www.elpasotexas.gov - Animal Services

Welcome to Animal Services where we strive to be proactive and offer programs to the community that promote the proper care of animals while combating the pet overpopulation.

Our staff provides information and/or services on pet vaccinations, registration, adoptions, as well as, spaying and neutering opportunities. We also enforce laws related to animals and investigate reports about loose, stray, sick or injured animals, bite incidents and animal cruelty.

We operate the City’s animal shelter. We encourage you to check kennel hours to pick up lost animals, to adopt pets, and to drop off unwanted, sick or injured pets. Please be aware that all impounded animals without proof of rabies vaccinations, registration, or microchip must have the service done as required at the owner’s expense before the animal will be released to the owner.

Hours of Operation:
Animal Control Officers are now available to assist the public daily from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. In addition, emergency services (injured animals and public safety issues, issues such as capturing biting, vicious, and diseased animals) are available after-hours between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

The Animal Shelter is open to the public Monday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and is closed on Sunday. The Customer Relations Clerks taking calls in the Shelter are available to help the public from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Adoption hours are Monday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. No adoptions are available on Sundays.

Cat traps are available on Mondays starting at 9:00 a.m. on a first come first served basis and must be returned by Friday before 6:00 p.m.

Adoption Hours:
Monday through Saturday 10:30 A.M.-6:00 P.M. Closed on Sundays

Shelter adoptions are handled by the Humane Society of El Paso located next door to our Animal Services shelter. Many animals are rescued from the shelter by local animal welfare organizations and may be adopted directly from their facilities.

The public can view lost animals and possible adoptions here at our facility 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the A, B, and C kennels located on the eastside of our main office area.

Address:
5001 Fred Wilson Rd. El Paso, Texas 79906
Right across from Ft. Bliss Cemetery
Phone: (915) 842-1000

Field Officer Pick-up of unwanted owned animals $45.00
Drop-off at Shelter of unwanted animals by owner $25.00

[Map It]

How do I get to the shelter?

Check out this video for driving directions to our shelter. To start the video, please select the direction you are coming from.

Shelter Services

Activities:

Impound stray animals
Provide adoption services
Provide spay/neuter surgeries for adopted animals
Issue animal permits

Reclaim of Lost Animals:
10:30 A.M. - 6:00 P.M. Monday – Saturday

The public can view for lost animals and possible adoptions on a 24-7 schedule in the A, B, and C kennels which are located on the eastside of the main office area.

Low-cost spay/neuter and vaccination services:

Pets Alive Voucher Program for low income qualified people call 915-873-7387
Spay-Neuter Van call 915-407-5114

For more information left click on the Pet Care-A-Van tab above

Field Services:

Each day field officers patrol the cities of El Paso, Anthony, Clint, Horizon, Socorro and Vinton. Officers are on duty from 7:30 A.M. to 9:30 P.M. daily with emergency services provided at other times by an on-call officer.

Field officers respond to the following service requests:

patrol requests and capturing biting, vicious, disease, loose and stray animals (including livestock and wild animals)
stray dogs and cats, pick up
owner release dogs and cats animal pick-ups
animal pick-ups
cruelty investigations
animal hoarding cases
vicious animal complaints
animal bites
barking dog complaints
injured animal rescues
requests for animal traps to capture nuisance stray pets
assistance for law enforcement calls
leash law violations
loose livestock

For information or to get help from El Paso Animal Services

Dial 842-1000
Listen to the first prompt for language preference

Press #1 for English
Press #2 for Spanish

Listen to the second prompt for assistance

Press #1 if you need assistance from an animal service officer with calls relating to stray animals, animal bites, a dangerous animal or a case of neglect or cruelty. You will be redirected to the police department’s dispatching center. There may be a brief delay.
Press #2 if you need assistance with calls relating to lost animals, pet adoptions or any other matter pertaining to shelter operations. A customer service representative at the El Paso Animal Services will answer to assist you with your questions.

El Paso Animal Services-Volunteer Information

A strong base of committed volunteers is a vital part of our efforts to provide a higher quality of life for the animals that are housed in our shelter. We recognize that our goals can only be achieved with the support of caring members of the community who are willing to lend a hand.

Requirements:

The volunteer must be at least 18 years of age.*
The potential volunteer must submit a City of El Paso Volunteer Application form available at Animal Services or online.
The potential volunteer will be subject to a background check as per city regulation.

Activities:

Answering telephone calls and providing information to the public
Performing customer service duties including answering questions and escorting the public to view animals
Providing information to the community at local health fairs and outreach events
Assisting with pet-family reunion efforts
Organizing records, helping with applications, verifying documents
Cleaning of cages, grounds, and facilities
Entering data into the computer system

*Volunteers who are underage (younger than 18) may apply with parental permission to assist with outreach events and activities. They will not be allowed to directly handle animals or use computer database systems utilized by Animal Services.

[Volunteer Application Form]

SPAY / NEUTER SERVICES

Why Spay or Neuter Your Pets?

About 18,000 dogs and cats are euthanized in El Paso each year as consequence of the community’s pet overpopulation, which stems from unplanned and uncontrolled pet breeding.

Spay/neuter surgeries an effective method of birth control for dogs and cats. You can help reduce the number of needless animal deaths in El Paso by spaying or neutering your pet.

