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Responsible Pet Ownership
How to be a responsible pet owner


Environmental services
Services | Responsible pet ownership | Adopting a pet | Lost pet


In the
United States...
2,000 pets an hour are
"put to sleep."
Please...
Help stop unnecessary deaths.
Be a responsible pet owner.

1. Select the right pet.

  • Selecting the right pet is the first and most important step.
  • The "wrong" pet makes for an unhappy owner.
  • Consider your lifestyle: do you have the time and energy to give your pet enough attention and exercise?

2. Spay and neuter your pet.

It's the right thing to do! Why? Pick a reason:
Spaying and neutering...

  • prevents unwanted pets;
  • prevents problems for you;
  • prevents cancer and other diseases;
  • makes pets calmer, more content;
  • reduces spotting or spraying problems, and
  • discourages roaming and fighting.

True or false?
A neutered pet
will get fat!
False! Diet and exercise determine this, not the animal's reproductive status.
Animals "need"
to reproduce!
False! This is a myth. Pets don't "need" to reproduce, not even "just one litter."


3. Use proper identification.

  • The rabies identification tag is your pet's "free phone call home!"
  • The law requires that pets wear rabies tags.
  • The most common reason pets are not found:
    - no identification!
  • A frequent excuse for missing tags - "we just gave our pet a bath..."

What you - and only you - can do for your pet...

  • Provide proper training.
  • Confine dogs to your home or in a fenced yard.
  • Keep cats indoors.
Average life spans for cats:
OUTDOOR cat... 3 years
INDOOR cat... 12 to 15 years



4. Proper control, vaccination and care
   - the humane thing to do.

For Saint Louis County information on...
  • Finding a lost pet,
  • Adopting a pet,
  • Training a pet,
  • Financial aid for spaying and neutering, or
  • What to do if you can no longer keep a pet...

Please call us at 726-6655...
Or visit our animal control services page.

To adopt a pet...


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