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Animal Rescue & Control
Animal Rescue & Control
PHS/SPCA is a private, nonprofit under contract with San Mateo County (and its cities) to provide state-mandated services. Highly trained PHS/SPCA officers provide animal rescue, pick-up stray and injured animals, remove dead animals from public right-of-way (except freeways/highways which are maintained by CALTRANS), and enforce laws that protect animals and people. Barking dog complaints are handled by individual cities’ police departments – not PHS/SPCA. Also, PHS/SPCA is contracted to pick-up dead or live wildlife on private property only when such wildlife has had direct contact with humans and/or domestic animals which involved a bite or attack. In all cases, PHS/SPCA officers prioritize calls. For example, a call for a dog stuck in traffic will be prioritized over a call for a stray, confined dog or a deceased cat, since the dog in traffic is still directly in harm’s way.
Animal Rescue & Control van, livestock trailer, and Large Animal Rescue equipment
Download our Large Animal Rescue Flyer which includes information on this service and who to call to report a Large Animal Rescue
Handling “nuisance” wildlife
PHS/SPCA responds to calls for sick or injured wildlife, but our contract does not include removal of nuisance wildlife (raccoons, squirrels, skunks, raccoons, deer, etc.) from private properties. PHS/SPCA advises residents to seek and remove that which is attracting the nuisance wildlife -- usually inadvertent food or water supplies or shelter – and provides humane tips (see tips of living with local wildlife). Residents can pay an animal trapper or pest control company to remove nuisance wildlife, but this is largely ineffective; new wild animals simply claim the open habitats.
A note about Humane Investigations and Animal Cruelty…
Our Humane Investigation work is funded entirely by donations and is carried out by Humane Investigators -- not by Animal Control Officers or Humane Officers. As evidenced by media accounts, we take this work seriously and our team is a model for other humane organizations across the country. When we receive an animal cruelty call or complaint, we review it fully and take necessary action, which could range from an “education-only” visit to removing an animal from harm’s way and forwarding a report to our District Attorney’s Office for possible prosecution. If you are aware of an animal being abused, please call 650/340-8200. See Reporting Animal Abuse or Neglect and San Mateo County Animal Laws.
News
PHS/SPCA responds to Large Animal Rescue
On Sunday, April 3rd, 2011 at 2:30 p.m. three of our Humane Officers assisted the Coastside Fire Protection District and the La Honda Fire Brigade with a Large Animal Rescue call on Purisima Creek Road, just south of Half Moon Bay city limits. A 20 year old horse was stuck on top of a bridge after his hindquarters fell through the weakened beams that made up the deck of the bridge. The horse’s hooves were also tangled up in the ironwork that made up the bridge’s frame. When responders first arrived on scene the horse was lying on his side, but he was soon able to reposition himself to a more upright position. After a quick meeting of all the rescuers with the Incident Commander, it was determined that it would be best to await the arrival of the veterinarian before trying to move the horse given the precarious nature of the bridge. The veterinarian arrived a short time later, gave the horse a mild sedative, and the horse was rigged with rescue straps so it could be lifted out. Thankfully a neighbor owned a large crane and he was able to back the crane into position where the horse could be lifted out toward the rear first to untangle his hooves from the ironwork, before being pulled forward. As part of the Incident Command system, rescuers had another quick meeting to get everyone on the same page before the actual rescue commenced. The lifting operation progressed smoothly and the horse was soon free, however, the crane had to be moved before the horse could walk off the bridge. While the horse was moving around on the bridge several of the other beams were visibly bending under the weight of the horse making for some tense moments for all! After the crane was moved the horse was able to walk off the bridge and over to an area where he could be treated by the veterinarian. Thankfully the horse only suffered some minor cuts and scrapes from the ordeal.
