Animal Control Jump to: Animal Control - Who benefits? | Dog Licensing | Vector Control | City Council City of Torrance Animal Control The City of Torrance has an animal control office, staffed by Animal Control Officers Joe D'Amico and Shanyn Behn, and Staff Assistant Patrick Wren. The position of Animal Control Supervisor is currently vacant. The City of Torrance does NOT have an animal shelter. We use the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care & Control for animal sheltering. If you are looking for a lost animal, you must go in person to the LA County/Carson shelter, located at 216 W. Victoria Street in Carson (two blocks east of Figueroa & 190th). Only you can identify your animal. This shelter takes in thousands of animals a year. Do not call to ask if they have your animal; you must go and look. Some, but not all, animals in the shelter are shown on the County website: http://animalcare.lacounty.gov/LostFoundSearch.asp City of Torrance Animal Control Office: (310) 618-3850. Field patrol hours are: Monday-Thursday: 7:30 am to 5:00 pm Friday: 7:30 am to 4:00 pm Torrance Animal Control Officers are on-call on weekends and after hours 24/7 for emergencies (where the health/safety of a person or animal is at risk). They are dispatched through the Torrance Police Department. Animal Control Officer Joe D'Amico (above) and Animal Control Officer Shanyn Behn (below) serve Torrance residents. Office hours are: Monday-Thursday: 7:30 am to 5:00 pm Every other Friday: 7:30 am to 4:00 pm Note: the office is on the same schedule as other city hall offices and is closed on the Fridays other city hall offics are closed. After office hours, you can leave a message at (310) 618-3850 or, for emergencies, you can contact the Police Dispatch Center. The City of Torrance animal control office is in a modular office located at 2200 Jefferson St. It's in Wilson Park, near the tennis courts and skate park. (Wilson Park is on Crenshaw Blvd. between Sepulveda Blvd and Torrance Blvd.) Staff Assistant Patrick Wren helps Torrance residents with pet licenses. For more information on licensing, see below. Animal Control enforces state and local laws regarding animals. For more information on local laws, see Division 4, Chapter 1 of the Torrance Municipal Code: http://municipalcodes.lexisnexis.com/codes/torrance/ For state laws, go to http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care & Control If you are looking for a lost animal, you must go in person to the LA County/Carson shelter, located at 216 W. Victoria Street in Carson (two blocks east of Figueroa & 190th). Only you can identify your animal. Some, but not all, animals in the shelter are shown on the County website: http://animalcare.lacounty.gov/LostFoundSearch.asp Animal Sheltering Magazine Animal Sheltering is published by The HSUS for animal care and control professionals and others who care about community animal protection, sheltering, and control. You do not have to be a member of The HSUS to subscribe to the magazine or view archived articles. http://www.animalsheltering.org/publications/magazine/ California Animal Control Directors Association The California Animal Control Directors Association is a nonprofit corporation composed of directors and managers of state animal control associations The purpose of CACDA is to work with all agencies and associations for the betterment of the animal control profession. http://www.cacda.org/ The National Animal Control Association (NACA) The National Animal Control Association (NACA). Provides training and information for animal control professionals. "NACA's purpose is to preserve the Human/Animal Bond by insisting on RESPONSIBLE ANIMAL OWNERSHIP." http://www.nacanet.org/ Animal Control - Who benefits? In nearly all communities, owners of dogs are assessed licensing fees. In nearly all communities, these fees do not cover the full cost of the communityís animal control operation. Monies from the General Fund are used to subsidize the animal control program, to insure an adequate level of service for the community. Even LA Countyís animal control department uses monies from the countyís General Fund! Animal Control is control of all animals, not just dogs, and is used by more people than those who buy dog licenses. From 1997 to 2002, only about one-third of the animals impounded from Torrance were dogs. While dog owners ñ especially irresponsible dog owners - should contribute to the animal control budget, the quality of animal control expected in our community cannot be fully funded by dog license fees alone. Those who believe that the communityís animal control program should be funded only by dog licenses should consider: who benefits from animal control? Who benefits from having dead skunks, raccoons, and possums picked up promptly? Who benefits from having cats, birds, rabbits, etc. returned when they inadvertently get lost? Who benefits from having pet stores inspected to prevent the spread of diseases such as salmonella in turtles? Who benefits from having dogs vaccinated against rabies? Who benefits from having "pooper scooper" and leash laws enforced? Who benefits from humane education presentations in schools, (required by state law)? When a community has inadequate animal control, the whole community pays: Who pays when a