FAQ

The Oakland County Animal Shelter and Pet Adoption Center is located at 1200 N Telegraph Rd Bldg 42E in Pontiac, MI.

The Center is open for adoptions from:

• 10:00am - 5:00pm Mon - Fri

Adopting an animal is as easy as coming to the Oakland County Animal Shelter and Pet Adoption Center and picking one out. There are many friendly and loving animals to choose from. Just complete an Adoption Application, and pay the adoption fees. Make sure to bring your driver's license or state I.D.

Spaying a dog or cat before their first heat cycle virtually eliminates the possibility of the pet getting breast cancer. Neutering will limit the possibility of the pet getting testicular cancer and greatly cut down on prostate problems. Spaying and neutering sterilizes the animal and thus reduces unwanted litters. It also may reduce undesirable behaviors such as spraying, marking, straying, aggression towards other animals and mating behaviors.

The available dog vaccinations are:

• DHLPP (distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parainfluenza and parvo virus)
• Corona
• Canine Lyme Disease
• Bordetella

Rabies For Puppies:

• 7-8 weeks old: DHLPP
• 11-12 weeks old: DHLPP, Corona, Canine Lyme Disease
• 15-16 weeks old: DHLPP, Corona, Canine Lyme Disease, Rabies
• 19-20 weeks old: DHLPP
• 1 year old and yearly thereafter: DHLPP, Corona, Canine Lyme Disease
• Get a yearly or 3 year Rabies Vaccination thereafter
• Give a Bordetella vaccination if the dog is going to be boarded in a boarding kennel during your vacation. Remember to have your pet wormed every time it gets vaccinated, especially when it is a puppy

The available cat vaccinations are:

• FVRCP (Feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, panleukopenia)
• FIP (Feline infectious peritonitis)
• Felv (Feline Leukemia)

Rabies As Kittens:

• 7-8 weeks old: FVRCP #1
• 11-12 weeks old: FVRCP #2, FIP #1, Felv #1
• 15-16 weeks old: FVRCP #3, FIP #2, Felv #2, Rabies
• 1 year old and once yearly afterwards: FVRCP, FIP, Felv
• 1 year old and every 3 years afterwards: Rabies Remember to have your vet worm you cat when you get the vaccinations; this is especially important in kittens.

After searching your own neighborhood, stop by your local animal shelter to view the strays at the shelter and check through found reports. The shelter does not take lost reports, so visit frequently. You should at least try and stop in every couple of days to make sure the animal has not been brought in. Descriptions of the same animal can vary from one person to the next, so don't rely on a phone call to identify your pet. Remember, the more effort you make, the greater the chance of finding your pet.

The most important thing to do is to prevent your pet from becoming lost. Keep your cats indoors at all times with safety collar and ID tags, and keep dogs on a leash when not inside the home, also properly identified. Tattooing and microchips are also available to help ensure your pets safe return home.

Call the Oakland County Animal Shelter and Pet Adoption Center immediately. If you wish to keep the pet for a few days to see if the owner turns up, you will be prompted to leave a found report at the Center. Otherwise, you can bring the pet to the center or request that the pet be picked up.

If the Oakland County Animal Shelter and Pet Adoption Center finds a pet with a collar and identification, we make every effort (telephone, mail) to contact the owner and tell them that their pet is at our shelter. The less time your pet spends at the shelter, the less it will cost you to redeem it and the quicker you will have your pet back.

Visit the Fees page or the Dog License page for more information.

• Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water.
• Seek medical attention.
• Explain to the physician that you were bitten or scratched by an animal.
• Report all incidents to your local animal control agency.
• If you are unsure of who to contact, please call our office. If the bite or scratch happens after hours, contact your local police department.

Lyme disease is transmitted by ticks and causes inflamed joints, fever and systemic illness. It can be costly and difficult to treat. There is a vaccination for dogs that will prevent this disease and we recommend any pet owner who takes their pet out of the county ask their vet about the vaccination. Using flea powders/sprays or the spot-on Frontline will help kill the ticks.

Heartworm is a parasitic disease of dogs and cats that causes heart failure. The mature worm lives in the chambers of the heart and the larvae are in the blood. Mosquitoes transmit the disease. There is a blood test that your veterinarian can do to see if your pet has heartworm and medicine that the vet can prescribe to prevent your pet from getting heartworm. If your pet travels outside the country, it is a good idea to see your vet and get on preventative medication. Treatment for heartworm disease is costly and can be harmful to the pet, so prevention is a better alternative.

Spray the yard, spray and flea-bomb the house, flea bathe the cat or dog and then use either powders/sprays or one of the new spot-on products (Advantage or Frontline). The powders/sprays need daily application, while the spot-on products are applied monthly. It may take a few months to see good results.

Once an animal is admitted into the shelter, the veterinary staff must evaluate it for injuries or other abnormal medical conditions. Like any emergency room, our veterinary staff must attend to the most serious cases first. This means that some animals may wait up to 24-36 hours before being evaluated.

After a completed evaluation, the animal is sent to the groomers. Our shelter is fortunate to partner with a local groomer who performs these services for our animals.

Our shelter animals are categorized as stray or adoptable.

Adoptable animals have completed their stray hold, been vet checked and are available for adoption. Their cage cards will be green, which means that they can be taken out for walks (dogs) or socialized with.

Stray animals have not completed their stray hold or been vet checked. Their cage cards will be red, which means that they cannot be removed from their cages. This is for your protection as well as the animal's safety.

Our priority is to adopt out as many pets as we can into a permanent, loving home. There are, however, certain health and behavioral issues that may arise which require euthanizing an animal that include but are not limited to:

• The animal is too ill to be adopted and cannot be cured with the means available to our veterinary staff
• The animal is too aggressive and cannot be tamed enough to become a household pet
• The animal exhibits behavior that makes adoption unlikely

Because public shelters house many animals from a variety of circumstances, a pet which is healthy and well-behaved at intake may later become unadoptable because of a change in health or behavior.

The delicate and difficult decision to euthanize is made by veterinary staff. Shelter employees who intake animals cannot speculate on the outcome of surrendering a pet.

We value every life here. If your pet is ill, aggressive or has behavior issues that are unacceptable to you, then we recommend that you seek other methods of placing your pet that you no longer wish to keep.