The four photos above were taken by our officers. The top photo shows the horse lying on his side when responders first arrived on scene, with the second photo showing the horse’s hooves tangled up in the ironwork of the bridge’s frame. The third photo shows some of the rigging on the horse. The rescue strap on the hindquarters was lifted by the crane while the rescue strap around the front was used to help guide the horse forward during the lifting. Everyone was too busy to take photos during the actual lifting operation, so the bottom photo shows the horse being led to the veterinarian by one of the La Honda Firefighters. You can also see the crane used to lift the horse in the background of the bottom photo. After a quick debriefing with the Incident Commander all fire and Animal Rescue & Control units were released from the scene at 3:45 p.m.
PHS/SPCA responds to trapped deer
Deer often get themselves into a variety of dangerous situations, especially when they try to go through or over fences. Recently a deer found itself trapped by fences in the patio of an apartment building. The patio area of the building was built into a hillside where the surrounding terrain was much higher then the fences. The deer jumped over the fence, into the patio, and was trapped. A decision was made to tranquilize the deer and to relocate it to a nearby open space.
The deer was successfully struck with a tranquilizer dart fired from a blowgun by one of our Humane Officers. Unlike what is shown on television, tranquilizer drugs do not take effect immediately. This is the main reason that injured deer that are still mobile and not contained, can not be tranquilized. Once the dart is fired and successfully deploys the deer must be able to be followed until the drugs take effect otherwise the deer could end up in an even more dangerous situation.
In the picture to the left you can see the tranquilizer dart (next to white arrow) still sticking in the deer. The picture on the right shows the deer loaded onto a stretcher before being loaded into one of our vehicles for transport to an open space area. Note that some of the fence boards had to be removed to get the deer out of the patio. Special thanks to local resident Shevy Rebollar who captured these photos of our Officers in action!
The deer was relocated and while it was recovering from the drugs one of our Officers waited nearby to make sure the deer recovered successfully. Deer can sometimes die from high stress situations, including being tranquilized. Thankfully this deer was up on its own in a few hours and quickly took off into the open space area.
Helping animals and their owners in San Bruno
On Thursday, September 9th, 2010, at 6:30 p.m., approximately 15 minutes after the initial explosion, the first Animal Rescue & Control unit arrived on the scene of the San Bruno gas pipeline explosion and fire. A short time later, two other units arrived on scene, however, due to the intense fire, there was nothing the Officers could do. In fact, in the first 12 hours of the incident only two dogs were picked up from the scene.
The top photo by Capt. Jeff Christner taken 20 minutes after the explosion shows the intense fire first responders faced. The bottom photo by Humane Officer Bill Brissenden taken the next day shows one of our Animal Rescue & Control vehicles near one of the State’s fire engines in the midst of the devastation following the explosion and fire.
Officers worked day and night at the scene of the disaster until Monday afternoon when residents were finally allowed to return to their homes. During the same time, other Officers and PHS/SPCA volunteers manned the PHS/SPCA table at the local assistance center to collect information from worried pet owners about their lost or missing animals. To coordinate our response, other Officers set up a Department Operations Center at PHS/SPCA. Special thanks to San Francisco Animal Care & Control who responded to our mutual aid request by sending two of their units to assist with the transportation of animals from the scene of the disaster to PHS/SPCA on Friday, which turned out to be the busiest day for our department during this disaster.
Over the course of the disaster nearly 40 animals were sheltered in place at their homes at the request of their owners and were checked on by our Officers twice a day, to provide food and water for them during the time residents were not allowed into the area. An additional 28 animals were removed from their residences and brought to PHS/SPCA at the request of their owners. Of those 28 animals, 18 were immediately returned to their owners, many of whom were waiting at PHS/SPCA for our Animal Rescue & Control vehicles to arrive with their pets on board. Our Officers got to witness and be part of many happy reunions between animals and their owners, both at the shelter, and on scene, where our Officers often removed animals from residences and returned them to their owners waiting on the other side of the fire/police line.
There were no reports of any injured animals during the time our Officers were on scene, and the only report of animals that were known to have perished in the fire were some fish kept in an outside pond. Sadly, there were many animals who were reported as missing, and their fate, even several weeks after the disaster, was still uncertain.
