Strayed Pets

What to Do When You Find a Homeless Pet

When you find a stray or homeless animal, please phone 637-2123, the Vernon County Sheriff's Department.

The Vernon County Humane Society (VCHS) does not provide animal control services; these services are provided by the police or sheriff's authority that serves your area.

In order to provide animal control services, state law requires that towns, villages and cities make arrangements to house and care for impounded animals, usually by contracting with an Animal Care Provider. Currently, the following have chosen to contract with the Vernon County Humane Society Animal Shelter as their Animal Care Provider:

VCHS accepts dogs from all of the areas listed above; we also accept cats from the Villages of Coon Valley and Stoddard and Cities of Viroqua and Westby. Please note that, unfortunately, VCHS does not have facilities for feral (wild) cats.

Jurisdictions not listed above may have chosen to use other providers, such as local veterinary clinics. If your town, village or city isn't included on this list, please contact your local officials to determine if animal control services are provided, and who is responsible for caring for animals impounded from your jurisdiction. Sadly, some jurisdictions in Vernon County have not contracted with any provider to receive stray or homeless pets; in those areas, animal control services are typically unavailable.

We hope that all jurisdictions will contract with VCHS or an alternate service provider in the near future. You can help. Contact your elected officials and encourage them to provide responsible care for stray and lost animals in your area.

© 2006 The Vernon County Humane Society, Viroqua, Wisconsin; All Rights Reserved.