Antioch residents are required to license their dog upon moving to Antioch, and/or after their dog turns 4 months of age. There is a 30-day grace period for either of these conditions to take care of the license. Thereafter, there will be a $40.00 penalty fee.

Before the license can be issued, you must obtain a rabies vaccination from a veterinarian and provide us with a certificate as proof of the vaccination.

It is not necessary to have your dog spayed or neutered to get a license, but there are reduced licensing fees for the animals that have been altered. To receive the reduced fee, you will need proof of the operation (either the operation receipt, a spay/neuter certificate from your veterinarian). Sometimes the rabies certificate will show proof.

When you are ready to license your dog, you can bring the necessary paperwork to Antioch Animal Services to purchase a one, two, or three-year license, depending upon the expiration date of the rabies certificate. You can also obtain a license application from your Veterinarian, and mail the information to the specified address with your payment.

If you are not an Antioch resident, you must license your dog with Contra Costa County Animal Services at (925) 608-8400, or with your local Animal Services, if located outside of Contra Costa County.

The first step is to fill out a lost pet report on 24Petconnect (https://24petconnect.com/BreedRequest/Lost ). It is highly encouraged to add a picture of your pet to the lost pet report. If you do not have a picture, try to write a good description of your pet with any unique or unusual coat patterns in the description. If you have trouble filling out the lost report, or do not have access to a computer, please give us a call and we will walk you through the process and help you fill out the report if needed.

We recommend monitoring the list of found animals at the shelter on 24Petconnect: Found Animals Currently in Shelter If one of the found pets on 24Petconnect matches the description of your pet, please contact the shelter to make an appointment to do a walk-through in-person.

Lost reports on 24Petconnect are kept for 30 days.

There are additional online resources available where you can post your lost pet’s information, some are as follows:

• www.Craigslist.com
• Facebook: Fido Alert – East Contra Costa County
• www.LostMyDoggie.com
• www.LostMyKitty.com
• www.Nextdoor.com
• Petcolovelost.org

Contra Costa Animal Services (CCAS) is located at 4800 Imhoff Place, Martinez and accepts found animals from all areas of Contra Costa County, except animals found in the city limits of Antioch. However, we recommend you check with CCAS if you have lost your pet. You can fill out a report with CCAS for your lost pet at (925) 608-8440 or in person at their facility. Here is their website describing their lost pet process:  https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/822/Reporting-a-Lost-Pet

For a barking or howling dog, or a dog causing damage to your property, you may call Animal Services at 925-779-6989 to file a complaint. Although all information is kept confidential and not shared, you must give us the exact address of the dog owner, as well as, your name, address, and phone number. An Animal Control Officer will investigate the case and take appropriate action. If the problem persists, you may file an additional complaint after 30 days. The case will be escalated as necessary, but it may be necessary to handle the issue in civil court by contacting the Pittsburg Courthouse and filing for civil relief in court.

We do not accept healthy adult cats at the Animal Shelter.  In general, cats are considered to be free-roaming animals and are not required to be on a leash. Therefore, you will not be able to file an “At Large” complaint with us if there is a nuisance stray cat in your area.

Kittens have the greatest chance for survival if left with their mother outside. It is recommended to leave these animals in place until the kittens are approximately 6 weeks old. Once the kittens are old enough to walk and eat on their own, they may be brought into the shelter for socialization, vaccines and eventually adoption. The mother should also be spayed, to prevent future litters, and returned to the location where she was found.

In most cases, kittens that appear healthy are unlikely to be orphaned. The mother cat is likely out hunting and will return to take care of the kittens when she returns. Kittens have a much better chance for survival to healthy adulthood when left with their mother. You should leave the kittens alone, wait and observe the kittens.

If the mother cat has not returned for over 8 hours, or the kittens appear injured, ill, or in distress, it is possible that the kittens are orphaned. In that case, we encourage you to consider fostering the kittens until they are at least 6 weeks of age. We may be able to provide information and supplies to help you!

If the mother cat has not returned for over 8 hours, the kittens are ill or injured, or you are unable to foster, we may take them in at Antioch Animal Services.

There are many ways to keep unwanted cats or other animals out of a garden or yard, including motion-activated sprinklers and cat-proof fencing. Using deterrents is more effective for keeping a property cat-free than trapping and removing cats, as more cats will just fill the removed animal’s place in the environment.