Top 10 reasons to Spay or Neuter Your Pet

According to the American Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

Spay and Neuter Assistance Program

(Vouchers for free services)

The City of El Paso Animal Services Program through a partnership with Pets Alive-El Paso offers vouchers for free spay/neuter services, rabies vaccines and microchips.

Pets Alive, a non-profit organization, provides the vouchers to pet owners, who meet federal low-income standards. The vouchers are accepted by several local veterinarians and can also be used on the spay/neuter van.

To apply for a voucher or for more information on the voucher program, please call Pets Alive-El Paso at (915) 873-PETS (7387) or

[click here] to visit their website.

Those who do not qualify for the voucher program are welcome to seek the spay/neuter services and vaccinations through the Pet Care-A-Van. The van offers these services at affordable prices.

Pet Care-A-Van

The Pet Care-Van offers low-cost spay/neuter services and vaccinations. The van provides the services at locations throughout the community. The Pet Care-A-Van schedule is available below.

The number of surgeries that can be performed on the spay/neuter van is limited based on the size of animals requiring the surgery. On average, the van performs 20 to 25 surgeries per day. The order of the surgeries is determined on a “first come-first served” basis. Due to the difficulty of performing hysterectomies to sterilize female animals, the veterinarian may limit these surgeries to ten per day.

Sterilization surgery is major surgery. The owner(s) of the pet should expect to leave the animal at the spay/neuter van for a few hours. If you plan to spay or neuter your pet through the Pet Care-A-Van program, please follow these pre-surgery guidelines:

Pets may drink water up until the time of surgery.
Adult animals should not have solid food after 6 p.m. of the night before their sterilization surgery.
Puppies and kittens (4 months - 1 year) should not have solid food after 11 p.m. of the night before the surgery.
High-risk pets that will not be spayed or neutered due to health risks include:
- Younger than 4 months
- Older than 6 years of age
- Overweight, females in heat or pregnant
- Males whose testicles have not descended.
- Animals larger than 65 pounds.(It is extremely difficult to maneuver a large unconscious animal without risking injury to it due to space constraints inside the van.)

Fees for services include:

Small dog/cat spay (up to 50 pounds), $77.00. Animals in poor health, pregnant or old may be declined or charged an additional fee ranging from $45 to $85.
Small dog neuter (up to 50 pounds), $77.00. Animals in poor health, old or cryptorchid males (males whose testicles have not descended) may be declined or charged an additional fee ranging from $45 to $85.
Other size dogs, $77.00. On some occasions at the discretion of the veterinarian some dogs of up to 65 pounds may be accepted.
Microchipping, $22.00
Rabies vaccine with City license included, $19.00
Canine distemper/parvo vaccine, $12.00
Feline distemper vaccine, $12.00

For more information about the spay/neuter van, please call (915) 407-5314.

Payments must be made in the form of cash and checks. Credit / debit cards are not accepted.

December 2011 Spay/Neuter Van Schedule
Date	Location	Address
Fri ^2nd	Album Park	3110 Parkwood
Sat 3^rd	Pets Barn	1790 Zaragosa
Sun 4^th	Pavo Real	9301 Alameda
Fri 9^th	White Spur Park	4800 Love
Sat 10^th	Marty Robbins Park	11600 Vista del Sol
Sun 11^th	Shawver Park	8100 Independence
Fri 16^th	Horizon – Pet Grooming	13430 Horizon
Sat 17^th	Pets Barn	1790 Zaragosa
Sun 18^th	Marty Robbins Park	11600 Vista Del Sol
Sun 18^th	Veterans Park	5380 Salem

January 2012 Spay/Neuter Van Schedule
Date	Location	Address
Fri 6^th	Marty Robbins Park	11600 Vista del Sol
Sat 7^th	Pets Barn	Zaragoza and Saul Kleinfield
Sun 8^th	Pavo Real	9301 Alameda
Fri 13^th	Paws Pet Grooming	Horizon Blvd and Kenazo
Sat 14^th	Pets Barn	Zaragoza and Saul Kleinfield
Fri 27^th	White Spur Park	4800 Love
Sat 28^th	Pets Barn	Zaragoza and Saul Kleinfield
Sun 29^th	Shawver Park	8100 Independence

LOST AND FOUND PETS

If you lost your pet you may use this

pet finding information exchange service to post information about your lost pet on the City’s website. The City offers this service to the public in an effort to help reunite lost animals with their owners. All postings on the information exchange service about lost or found pets are limited to information provided by the general public.

To find out if your pet was picked up by Animal Services, please visit the shelter, at 5001 Fred Wilson Rd. (across from Ft. Bliss Cemetery). The shelter is open to the public Monday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and is closed on Sunday.

Animal Services does not post information online about animals taken to the shelter due to the high volume of animals picked up on a daily basis. Please note: Animals picked up by Animal Services are euthanized or placed for adoption 3 days (after pick up) if they do not have a microchip or ID tags, and 5 days (after pick up) if they have a microchip or ID tag.

The shelter’s A, B, and C kennels, located on the eastside of the property, are open for public viewing on a 24-7 basis.

For more information call 842-1000.

City of El Paso · 2 Civic Center Plaza · El Paso, Texas 79901 · (915) 541-4000