animal Services within twenty days of receiving the
Notice. If all of the information is current and provided within twenty days the
Notice will be closed. The second option is to appear in front of the special
master on the date and time specified on the Notice to Appear or Comply. If you
fail to comply or appear, the special master may administer a fine up the
maximum penalty allowed as specified on your notice to appear and may also
assign administrative costs and attorney's fees. The special master also has the
authority to order that your pet be picked up and impounded until the
vaccination and license is completed. Please be aware that the rabies vaccination and animal
license are two separate items. Many people believe that their rabies tag is
their county license tag and this is not true. Just because your animal has a
rabies vaccination does not mean the animal is licensed. If your pet is licensed
you will have a tag that says "Animal License" on it and the tag number will
begin with an "L." If you are unsure if you have a county license are staff is
prepared to assist you. Please call us at (352) 796-5062. Citations/Tickets/Fines Q. What do I do if I received a citation/ticket/fine for my animal? A. If you received a citation for your animal you have two options. The first option is to pay the fine specified on the citation within thirty days of the date you received the citation. The second option is to appear in court on the date and time specified on the citation. Failure to do any of one of these two items will result in a bench warrant being issued for your arrest, so please don’t forget about this and make sure it is taken care of. Q. Why would I want to appear in court? A. The option to appear in court is available to you if your are unable to pay your fine within the specified time frame or if you feel that the charges against you are false or inaccurate and you wish to contest them. Q. What do I do if I received a Notice to Appear or Pay for my animal? A. If you received a Notice to Appear or Pay for
your animal you have two options. The first option is to pay the fine specified
on the citation within twenty days of the date you received the Notice to Appear
or Pay. Payment can be made in person or by mail to Hernando County Animal
Services, 19450 Oliver Street, Brooksville, FL 34601. The second option is to
appear in front of the special master on the date and time specified on the
Notice to Appear or Pay. If you fail to pay or appear, the special master may
administer a fine up the maximum penalty allowed as specified on your notice to
appear and may also assign administrative costs and attorney's fees. This Page was Last Updated On
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