Dog Control

DOG CONTROL
Dog Control Officer: Melissa Mariano
Part-time Dog Control Officer: Mitchell Kline
Part-time Dog Control Officer: Cynthia Moon
Email: [email protected]

Address:
4600 W. Genesee Street
Syracuse, NY 13219

Business hours:
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday
(315) 488-1234

If you have an in-progress Dog Control emergency, please call 911
A dog control emergency is any incident involving an immediate threat to public safety or an animal's welfare, such as a dog attacking or biting a person or another animal, an aggressive dog that is posing an imminent danger, or an injured or distressed animal requiring urgent assistance.

For non-emergency dog control complaints or service requests, please contact Dog Control at the phone number or email above, and it will be responded to by the next business day.

WHEN TO CALL DOG CONTROL:

to report a loose dog
to report an injured dog
to report a dog or owner not complying with Municipal Code
to report a lost/found dog
to report a dog attack or dangerous dog concern
to request professional/educational information or guidance

SERVICES NOT PROVIDED BY DOG CONTROL:

dead animal removal/disposal
wildlife removal from your property
pest or insect extermination services
transporting unwanted pets to a shelter

Click here to renew dog license online

The Dog Control Officer enforces all dog-related ordinances within the Town of Camillus. This includes both investigating violations of the law and following up on complaints against dog owners, which may be filed by anyone at any time. The Dog Control Officer may contact dog owners by mail, by phone, in person, or in some cases will issue citations to appear in Court where fines may be imposed by the presiding judge.

MY DOG GOT LOOSE!
If your dog gets loose, the first thing to do is contact the Dog Control Officer to alert her that the dog is missing. Oftentimes, the Dog Control Officer will already have received reports from citizens that they have either sighted or found the dog. By the time you discover the dog is missing, the Dog Control Officer may already have brought the dog to the town's kennel for safekeeping. Depending on your location, you may also wish to alert any neighboring towns in case they find your dog:

Town of Elbridge:  315-689-3073
Town of Geddes:  315-468-3600 ext. 329 and 315-559-7891
Town of Lysander: 315-454-0928 (SPCA)
Town of Marcellus:  315-673-2256
Town of Onondaga:  315-454-0928 (SPCA)
Town of Van Buren: 315-454-0928 (SPCA)

PLEASE NOTE: New York State only requires impounded dogs be held for five days to allow owner retrieval. Once this mandatory waiting period is up, the dog may be euthanized or adopted out and the owner forfeits all rights to the dog. Unless you notify the Dog Control Officer that your dog is missing, we cannot help coordinate your dog’s safe return and you may even risk losing your dog permanently!

IMPOUNDED DOGS
Dogs impounded by the Camillus Dog Control Officer are housed and cared for under 24 hour a day surveillance at a local shelter until they can be reunited with their owner. No dog impounded will be released back into its owner’s custody without payment of an impoundment fee, boarding fees, and proof of a current New York State dog license. Impoundments incur a $45.00 per day charge.

LICENSING
Dog licenses are issued under the authority of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. The state requires that all dogs over the age of 4 months must be licensed. Licenses must be renewed annually and owners will receive a renewal notice in the mail approximately a month prior to the license renewal date.

To obtain a license, the owner must provide to the Town Clerk’s office veterinary documentation of a current rabies vaccination and, if the dog has been spayed or neutered, veterinary documentation of that. The cost to license a spayed/neutered dog is $10.00 and the cost to license an unspayed or unneutered dog is $20.00. Owners who fail to license their dog or renew the existing license for a dog will be in violation of this law.

The municipality ID number tag should be kept on the dog’s collar at all times so if the dog is found, the owner can be traced and notified.

TOWN LAW
The Town of Camillus has thousands of licensed dogs and most of those owners do care for their dogs responsibly. However, to protect everyone’s interest, the Town does have laws which all dog owners must abide by and which the Dog Control Officer enforces.

Some common issues are covered below and the complete laws pertaining to dog control can be found in the Camillus Municipal Code Book, Chapter 54-Dog Control.

Dogs Running at Large (Leash Law)
All dogs must be on a leash when outside and off their owner’s property. Any person handling a dog on a leash must be able to maintain total control of the dog. "At large" means any dog that is unleased and on property open to the public or is on private property not owned or leased by the owner of the dog unless permission for such presence has been obtained.

Dog Waste
No dog may deposit waste (feces) on the property of another unless the waste is immediately removed and properly disposed of. Any owner who does not properly clean up after their dog is in violation of this law. Owners of loose dogs who leave waste on other property face two violations - this law and the leash law.

Barking Dogs
Dogs communicate vocally; they may bark, whine, or howl for attention, food, as a warning, or for other reasons. A good dog owner will understand their dog’s vocal behavior and react appropriately to prevent it from becoming a nuisance to others. When the dog owner does not address their dog’s vocal behavior and allows its long continuance to become a disturbance to others, the Dog Control Officer may cite the owner for violating this law.

WILDLIFE
The Town of Camillus does not offer any services with regard to wildlife, nor is there any Countywide program for dealing with wildlife. If homeowners need assistance with the management or removal of wildlife from their property, it is suggested they contact a wildlife nuisance control expert for assistance.