About Us

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control (ACC) is the municipal shelter serving all of Mecklenburg County. We operate under the General Services Department of the City of Charlotte, proudly supporting both the people and pets of our community.

Vision

A connected, compassionate community where people and pets thrive together in safety and health.

Mission

To protect animals, support responsible pet ownership, and deliver innovative, exceptional service every day.

We are a multi-faceted agency dedicated to providing the citizens of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County with animal care services. We are an organization that values community partnerships and working jointly to build a better world for animals and the people who own them. 

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control is a division of the City of Charlotte General Services Department. It is recognized and emulated nationally as a leading model within the animal welfare community and takes pride in initiating and implementing progressive programs and practices. ACC consists of five core operational units that work together to meet the needs of our community: Field Operations, Shelter Operations, Medical Services, Business Services, Communications & Outreach.

ACC provides critical regulatory services that support public health and safety, while also leading programs focused on education, pet retention, animal care, adoption, medical support, and intake mitigation.

We are committed to helping keep pets and people safe, healthy, and together.

ACC is proud to be recognized as a Tier 1 shelter under the national Human Animal Support Services (HASS) model, reflecting our dedication to progressive, community-centered animal welfare.

The main facility is more than 45,000 square feet. Included in the main facility are approximately 165 dog runs and 220 stainless steel cages. The building also provides an area for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Services Clinic operated by Animal Care & Control staff members.

Want to become a member of the team? Check out the Human Resources site to find the application, and instructions to apply. See the current job listings to see what is currently open.

We also have various positions filled by temp agencies: Goodworks and Allegiance

Animal Services Officer:

There are 39 allocations for Animal Services Officer positions and operates on a 20/7 schedule. Our Staff currently serves an ever increasing and diverse population of over 900,000 citizens. Some of the situations that our officers respond to include:

• Barking complaints

• Nuisance complaints

• Dangerous animals

• Injured animals

• Abuse of animals

• Restraint of animal complaints

• Animal bite investigations

• Disaster response (CART, SART, UASI)

• Livestock containment via specialized unit referred to as the Large Animal Response Team (L.A.R.T.) and Herding Dog Officer

• Extracting animals from contaminated environments via ACC  Haz Mat Unit

• responding to calls for service to enforce local and state animal laws 

• preparing investigative reports including bites and issuance of citations

• preparing case files for written orders, dangerous dog declarations, nuisance declarations, and testifies in court as necessary.  

• serve as members on specialized units such as the Large Animal Response Team

• (L.A.R. T.), and the ACB Haz Mat Unit for response in extracting animals from contaminated environments.  

• Officers’ conduct in depth investigations regarding animal cruelty to include dog and cock fighting involving felony prosecution.  

• Officers participate in community neighborhood association meetings and community outreach programs to include humane education and various other customized instructional programs.     

Customer Service Representative:

Front line staff are positioned in the main lobby of the Animal Services Center and assist citizens when they come to the shelter for a variety of reasons:

Animal Health Technician:

Animal Care Tech’s perform health checks, give medicine, be able to help injured animals, and be able to handle euthanasia on daily basis.

Administration:

Staff must handle daily data entry, citizen/owner assistance, and filing paperwork.

Public Information Specialist:

This specialized staff member must handle the media, marketing and creating adoption specials and adoptable animals, as well as creating and coordinating events.

Information Technology:

This specialized staff member must be able to work on computers, and create reports within the local Chameleon database system.

Animal Care Technician:

The attendant’s clean cages, feed animals 2 times a day, process stray animals upon entry, clean/wash bowls and do laundry on a daily basis.

Other jobs within Animal Services:

• Division manager

• Shelter Manager

• Animal Trainer

• Veterinarian

• Variable amount of positions created by two temp agencies

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control is equipped with 2 Emergency Response Trailers.  The first trailer was purchased and equipped in the Fall of 2009, thanks to a grant from the Department of Homeland Security.  This trailer is part of the Urban Area Security Initiative.  Charlotte Fire Department played a large role in helping make this possible.

The UASI Program provides funding to address the unique planning, organization, equipment, training, and exercise needs of high-threat, high-density urban areas, and assists them in building an enhanced and sustainable capacity to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism.  Per the 9/11 Act, states are required to ensure that at least 25 percent (25%) of UASI appropriated funds are dedicated towards law enforcement terrorism prevention activities.

A second trailer was purchased to hold additional equipment and was added to the fleet in the Spring of 2011.  The trailers are fully equipped to be able to set up a mobile animal shelter which could house 100 animals.  The trailers are self-sustained with generators to power ac/heat and lights.  They also provide pop-up cots for sleeping quarters for the emergency response team.  One of the trailers can also serve as an exam room if the situation would arise where animals needed to be examined for injuries.  The trailers are also equipped with necessary veterinary medical supplies, kennel cleaning supplies.  There is a laptop system that has the ability to connect to our animal database software so we can set up a remote database to keep electronic inventory, medical records, identification photos of animals, and most importantly the ability to post to a website any lost animals.  There is also an emergency response team of Animal Care & Control staff that is trained and ready to deploy with the trailers if the need arises.

100 percent of the grant money has been spent for this project.

Animal Care & Control has a large Emergency Response Team. Members consists of front counter, vet tech, kennel attendant and officer staff. Pictured above is a little less than half of the members of the Emergency Response Team. They are trained and certified in sheltering and field rescue.

