City of Elberton
Animal Control serves the residents of Elberton by providing care, control, and
resolution to situations dealing with domestic animals and wildlife.
Investigate animal-related complaints Investigate allegations of animal cruelty Investigate bite cases Impound and quarantine unvaccinated animals involved in bite cases Receive animals relinquished by citizens of Elberton Humane sheltering and treatment of lost, abandoned and released animals Trap, catch and impound stray and nuisance animals Educate the public on responsible pet ownership and animal-related issues Adopt sterilized animals to the public Network with local/national rescue groups to unite animals with families Dispose of dead animals on city streets Humane euthanization of sick, injured, diseased and unadoptable animalsCity ordinance requires that pets be under an owner’s control at all times. Do NOT allow pets to run loose; secure pets inside a fenced area or leash walk them.
Make sure that your pet ALWAYS wears its collar and tags. The ordinances also require pet owners to keep a collar and current rabies tag.
Pets can lose collars and tags, so it is strongly recommended that you have your pet micro-chipped by your veterinarian. If your pet is micro-chipped, gets lost and is picked up by City of Elberton Animal Control, it will be scanned, and you will be contacted to retrieve your pet. Therefore, it is vitally important that if you have your pet micro-chipped, you register the chip number with a national database company. Unregistered chips are as worthless as lost collars/tags.
Come to Elberton Animal Services shelter, during business hours, to look for your pet. The shelter is located at 1457 Filter Plant Drive, Elberton, GA and is open to the public, Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., excluding city observed holidays.
Call the shelter, Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. at (706) 988-6227 to see if an animal matching the description of your pet has come in recently. Please understand that it is very difficult to identify a pet by description alone; therefore, it is your responsibility to come to the shelter to identify your pet.
Visit our Facebook page to view photos of the stray pets at our facility. Notify your veterinarian that your pet is missing. Check with pet hospitals. Post flyers (color photos are best).
In your neighborhood. At local veterinarian offices. Pet stores. Grooming/boarding facilities. Any local businesses (convenience stores, etc.) that will allow you to post one. Place ads in the local newspaper, classified magazines and pet service or community-based websites (most will do this for free). Be wary of pet recovery services, some are scams. Ask for references and check them before handing over any money for their services. Talk to your postal delivery person, they are usually familiar with pets in the neighborhood. Keep looking and don’t give up. Hopefully, you will be reunited with your lost pet soon.
Rabies is an acute and deadly viral infection of the central nervous system, which can also involve the respiratory and gastrointestinal system. When symptoms do appear, it usually is 30 to 50 days following exposure. There is a direct relationship between how severe the bite is, where on the body the person was bitten, and how long it takes for symptoms to appear. Therefore, symptoms could appear in as few as 14 days. The following are symptoms of Rabies:
A short period of mental depression Restlessness Abnormal sensations such as itching around the site of the bite Headache Fever Tiredness Nausea Sore throat Loss of appetite Stiff muscles Dilation (enlargement) of pupils of the eye Increased production of saliva, and Unusual sensitivity to sound, light and changes of temperatureRabies can affect wildlife such as raccoons, skunks, and bats, as well as household pets such as dogs and cats. Vaccination of pets and livestock is the most effective control measure to prevent the disease in these animals and subsequent human exposure.
Most people get rabies from being bitten by a rabid animal. Rarely, if a person has broken skin, like a scratch, which can come in contact with animal saliva full of rabies virus, that person may get infected.
City of Elberton Animal Control is required to investigate all bite cases as a possible exposure to rabies.All cats, dogs and ferrets involved in a bite are required to undergo a ten (10)-day observation period. If the animal has a current rabies vaccination, the observation may be done at the home of the owner. However, if the animal is not current on rabies vaccination, the observation must be done at City of Elberton Animal Shelter or a licensed veterinary facility.
City of Elberton charges a fee of three hundred dollars ($300.00) for the ten (10)-day quarantine of bite cases. The fee includes a sixty ($60.00) dollar impound fee; twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per day board fee; and a twenty-one dollars and fifty cents ($21.50) fee for rabies vaccination, obtained from one of our veterinary partners. Veterinary facility quarantine fees vary.
After the observation period, cats and dogs may be given a one (1)-year vaccination, if it is their first vaccination or the previous vaccination has expired. This vaccination is not considered current until after twenty-eight (28) days because it takes that long to be effective. A three (3)-year vaccination may be administered before the one (1)-year vaccination expires. A rabies vaccination should not be administered during the observation period.
Pet owners are cautioned to make sure your pets are inoculated against rabies and to avoid all contact with wild animals. All cats and dogs are required to be vaccinated at three (3) months of age and are required to wear a current rabies tag on their collar at all times. Keep proof of vaccination in a safe and readily accessible location.
Report any contact of humans with wild animals to the Elbert County Health Department office at (706) 283-3775 and contact of pets with wild animals to City of Elberton Animal Control at (706) 988-6227.