Resources for cat deterrents:

• https://www.alleycat.org/resources/how-to-live-with-cats-in-your-neighborhood/
• https://www.neighborhoodcats.org/how-to-tnr/colony-care/keeping-cats-out-of-gardens-and-yards-2

Most of the objectionable behavior performed by cats is a result of the cat not being spayed or neutered – if there is no evidence that there is an owner for the animal, the best way to prevent the behavior would be to have the cat altered and then replaced back into the environment. While we cannot perform this procedure for you at the shelter, there are local agencies that can help you with low cost spay/neuter services. One such resource is www.animalfixclinic.org.

Most people who are missing cats never look for them at the shelter.  With only 20 cats being claimed by their owners from Animal Services in 2019, representing 1% of all cats entering the shelter, returning healthy, fixed cats back to where they are found means they will more likely return to their owners or caretakers.

Returning healthy, fixed cats to their territories leads to a decrease in the infectious disease rate among these cats as they no longer transmit diseases sexually or from mother to kitten at birth, and they are less likely to transmit diseases through bites. Many infectious diseases in cats are acquired due to being housed around other cats, so minimizing the amount of time they spend in the shelter will decrease the rate of diseases in the population. As the outdoor cat population declines, there is a smaller chance that outdoor cats will be hit by cars or injured in other ways.

Call Antioch Animal Services at 925-779-6989 and report the exact location of the animal. Although we will attempt to remove a deceased animal within 72 hours, keep in mind that this is an important but low-priority task, so it may take longer.

Although approaching an unknown dog or cat is not recommended, should you come across a lost animal in Antioch and it is now in your possession the first step is to check your local Nextdoor or neighborhood Facebook page to see if anyone has posted anything about missing a pet. If that is the case, and you feel comfortable doing so, we would recommend attempting to reunite the owner prior to coming into the shelter. Failing that, you may make an appointment to bring to the animal in as a stray to the shelter.

Many people in the community have indoor/outdoor cats that are not lost. These cats will appear sleek and healthy and may be either friendly or not able to be handled. If a cat doesn’t appear ill, thin, or distressed, it likely has a home in your area and should be left alone.

If you have picked up the animal outside of Antioch, you must contact Contra Costa County Animal Services at (925) 608-8400.

If the dog is posing a public threat, such as an aggressive animal, call Animal Services at 925-779-6989 during regular business hours. After hours call the Non-Emergency Police number, 925-778-2441 and an Animal Control Officer will be dispatched if the animal is aggressive. (There is an officer on call before and after regular business hours.)

If the dog is not posing a public threat, you may report it to the Shelter. However, due to higher priority calls, our Animal Control Officers may not be able to find and impound the dog. On the weekend, the Animal Control Officers only respond to urgent calls. Although a report will be taken by our front desk staff, it will not be handled immediately.

Due to space limitations, Antioch Animal Services will only accept owner surrenders from Antioch residents, by appointment. If you are an Antioch resident and you wish to surrender your animal, please complete the SURRENDER REQUEST FORM. A representative from the ARF Pet Safety Net program, a partner of Antioch Animal Services, will call you within three business days to provide resources to help you keep your pet in your home, or assist you in scheduling a future appointment for surrender. We strongly encourage you to exhaust the re-homing tools and other resources that will be sent in response to your form inquiry as an alternative to surrender. As space permits, pets from the City of Antioch will be admitted to the shelter by appointment.

If you cannot access the Surrender Request Form, please send a detailed email to admissions.antioch@gmail.com so that we may assist you. You may also contact us by phone at 925-779-6989 and we will walk you through the process.

We typically do not accept large-sized livestock, but will assist you in finding shelter for the animal.

We highly recommend rehoming your pet directly by posting your pet for adoption on our Home To Home ™ website here: https://aas.home-home.org/

If you live outside Antioch, you will need to contact Contra Costa County Animal Services at (925) 608-8400.

Antioch Animal Services does not get involved with issues concerning bees, wasps, mice, rats, or similar creatures. Contact Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control (925) 685-9301 for possible free services. If they cannot help with your particular situation, contact a professional vector or pest control service which you can find in the phone book.

In addition to Dog Licensing and Adoption Services, our Shelter offers microchipping of your pet. Before you bring your pet to the Shelter, phone us at 779-6989 to make an appointment. The microchip fee for dogs and cats is $25.00. This fee includes microchip implant and lifetime registration on the Animal Shelter database.

Antioch Animal Services does not offer spay/neuter, vaccination, or kenneling services to the public. You can contact a local veterinarian and/or kennel for these services.

Occasionally, we also adopt out rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, and other pet rodents. Though more infrequent, we also adopt out reptiles and animals such as turtles, snakes, and lizards. Check the animals available for adoption by visiting 24Petconnect.