child is attacked by a loose, dangerous animal? Who pays when a driver swerves to avoid hitting an animal, and causes an accident? Who pays when there is no effective program for living with wildlife, and residents take matters into their own hands? Who pays when an irresponsible dog owner lets the dog bark non-stop? Who pays when a person abandons an animal they can no longer care for, believing the animal will be more likely to find a better home on the streets than in the shelter? Who pays when a worker takes days off work, week after week, to search shelters for a lost family member, and is distracted for months? Who pays when a resident takes in stray animals, more than they can care for, because they believe the conditions at the shelter are unacceptable? A program funded only by dog license fees is bound to be inadequate to provide service to the entire community. Like other law enforcement and public safety functions, Animal Control is a responsibility for the whole community, best handled by the government with support from the community. Dog Licensing To help protect human health and safety, dog licenses are required by the State of California and the City of Torrance. Proof of rabies vaccination, effective through the term of the license, is required for a dog license. City of Torrance residents must obtain a City of Torrance (not LA County) dog license, every year. The fee is $40 per year for an unaltered dog, and $20 per year for an altered (spayed or neutered) dog, with late fees. Fees are determined by a vote of the Torrance city council. Licenses are processed by PetData, www.petdata.com. Applications for dog licenses should include the age, sex, color, and breed of the dog for which the license is desired and the address of the owner. Residents should mail proof of rabies vaccination (valid through the following June 30th), proof of spay/neuter (for reduced fee), and a check payable to the City of Torrance to: Torrance Animal Licensing c/o PetData 222 W Las Colinas Blvd, Ste 1345 Irving, TX 75039 TORRANCE MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 41.3.2. ANNUAL FEE; WHEN DUE AND PAYABLE; PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO PAY FEE. a) Effective August 22, 2002, the license fee for keeping and maintaining a dog in the City shall be the sum of Forty Dollars ($40.00) per year per dog; provided, however, that if at the time of licensing, a certificate is presented from a licensed veterinarian that the dog has been spayed or neutered, then the license fee shall be the sum of Twenty Dollars ($20.00). The license fee shall be payable in advance on the first day of July of each year, and the full amount of such license fee shall be payable for any fraction of such year; except that, any person keeping or maintaining a dog in the City who acquired that dog after the last day of December, or any person keeping or maintaining a dog who takes up residence in the City after the last day of December, shall pay a license fee at fifty (50) percent of the regular fee provided herein. Such reduced license fee shall be paid within thirty (30) days after moving into the City, or after acquiring ownership of a dog. If such license fee is not paid as herein provided within thirty (30) days, a penalty of Twenty Dollars ($20.00) shall be added to such fee and collected therewith. SECTION 41.3.8. SENIOR CITIZEN EXEMPTION. a) The license tax imposed by Section 41.3.2. for keeping and maintaining a dog in the City shall not apply to any individual taxpayer sixty-five (65) years of age or older who keeps and maintains a dog in or upon any premises occupied by such taxpayer, and of which said taxpayer is the head of the household, provided the combined gross income for the most recently completed calendar year of all members of the household residing in such principal residence does not exceed Seven Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($7,500.00). b) The exemption granted by this Section shall not eliminate the duty of the licensing authority to collect the license tax from such exempt individuals or the duty of such exempt individuals to pay said license tax to the licensing authority unless an exemption is applied for by the individual who keeps and maintains a dog and is granted in accordance with the provisions of Section 41.4.9. c) No individual may be issued or possess more than one (1) tax exempt license at any given time and no more than one (1) tax exempt license per household shall be issued. For additional information, visit www.petdata.com he whole community, best handled by the government with support from the community. Los Angeles County West Vector Control District What is a Vector? "Vector" means any animal capable of transmitting the causative agent of human disease or capable of producing human discomfort or injury, including, but not limited to, mosquitoes, flies, orther insects, ticks, mites, and rats, but not including any domesticated animal. The City of Torrance is in the Los Angeles County West Vector Control District. To register a complaint about Bees or Yellow Jackets: call (800) 825-3400 Mosquitoes: call (310) 915-7370 Visit http://www.lawestvector.org/ to receive information regarding: Africanized Honeybees Mosquitoes, West Nile Virus, and Encephalitis Ticks and Lyme Disease