All dogs and cats over the age of three (3) months must be licensed in San Mateo County. New residents have sixty (60) days to license their pet. Click here for more information about pricing and to download a copy of the application.

At the age of three (3) months, all dogs and cats in San Mateo County must receive an anti-rabies vaccination from a licensed veterinarian. The veterinarian is required to submit a copy of the vaccination form to the San Mateo County Animal Control Program. The vaccination must be repeated at intervals specified by the State Department of Health Services, which is usually every year or every three years.

Note: Obtaining a current license for your dog or cat is dependent on it having a current rabies vaccine.

It is illegal to allow your animal to trespass upon any private property without the consent of the owner of the property and to knowingly permit the animal to remain upon the property or to habitually continue to trespass. The owners, caretakers, or renters of private property may be able to contain the trespassing domestic animal provided they bring it to the shelter or call PHS/SPCA to report the animal as found.

It is illegal to trap a cat in a humane trap and then relocate or release it somewhere else. Doing so would be considered abandonment under California law even though the person abandoning it is not the owner. It is usually illegal for persons to trap wild animals without the proper permits from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and like domestic animals, it is also illegal to relocate trapped wild animals. Any wild animals accidentally trapped, even skunks, must be released where they were caught, without relocating them. PHS/SPCA itself does not have the necessary permits to trap and/or relocate healthy wildlife, we are only allowed to possess sick/injured wildlife and rehabilitate them. When a rehabilitated animal has been made healthy and is ready for release, it must be released near where it was originally found.

Owners or others having care custody or control of any animal must provide them with proper and adequate food, water, shelter, and medical care and attention when required. PHS/SPCA’s Humane Investigators handle most of these types of concerns and can do everything from educating the owner or caretaker, issuing a veterinary treatment notice, or in cases where the life of an animal is in immediate jeopardy, seizing an animal. Our Humane Investigators work closely with the District Attorney’s office when these types of cases rise to the level of animal cruelty as defined by state law. A successful conviction on a serious offense can result in steep fines and/or time in jail.

Dog owners or possessors are required to prevent canine companions from biting or physically harassing other people or from causing substantial injury to another domestic animal. In addition, dog owners or possessors may not order or provoke their dog to attack, sic or threaten another person.

Animals may not be kept in an unattended motor vehicle without adequate ventilation, or in a manner that subjects them to extreme temperatures or conditions that adversely affect their health or safety. Animal Control Officers, Humane Officers, or Police Officers or Sheriff’s Deputies may remove animals from vehicles if not doing so could cause suffering, disability, or death of the animal. Animals in the open back of a pickup or any other vehicle must either be caged or cross-tethered to the vehicle, unless the sides of the vehicle are at least 46 inches high. This law is intended to prevent the animal from falling, being thrown, or jumping from the vehicle.

Every animal kept or found under conditions with constitute a violation of any local ordinance or other state laws can be impounded. 

When there is reasonable cause to believe that an animal is a Dangerous or Vicious Animal the animal may be impounded and kept for such a period not to exceed fifteen (15) days. If the animal is found to meet the definition of Dangerous or Vicious after an investigation, the animal may continue to be held through the Dangerous/Vicious animal process which may include hearings and appeals.

“Dangerous Animal” and “Vicious Animal” are legally defined terms in San Mateo County. Animals that have attacked people or other animals can be declared Dangerous or Vicious as defined by the local laws. The level of the severity of the attack as defined by the ordinance may determine the appropriate designation, however, there are many factors in determining if an animal is Dangerous or Vicious, including where the incident happened, how it happened, and if all parties were in compliance with other local/state laws when the incident happened. Dangerous Animals can be kept under a Dangerous Animal Permit, while Vicious Animals are euthanized. Regardless of the designation, owners or possessors of animals designated as Dangerous or Vicious have the right to a hearing to dispute the designation.

The hearings are conducted by San Mateo County which requires payment to cover the costs of the hearing by the owner or possessor prior to the hearing taking place. If our Officers investigate an incident and there is conflicting information or statements or if PHS/SPCA determines from the information presented to us that the animal is not Dangerous or Vicious, any interested party may dispute our findings by requesting the appropriate hearing within seven (7) calendar days of the date of our determination. In those types of cases, the party requesting the hearing is the one who is responsible for the costs of the hearing prior to the hearing taking place. 

Incidents where domestic animals bite people:

The Animal Control Officers at PHS/SPCA act as Health Officers and investigate animal bites in San Mateo County. Every bite to a person from an animal subject to rabies is investigated and the animal is to be placed in a rabies observation quarantine after the bite. The State of California has declared San Mateo County as a rabies endemic area, meaning certain animals must be vaccinated against rabies and that all bites to people from animals subject to rabies are monitored to ensure the health of the animal. This also means anyone going to a medical facility reporting they’ve been bitten by an animal subject to rabies, including dogs and cats, must complete an animal bite report. This bite report must then be forwarded to PHS/SPCA, either by email, fax or mail, by the medical facility. Most rabies observation quarantines take place at the pet owner’s home. However, in rare circumstances it may take place at the shelter. Regardless of if the animal is currently vaccinated against rabies or not, the animal must be quarantined. Most bites to people from an animal subject to rabies involve a ten (10) day rabies observation quarantine, but some animals may be subject to a longer quarantine period as determined by the County of San Mateo.