One Day, Two Rescues…
On March 19th, 2010 at 9:04 a.m. two Humane Officers responded to assist the North County Fire Authority on a dog over the cliff rescue at Mori Point in Pacifica. The dog, a very friendly female golden retriever, was precariously perched on a 1’ wide ledge about 30’ down from the top of the Mori Point. The ledge then dropped down about 80’ to the rocks and surf below. Once a rope rescue system was ready a firefighter was slowly lowered down while the dog’s owner talked to her from on top of the cliff to keep her calm. PHS/SPCA’s Large Animal Rescue 4x4 also carries two different dog harnesses for rope rescues, however, due to the narrow ledge it would be very difficult to put the harness on without further endangering the dog or the firefighter. Instead the firefighter fashioned a makeshift harness out of rope, hooked it into his harness, and grabbed the dog in his arms. By 9:48 a.m. both the firefighter and the dog were safely hauled back to the top of Mori Point where the dog was reunited with her grateful owner.
Later that same day at 3:19 p.m. three Humane Officers arrived on the scene of a Large Animal Rescue call where a cow was stuck in a roadside ditch on Stage Road in San Gregorio. Like the earlier Cliff Rescue two of them responded in PHS/SPCA’s Large Animal Rescue 4x4 while another officer responded in one of our regular Animal Rescue & Control vans. When they arrived on scene they met with units from Cal-Fire, the cow owner’s family, and several neighbors and bystanders. A short time later a unit from the La Honda Fire Department arrived with their newly purchased Large Animal Rescue equipment. When the veterinarian arrived on scene he recommended euthanasia after consulting with the cow’s owner by phone. After some additional discussion it was decided to tranquilize the cow and move it back onto its property using a knuckle boom crane to see it if would recover on its own, however, her condition was guarded at best. The entire operation took about an hour and a half.
As a side note to the Large Animal Rescue call, PHS/SPCA Humane Officers do not have the authority to stop the euthanasia of an animal if that is what the owner chooses to do. Humane Officers can seize animals and obtain veterinary care, including euthanasia, but only in cases of stray animals where an owner is not known or in cases where the animals are neglected or abused by their owner.
PHS/SPCA responds to Large Animal Rescue
On the afternoon of September 10th, 2009, three Humane Officers responded to a report of a downed horse on Bear Gulch Road outside of La Honda. When our officers arrived on scene they were met by firefighters from the La Honda Fire Department and CalFire. Firefighters had already cut a path to the horse which was lying on her side in a ditch and had her legs tangled in old vegetation. According to the owner, the horse was 30 years old and was last seen in the paddock area the night before. With the assistance of one of our officers, firefighters removed the old vegetation that the horse’s legs were tangled in, however, one of her legs had to be pulled out of some thicker vegetation using a long “J” hook device specifically designed for Large Animal Rescues. The 20’ Large Animal Rescue strap was then used to reposition the horse’s body so the veterinarian could administer IV fluids. A short time later, and with some barking and encouragement from the veterinarian’s dog, the horse stood up on her own and was able to walk out.
The three photos above are credited to Captain Cathy Whitney of the La Honda Fire Department. The top photo shows the overall position of the horse when responders arrived. Notice you can’t see her head at all. In the middle photo you can barely see the red halter on the horse’s head which was bent down sideways into the ditch under all the old vegetation. The bottom photo shows one of the La Honda Firefighters (left) holding the lead line while a Humane Officer (right) gets ready with some 2” webbing to reposition one of the horse’s legs. Several of the La Honda Firefighters on scene had recently taken the California State Fire Marshal approved class, Large Animal Rescue – Operational, a class which all three Humane Officers on scene have also taken. Since the Humane Officers and Firefighters had the same training, and since the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA maintains nearly all the necessary equipment for Large Animal Rescues, it made this somewhat difficult rescue almost seem routine.
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