The Waterford East Lyme Animal Control is a full service animal shelter serving the towns of Waterford and East Lyme Connecticut.

~~~~~~~Important Information~~~~~~~
Welcome to the Waterford East Lyme Animal Control.

Location, Hours of Operation.
our hours are weekdays between 9 and 4 I CANNOT make appointments because i often get called out on the road to handle calls, I have to handle every animal call for 79 square miles of territory and I am the only ACO handling the workload. If i am not at the shelter, call the WPD routine number 860-442-9451 and they can let you know my ETA back to the shelter.

Impounded animals.
All animals impounded at the shelter must by law be advertised in the paper and held for 8 days, giving the owners the opportunity to claim their animal, in that time period, we are observing the animals behavior and evaluating its adoption potential. Sadly due to liability issues, animals showing aggression for any reason WILL NOT be considered candidates for adoption. For the animals that are adoptable, interested parties should come to the animal shelter in person and meet the animal and the ACO, complete an adoption application that will be used to help us determine the best candidate for adopting the animal. NO ONE will be considered for an adoption candidate if you do not come to the shelter to meet me and the animal. most animal adoption fees are $50.00, and include a voucher from the State of Connecticut good for money off getting the animal fixed plus 2 free vaccinations. however, some animals are available for whatever you would like to make as a donation to the animal shelter.

Wildlife.
Wildlife concerns in the State are handled primarily by the State DEEP, they can be reached at 860-424-3011. the ONLY time i would become involved would be the suspicion of rabies, then as a public service an officer or myself will respond to evaluate the animals behavior and symptoms, and if necessary, shoot and remove the animal. Any animal displaying aggression to humans or that appears "drunk" should be reported. Rabies affects the brain like alcohol, so any animal that is staggering, falling over, extremely wobbly such as a highly intoxicated person, should be reported. wild animals that are attacked and killed by domestic dogs should be reported and tested at the State Rabies Lab. Please do not claim you think the animal is rabid just to get a response, because if the animal is not showing signs or symptoms of rabies, the animal will not be removed, I cannot come remove foxes, coyotes, fisher cats, bobcats or other predators just because you don't want them around. these predators have and will continue to kill and eat cats, chickens and dogs in this area, this is part of the circle of life and not something i can address. Please keep your cats indoors and go outside with your dogs, keep them close especially at dusk, dawn and night time. Skunks, although smelly, are another animal i cannot evict from your property unless they are displaying symptoms of rabies. you can contact a nuisance wildlife control company, they are in the phone book under pest control. if you see any animal that is injured, please contact the routine number and we will make an effort to assist the animal, some can be captured and taken to wildlife rehab facilities, others need to be humanely euthanized to ease their suffering, still others may be left alone for nature to take its course. Mange is another disease that affects some animals in this area, Mange is a skin parasite that makes the animals look very unhealthy, with their fur falling out as they scratch and itch. this may cause a nocturnal animal to be out in the daylight because they are not hunting as well as they would and they are looking for food. Mange is not a symptom of rabies and i cannot come out and trap or shoot animals showing symptoms of mange. again your concerns for these animals could possibly be addressed by DEEP or a nuisance wildlife control company.

Cats.
Sadly in the state of Connecticut, cats are not regulated like dogs are, there are no laws or statutes that allow me to collect "stray cats" off the street, and being a branch of the government i cant do much without a law that gives me the authority, There are numerous stray cat rescue groups run by private citizens, however, many of them are already full with other stray cats, another recourse for stray cats would be the Connecticut Humane Society on Old Colchester road in Quaker Hill, however, many cats travel for miles from where they live so it is possible that the cat you think is a stray may in fact belong to a neighbor three streets away.

Donations.
all monetary donations made to the animal shelter are tax deductible by law as we are a not for profit entity. checks should be made payable to the Town of Waterford and sent to Animal Control 41 Avery Lane Waterford Connecticut 06385. I will make sure the money is deposited into a dedicated account that can only be used by the animal shelter.

Amazon wish list.
an ongoing list of items needed by the animal shelter that you could purchase and have delivered for us! thanks for all your help, the animal shelter operates almost exclusively on donations. i cant seem to make the link work but go to Amazon.com and search for wish list of Waterford-East Lyme Animal Control
thanks!!