First, have you tried every other option for finding your pet a new home like friends, family, co-workers, etc.? Have you contacted local Rescue Groups? Leave us as your final resort to surrendering. If you've tried these options and really need to surrender your pet head over to the Owner Surrenders page for details on what you need to do before surrendering your pet to us.

Second, never leave your pets abandoned at any animal business. Pet owners always feel that if they leave their pets at these locations they will be brought in and found a new home. These businesses cannot do this legally. When an animal is left at any of these locations they are required, by law, to have an ACC Officer respond to their address and pick up that animal as a stray/abandoned. We will then hold on to them for 72 hours which is a great disservice to your pet.

If you've tried everything to rehome your pet, then please bring them to the shelter. We might be able to find them a new home within 24 hours rather than having them wait for 3 days in our stray kennels.

Although food is not required to be left out 24/7, water and shelter are required at all times that the dog is outside. If a dog is not tethered properly according to the law, or a dog is seen without water and shelter, you can call 311 or 704-336-7600 and give the city representatives the address of where the dog is located. An officer will respond to investigate.

Also, dogs that are confined in kennels are not required to be walked on a regular basis. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg ordinance only requires the basic necessities for a dog in a kennel: water and proper shelter.

You can call 311 or 704-336-7600 to report this but understand that officers cannot go into the home unless the owner has been legally evicted.

If an animal has been left inside a home and there's no evidence of abandonment (ex: water shut off, no electricity, mail piled in the box, etc.) then officers are required to leave a 24 hour letter for the owner to contact them. If no contact is made, then the officer can legally remove the animal from the residence.

If an owner has been legally evicted the sheriff or apartment manager will contact us, provide proof of eviction, and let the officer into the home to pick up the animal.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control Officers respond to calls throughout Mecklenburg County, Mint Hill and the City of Charlotte. ACC has inter-local agreements with the towns of Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, Matthews, and Pineville. CMAS provides services to these towns at the request of their individual police departments. ACC uses a priority system to determine their field responses.

• Priority 6: Emergency situation and officer should respond within 30 minutes. Can include the following calls:
• • Life threatening injuries (animals hit by cars), an animal that is severely wounded or dying, an animal in severe distress (ex: locked in a hot car), rabies exposure (ex: bat in a house), animal aggression or attack in progress, assisting other agencies (fire, medic, CMPD, or sheriff), farm animals in the road (horses or cows), animal fighting in progress, and stray animal running around at a school or daycare.
• Priority 7: Officer should respond within 4 hours.
  Can include the following calls:
  • Confined wild animal (a squirrel in a home), confined stray companion animal, animal in a trap, animal safety concern or dog fighting concern, farm animals running loose, animal evictions or abandonments, animal cruelty, animal bites, stray dog running loose, and animal aggression or attack reports only.
• Priority 8: Officer should respond within 8-10 hours.
  Can include the following calls:
  • Barking/noise, defecation, feline nuisance, and odor.

NOTE: If you run in to any of the above situations, DO NOT contact ACC through social media or email as these sites are not consistently monitored to respond in a timely manner. You MUST make a call for service by calling 311 or 704-336-7600, in life or death emergencies, 911. This is how we track our calls and respond in a timely manner.

If you've found an injured animal, call 311 or 704-336-7600 right away to have an officer come out to pick it up. Do NOT try to help the animal yourself as you are risking being bit and exposing yourself to the rabies virus and other diseases. Do NOT try to contact ACC through social media or email as these sites are not consistently monitored to respond in a timely manner.

NO! Unless that dog is in extreme distress (unable to lift their head, panting, foaming at the mouth, etc.) you cannot break the window on your own. You MUST call 311 or 911 for an officer to respond. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officers have the ability and legal right to break into the car to get to that dog. If you break the window, you could be sued by the owner, regardless of the circumstances.

No. Officers are not authorized to enter crawl spaces, attics, or go under sheds unless there is an immediate threat or an animal that is in extreme danger. ACC Officers also do not climb trees to rescue cats.

If a cat is in a tree, place food at the base of the tree and wait at least 24 hours before taking the next step. The fire department might respond to get the cat out of the tree after 24 hours so contact your local fire department to see if they can help.

If there is an animal in a crawl space, attic or under a shed, you can set a trap to capture them. If it is a wild animal in either of these locations be sure to have a permit. You can find out more at NC Wildlife.

Generally speaking, animals that are roaming around in storm drains found their way in and will be able to find their way out. However, certain animals in storm drains may not be able to get back out (such as kittens or baby ducks). There are also injured animals that might be found in that storm drain. If there is an animal that is too young, sick, or injured to find its way out on its own, you can call 311 or 704-336-7600 for an officer to respond. Otherwise, please wait 24 hours before calling.

Go to the 311 page to get the new operating schedule.

If it is in the case of an emergency you CAN call 911. Examples: animal severely injured, near death, hit by car, aggression, etc.

If it is in a case where you see a concern that is NOT an emergency, STILL CALL 311 and it will direct you to the Non-Emergency Police Services, a live person will answer, and they will create a call for service. Examples: leash law, stray animals, no shelter/water, etc.

If there is a concern that is not an issue that needs immediate attention try to wait and call during 311 operating hours. Examples: check on rabies/license, nuisance complaints such as odors/feral cats/owners not picking up feces, etc.