Orange County NC Website
8 <br />EXHIBIT A: <br />GUIDELINES FOR EMERGENCY AFTER HOUR CALLS <br />TO THE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE TOWN AND ORANGE COUNTY FOR THE <br />PROVISION OF ANIMAL CONTROL SERVICES <br />Regular service involves an Animal Control Officer (ACO) being stationed at the Animal <br />Services Center Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. This ACO has <br />principal responsibility for enforcing the Town's animal control ordinance within the Town <br />limits and responding to calls about stray animals and other such requests for animal services. <br />Orange County Animal Control Officers will provide emergency services outside of regular <br />business hours (from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.), Monday through Friday, and 24-hours on Saturday, <br />Sunday and holidays. These services include rabies exposures, dangerous animals, exigent <br />animal cruelty and animals in immediate need of assistance. The Town will perform "triage" of <br />after-hours service requests in accordance with guidelines jointly developed by Animal Services <br />and the Chapel Hill Police Department. <br />PROCEDURES FOR ORANGE COUNTY AND TOWN RESPONSE TO EMERGENCY <br />AFTER-HOURS ANIMAL CALLS <br />1. Injured Deer - A CHPD officer will respond to locate and euthanize. If the deer is a <br />slightly injured fawn, the CHPD officer may consult with a rehabber such as CLAW's <br />Inc. to make arrangements for its removal. The on-call ACO will assist with this <br />coordination as needed. <br />2. Owned Injured Animals - A CHPD officer will respond or otherwise instruct the owner <br />to take the animal to their veterinarian or the after-hours emergency veterinary clinic to <br />be cared for or euthanized. <br />3. Neglect/Cruelty Situations - A CHPD Officer will respond and make an assessment. If <br />the situation is severe, they will contact the on-call ACO for assistance. If it is not <br />severe, they shall document in an incident report. The report will be sent to the Animal <br />Services Center the next business day for investigation. <br />4. Strays - A CHPD Officer will respond or otherwise instruct the caller to take the animal <br />to the Animal Services Center and leave in the Drop Box. <br />5. Aggressive Dogs - A CHPD Officer will respond to assess and confirm the presence of <br />the reported animal. If the owner cannot be located to secure the dog, the on-call ACO <br />shall be contacted to assist in capturing the dog. <br />6. The on-call ACO will respond to any call(s) related to: Rabies Exposures; Bites to <br />Humans; Injured Strays. <br />7. The on-call ACO will not respond to the following calls: nuisance wildlife; and injured <br />or orphaned wildlife. Unless there is an immediate issue of public safety, the on-call <br />ACO will not respond to calls about snakes. If these calls make their way through <br />Communications, members of the public are to be referred to the Animal Services <br />webpage or asked to call Animal Services during regular business hours for appropriate <br />referral <br />