Most of the animal bites PHS/SPCA sees are dog bites.  The majority of all people bitten by dogs are bitten by either their own dog or a dog they already know, such as a friend or neighbor’s dog. Often people do not “want to get a dog in trouble” and they conceal information about the animal or the owner either when filling out a bite report at a hospital or when our Officers are investigating the bite. California Health & Safety Code Sections 121705 and 121710 address the concealing of information about the location of an animal subject to rabies, violations of the quarantine requirements of animals, and owners or possessors who fail to produce the animal in question. Violations of these code sections are a misdemeanor, which can result in up to a year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine per day they are in violation. In addition, California Civil Code sections 3342 and 3342.5 addresses the liability of dog owners for damages suffered from dog bites including civil actions against them. Dog owners and possessors are civilly liable for their dog’s actions.

Contact between wild animals and domestic animals or people:

PHS/SPCA acts as Health Officers in San Mateo County in regard to domestic animals coming into contact with a wild animal subject to rabies.

The length of the quarantine period is usually 30 days in the case of animals currently vaccinated against rabies, or up to six (6) months if the animal is not currently vaccinated against rabies, that is, if they had a vaccine and it was expired at the time of the contact or if they never had a vaccine at all. If the wild animal is available for rabies testing, the San Mateo County Public Health Laboratory would test the wild animal to see if it had rabies or not. The rabies test cannot be done on a live animal, instead, the animal being tested must be euthanized before the test can be done. If the lab results show no rabies in the wild animal, the domestic animal’s quarantine ends immediately. Such a test could also be done if a wild animal subject to rabies has bitten a person, however, due to the fact that rabies is nearly always fatal if treatment is not sought, PHS/SPCA must ensure the proper wild animal has been tested. For example, if someone is bitten by a raccoon in their backyard, and the raccoon leaves, and seemingly later comes back, it would be nearly impossible to tell if the raccoon that came back is the same raccoon that bit the person or a different one. In such a case its best to contact your local health care provider to get information about the post exposure rabies treatment.

PHS/SPCA does not investigate dog vs. dog incidents at Dog Parks or other approved off-leash areas. In cases where a person has been bitten by a dog at one of these areas, PHS/SPCA will ensure the dog is currently vaccinated against rabies and completes a 10 day rabies observation quarantine (see the Bites & Quarantines tab). Most Dog Parks are used “at your own risk” as stated on the signs as you enter the Dog Park. In addition, most Dog Parks require dogs entering to be currently licensed and vaccinated against rabies. PHS/SPCA has no enforcement authority when it comes to Dog Parks given that the laws covering them are often under a section of the ordinance that is not the animals section. Often times the laws governing the Dog Park are under a city’s Parks and Recreation section, which is something PHS/SPCA is not contracted to enforce. Complaints about the misuse of Dog Parks or aggressive dogs at your local Dog Park should be directed to the city where the Dog Park is located. 

PHS/SPCA does not routinely respond to reports of those who keep animals illegally, either those animals which are illegal to possess, such as someone keeping a ferret as a pet, or when someone has animals on their property when the property is not zoned for the keeping of such animals, such as someone keeping livestock in an area of a city that is not zoned for that purpose. Reports of this nature are forwarded to the proper authorities; in some cases, this is the California Department of Fish and Wildlife or in other cases it is the local city’s building department or code enforcement. In order to ensure your complaint is properly followed up on, please report such violations to the appropriate entities directly.

PHS/SPCA does not routinely respond to or enforce the number of animals per household, unless there is suspicion of animal cruelty due to the conditions the animals are being kept in or the conditions of the animals themselves. If you have concerns for the numbers of animals you know someone has, but have no direct evidence supporting animal cruelty, please contact your city to report your concern.

PHS/SPCA does not respond to or enforce barking dog or other animal noise nuisance complaints. To report these violations or for additional information on how your city handles these complaints, contact your city directly. 

Most barking dog issues are due to what is called separation anxiety, where the dogs bark nervously and for long periods of time when the owner is not present. This is not considered “Neglect” under state law (see the Neglect tab for more information). If our Humane Investigators respond to a barking dog complaint but there are no cruelty violations, they will not work to abate the barking dog problem with the owner or possessor, instead they will refer to the person calling to contact the city in which they live for information on how the city handles these types of complaints.

Note: Often people call PHS/SPCA with “false” or “misleading” information in order to get us to respond to what is actually a barking or noise complaint. Calling in “false” or “misleading” information to get us to respond to something which is not animal cruelty or neglect only prevents our Humane Investigators from being able to quickly respond to situations of real animal cruelty or neglect.

The County of San Mateo has no law that states owners or possessors of an animal must remove that animal’s feces if it is deposited on public or private property. Given that most cities base their own ordinances on the county ordinances, many cities also don’t have any laws saying owners or possessors must remove animal feces. To determine if your city requires removal of your animal’s feces from public or private property, please contact your city directly. Given the dissimilar laws and the fact that no city has any additional provisions in the animal control contract to enforce their ordinance to remove animal feces, PHS/SPCA does not investigate complaints about owners or possessors of animals who do not remove their animal’s feces from public or private property. Complaints about owners not removing their animal’s feces from public or private property should be directed at your city