Animal Rescue & Control

PHS/SPCA is a private, nonprofit organization contracted by San Mateo County (and its cities) to provide state-mandated animal control services, such as:

• Animal rescue
• Respond to sick or injured animals
• Pick up of stray or confined domestic animals
• Respond to animals loose in traffic
• Removal of deceased animals from public property such as streets or sidewalks.  PHS/SPCA does not respond to deceased animals on freeways/highways.  These areas are maintained by CALTRANS.
• Enforcement of laws that protect animals and people
• Place animals subject to rabies into rabies observation quarantines

 PHS/SPCA does not handle the following:

• Barking dog or animal noise nuisance complaints
• Pest control issues
• Response to deceased or live marine mammals
• Routine patrols of parks or beaches (including dog parks)
• Situations where residents have too many animals or illegal animals, such as ferrets or alligators

PHS/SPCA handles all calls for service based on its priority level; which is not necessarily in the order the call was received. For example, a call for a dog loose in traffic on the freeway will be prioritized over a call for a confined dog or a deceased animal.

San Mateo County contracts with PHS/SPCA to handle emergency calls within one hour of the time of the call, but our Animal Rescue & Control vehicles are not considered emergency vehicles by state law and our Officers must follow all traffic laws like all other motorists. We are contracted, and appropriately staffed, to handle most other non-emergency calls within 18 to 24 hours of the time of the call, however, our actual response time is usually much lower.