Animal Control Administration
Introduction
This page covers some of the general animal control administrative topics. A number of jurisdictions are regionalizing animal control services including cities in King, Pierce and Spokane County. Several contract examples are included. See Related MRSC Pages for specific topics related to animal control. Applicable statutes are included on those pages.
Administrative Organization and Procedures
- Clarke v. Tri-Cities Animal Care & Control Shelter, 144 Wn. App. 185 (04/24/2008) - Public Records Disclosure - Contracted Services
Three cities by interlocal agreement formed an animal control agency. That agency then contracted with a private business for the furnishing of animal control services. A citizen, citing the public records act, sought euthanasia records from the private business and from one of the cities. The business denied the request, indicating that it was not a public agency; the city denied the request, indicating that it did not possess the records sought. A lawsuit followed, and the trial court agreed with the business/city. On appeal, the court reversed. Applying and balancing factors from a four-part test ((1) whether the entity performs a governmental function; (2) the level of government funding; (3) the extent of government involvement or regulation; and (4) whether the entity was created by the government), the court reversed. Some of the employees of the business took oaths as animal control officers, and they performed police poser duties, such as euthanizing animals. The funding was primarily governmental, and the business had to follow some procedures set out by the interlocal member agencies. While the business was not established by government, balancing the four criteria led the court to conclude that the business/agency was covered by the public records act.
- Clark County-Vancouver
- Lakewood Animal Control Policy and Procedure (2006)
- Seattle Municipal Code Section 9.25.030 - Authority of Director
Complaint Handling
Intergovernmental Contracts for Animal Control and Animal Shelter Services
- Kennewick, Pasco and Richland - Tri-City Animal Control Authority
- Interlocal Agreement between the Cities of Kennewick, Pasco and Richland to Establish the Tri-Cities Animal Control Authority, term 12/20/16 - 12/31/2027
- Interlocal Agreement between Tri-City Animal Control Authority and Benton City for Animal Sheltering/Disposal Services, term 07/2008 to 12/2008
- King County - Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC)
- Kirkland and Everett - Interlocal Contract Regarding Animal Shelter Services, term 1/1/2018-12/31/2018
- Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS) - Serves Spokane County and the cities of Spokane, Fairfield, Deer Park, Spokane Valley, Medical Lake, Millwood, Liberty Lake and Cheney
- Sumner Metro Animal Control Services - Provides animal control to the cities of Bonney Lake, Edgewood, Milton, Puyallup and Sumner and is operated by the City of Sumner
- Thurston County - Joint Animal Services
- Intergovernmental Agreement between the cities of Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and Thurston County for joint animal services operations and facility, 2014
- Vancouver and Clark County Interlocal Agreement for Animal Control Services, effective date 2014, continues until terminated
Private Contracts for Animal Control and Animal Shelter Services
- Palouse and Whitman County Human Society Animal Shelter Services Contract (2018) Effective through May 31, 2021
- Pierce County and Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County Contract for Animal Shelter Services (2019) - Allows for sheltering of companion animals (beyond just cats and dogs), mandates blood draws and testing for animal cruelty cases, outlines reporting requirements, and allows the Humane Society to retain all fees and has the County pay a per animal intake rate with an end-of-year reconciliation to adjust for actual usage and fees. Does not include animal control, only sheltering. Effective through December 2020.
- Pierce County Animal Shelter Cost Analysis (2018) - Audit of Pierce County’s private contract with the Humane Society of Tacoma and Pierce County to analyze associated costs as part of contract negotiations carried out in 2018.
- Union Gap and Yakima Humane Society Agreement for Animal Control Services (2017) Effective through December 31, 2019
- Vancouver and Vancouver Humane Society Contract for Animal Control Shelter Services, included in November 2016 staff report
- West Richland Sample Animal Control Services Agreement (2012)
Examples of Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for Animal Control and Animal Shelter Services
Disaster Planning
Animal Abandonment
References
Last Modified: August 15, 2019