Things to know
There are many rumors floating around within the community that all animals that are picked up by Animal Control are euthanized (put to sleep) within three days of being picked up. Well that is not exactly true.
First off, there is a mandatory seven day stray hold in the state of California for all cats and dogs that are picked up by Animal Control. In some bigger city cities outside of the Imperial Valley that have shelters that are funded by tax payer’s dollars, some if not most animals are euthanized after the mandatory stray hold.
The stray hold is in place to allow the owner of the lost cat or dog to look for their pet. If no one steps forward to claim the animal within the allotted amount of time, then the shelter can do whatever they see fit with the unclaimed animal.
Imperial County is comprised of seven incorporated cities: Brawley, Calexico, Calipatria, El Centro, Holtville, Imperial, and Westmorland.
Each of these cities have their own Animal Control facilities except Brawley and Calipatria. The Humane Society of Imperial County has housing contracts with these two cities and houses the stray animals that they pick up for them.
When the Brawley Animal Control Officer picks up any cat or dog, that animal is taken straight to the Humane Society and kept safe for the seven day stray hold. If no one claims the stray animal, then they are put up for adoption or sent to a rescue group outside of the county. Calipatria Animal Control does the exact same as Brawley, but very rarely do they ever take cats to the Humane Society.
In the city of Calexico, most if not all stray dogs that are not claimed by their owners are brought to us after their stray hold.
With cats, the Animal Control Officers typically take all friendly cats to the Humane Society if not claimed, but feral cats are usually euthanized after the stray hold is up.
El Centro Animal Control typically does not pick up any cats during the summer months, but they will if they are found to be sick or injured, or if they are very young kittens and the mother cannot be found. During the cooler months, they typically will pick up cats.
Young cats that are eating on their own or adult cats are held at their facility for the seven day stray hold and then taken to the Humane Society if not claimed after the seven days.
Younger kittens that require extra attentions are taken straight to the Humane Society and placed under a stray hold there and then are moved to foster homes or transferred to rescues.
Holtville Animal Control takes cats straight to the Humane Society after being picked up and they are placed on the seven days tray hold there.
All dogs that are picked up within the city of Holtville are held at their facility for the required amount of time and then taken to the Humane Society if not claimed.
Just like all of the other cities, Imperial and Westmorland will transfer all unclaimed dogs over to the Humane Society, but neither one of those cities picks up cats at all.
County Animal Control services all unincorporated areas of each city and it services the few unincorporated cities within the county (unincorporated cities being Heber, Seeley, Niland, Ocotillo, Salton City, Bombay Beach, Palo Verde, and Winterhaven). County Animal Control is fortunate enough to have several rescue groups (most from San Diego) that take animals from their facility.
Although they do not directly transfer unclaimed animals from their facility to the Humane Society, the Humane Society frequently makes trips to their facility to take as many unclaimed cats and dogs as possible to find them homes or send them to rescue groups.
Please always keep in mind that should your pet go missing to immediately make contact with the Animal Control Officer for the city that you lost your pet in. It is always wise to call them on a daily basis until your pet is found or they confirm that they have picked him or her up.