Ridgecrest Animal Care & Control

C.A.T.	Beginning June 2, 2008, the Cat About Town (C.A.T.) program will spay or neuter your cats in the Indian Wells Valley for FREE! This includes your pets, strays, and ferals
STOP	2 pets of low-income families from the Indian Wells Valley area can be spayed or neutered for FREE through the Stop Pet OverPopulation (STOP) program
San Bernardino County	San Bernardino County has a generous spay & neuter voucher program
LocalRescue.org	Victor Valley Spay & Neuter Resources
SPAY/USA	Nationwide Spay/Neuter Assistance through SPAY/USA lists

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• Q: At what age does my dog need a rabies vaccine?
• A: Dogs are required to get their rabies vaccine at 4 month of age. Their first vaccine will be good for 1 year. After that the rabies vaccines are good for 3 years.
  
  
• Q: Does my dog need a license since it never leaves the yard?
• A: Yes. All dogs 4 months of age and older regardless if they leave your property are required by law to have a dog license and they are required to wear it on their collar.
  
  
• Q: What is a microchip?
• A: A microchip is a very small chip injected under the animals skin. It contains a personal identification number that should your pet get lost or stolen, it can be scanned by a shelter or veterinarian hospital and the pet’s owner can be contacted.
  
  
• Q: Are animals required to be micro-chipped?
• A: No. But the microchip does help your pet should it get lost or stolen because a shelter or veterinarian can contact you as soon as your pet enters their facility.
  
  
• Q: My dog is pretty well trained, do I need a leash when I take him for a walk or if I am working in my front yard.
• A: There is a leash law in the city and county. The leash law states that you must have the dog on a leash or rope at all times unless it is confined securely behind a fence.
  
  
• Q: Can I chain my dog to a tree or post?
• A: Yes, but for no more than 3 hours. However you can have your dog on a cabled runner line all day as long as he /she has shelter from the elements, fresh cool water and fed fresh food daily.
  
  
• Q: What should I do if I find a stray dog or cat?
• A: Contact the shelter to find out if anyone has called missing the pet. If you wish to hang on to the animal until an owner is located, leave your name and number with the shelter so they can give it to the animal owner should they call.
  
  
• Q: Can I keep an animal if it shows up at my house?
• A: You can keep the animal at your home while you try to locate the animal’s owner as long as you’ve contacted the shelter. Otherwise, if you don’t make the necessary effort to locate the animals owner first you can be in violation of stolen property if you just keep the animal. Animals are personal property and you can’t just claim it as your own until the animal has been unclaimed for 14 days.
  
  
• Q: If I find an animal after the shelter is closed what should I do with it?
• A: If you find an animal after hours or on Sundays when the shelter is closed you should keep the animal confined until the shelter reopens. If the animal is sick, injured or vicious then you can call your local police or sheriff’s department and they will contact an Animal Control Officer to handle it. Never leave an animal you’ve found at the shelter after it’s closed or take it somewhere else and release it. This is considered abandonment and you can be charged with a misdemeanor.
  
  
• Q: My cat is an indoor/outdoor cat and sometimes like to visit the neighbors, is this ok ?
• A: Cat’s will wander and sometimes go further than just around the neighborhood. There is no leash law on cats, however cats can be a nuisance to your neighbors and they have every right to capture your cat and bring it to the shelter. Cats are much safer living indoors. Your cat is better protected from cars, loose dogs and feral cats if they are kept inside.
  
  
• Q: I like animals and would like to help the shelter, do you take volunteers?
• A: Yes! All of our volunteers go though the police department’s PACT (police and citizens together) program. You must be at least 18 years old to volunteer . See the Volunteer section.
  
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Adoption fees

The usual adoption fees are as follows: kitty adoption fee is $59 for females and $49.40 for males ($30 if already altered), and the doggie adoption fee is $99 for females and $88 for males ($45 if already altered). This includes the WORKS: spay or neuter, current vaccines, AVID microchip with lifetime registration, a city license (if applicable), a new pet DVD, food samples, and some toys (while supplies last), and a free pet exam at a local veterinarian. What a deal!

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If you want to volunteer at the shelter, you need to be at least 18 and join PACT (Police and Community Together) if you are not already a member. You can get a PACT application (like a mini security clearance) at the shelter or at the police department. Please contact Mary Stage, Shelter Supervisor, and join PACT .

• kennel volunteers (cat and dog pens, feeding...)
• pet laundry (machines at the shelter)
• data entry
• exercising pooches in the play yard
• bathing and grooming
• pet photos for the petfinder site
• someone qualified to do pet videos
• data entry for the petfinder site
• maintaining (updating) the pet photos on clipboards around town
• "yard checks" for adoption application process
• special event volunteers
• a driver to occasionally shuttle pets to and from the vet (for spay/neuter) when the ower has no transportation - the van provided by the shelter
• qualified foster homes

  Please contact mstage@ci.Ridgecrest.ca.us for more information on volunteering.

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Meet Tommy, who was serving community service as the shelter's official greeter. He was busted by Animal Control Officer ''Tina'' for jay-walking in Ridgecrest Boulevard. He now lives at a home for wayward Desert Tortoises.

Donate your Unused Dog House

If you have a dog house that you no longer need or use, please consider donating it to the shelter. We will see that it goes to a pet in the community that is without shelter.

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• Mary Stage, Shelter Supervisor
• Dan Sutton, Animal Control Officer
• Candice Robbs, Animal Control Officer
• Francisco Perez, Kennel Attendant
  
  
• Volunteers from PACT (Police and Community Together)
• We also receive the support of several community animal charities, animal friendly businesses, and generous individuals who donate time, funds, feed, photo services, web site/shelter software support...

Also see
• The Pet Ordinances
• The Services that Animal Control provides to the public
• Some of our cats and dogs available for adoption in the Sunday Edition of the Daily Independent in the Paws and Claws section.

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Come on down and find your new best friend! Once you have found him or her, the adoption fee covers the spay or neuter, city license (if applicable), current vaccines, microchip with lifetime registration, a new pet DVD, food samples, and some toys (while supplies last), and a free "new pet" exam at a local veterinarian. This fee is considerably less than what you would pay for the same services since the shelter has arrangements with a local vet for spay/neuter and rabies vaccine, and the shelter does the the rest of the vaccines and microchipping themselves. The friendly staff (consider bringing SNACKS to make sure of that) will help you with the little bit of paperwork. Then the staff schedules the appointment for spay/neuter and rabies vaccine with the vet. On the day of your new pet's appointment, your pet is driven to the vet in the Animal Care & Control van, then you pick your new friend up that evening from the vet!

You can also get a 2-sided metal nametag made for your new family member while you are there,or donate by purchasing paw magnets, dog & cat treats, silver paw jewelry, pet-emergency-rescue decals for your windows, funny-pet-message t-shirts, or handmade accessories.

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Our hours of operation are: Monday - Friday: 11am - 5pm Saturday: 10am - 4pm Closed on Sunday & Holidays

So where in the HECK is Ridgecrest? Ridgecrest is the town outside Naval Air Warfare Center at China Lake in the high Mojave Desert. It is about 3 hours N of Los Angeles, about 4 hours S of Mammoth Mountain, 2 hours E of Bakersfield, and 1.5 hours NNE of Lancaster/Edwards Air Force Base. If that still doesn't do it for you, pull up the yahoo map below! Map of 411 San Bernardino Blvd Ridgecrest, CA 93555-8238 Top

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