Animal Welfare
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The Idaho Humane Society’s Animal Care and Control Division is on duty from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. To reach our dispatcher, call 208-343-3166. Calls are answered until 6 pm.
For after-hours emergencies or major holidays, call the Ada County Sheriff’s Dispatch Center at 208-377-6790, and a Humane Officer may be dispatched to respond.
Due to the high volume of calls we receive, you may have to leave a voicemail with a telephone number where you can be reached. The dispatcher will call you back as quickly as possible. If you are requesting that a Humane Officer be dispatched to a location, you must provide a street address. The various city municipalities require that a first and last name must accompany each report and thus, no reports can be made anonymously (to our Officers), however in many cases, the name will remain in our database and will not be made accessible to the public.
How Animal Care and Control works in the following situations:
Barking Dog First Complaint
Barking Dog First Complaint (within one year): We will ask for your name to include in our database. We will issue a Barking Dog letter and will not divulge who notified us of the barking dog complaint.
CITY OF BOISE Code: Proof Of Excessive Noise Nuisances: The owner or custodian of an animal may be charged with excessive animal noise nuisance when:
- A Humane Officer receives signed complaints alleging an animal noise nuisance, from at least two (2) unrelated adult witnesses residing in different residences;
- A Humane Officer receives a signed complaint alleging an animal noise nuisance from one adult witness who has a video or audio recording of the alleged violation;
- A Humane Officer receives a signed complaint alleging an animal noise nuisance from one adult witness and a Humane Officer has witnessed the alleged presence of the nuisance. The Humane Officer shall not be required to personally witness an alleged violation for a thirty (30) or sixty (60) minute period; or
- A Humane Officer personally witnesses the violation and signs a complaint alleging an animal noise nuisance.
Barking Dog Second Complaint
Barking Dog Second Complaint (within one year): In order to notify the party regarding a secondary barking dog complaint, we would require that the complainant allow the owner at least 2 weeks to comply with the Barking Dog letter. If the barking continues we will send a Humane Officer to issue a warning in person.
Barking Dog Third Complaint
Barking Dog Third Complaint (within one year): We would serve a “Complaint Summons” which would require your name and signature along with audio/video evidence provided by you.
Animal in a Hot Car Complaint
Animal in a Hot Car Complaint: We will ask for your name to include in our database. We will dispatch a Humane Officer and if we discover a dog or other animal locked in a hot car, we will not divulge your information to the offender.
If you, the reporting party, are still on-site when we arrive, you may choose to file a complaint against the owner. Otherwise, citations are issued at the discretion of the officer.
Animal Welfare Concerns:
Our Process
We will ask for your name to include in our database. We will send a Humane Officer to check the conditions at the location provided.
- If we verify the information you provided, and it meets the criteria to warrant a citation, we will issue the citation and if necessary, seize the animal(s) and place them into protective custody; we will not divulge who notified us of the complaint.
- In less severe cases, at the Officer’s discretion, a warning may be issued followed by a return visit to assess compliance with our instructions to improve the situation.
- A valid telephone number will assist us if we need to clarify information to assist with the investigation.
- Please keep in mind, that if the investigation requires a search warrant, one cannot be obtained upon anonymous information. Again, we do not divulge who gave us the information to the other party, but later a defense attorney will be given that information as a matter of law.
- In the event that a case goes to court, the defendant’s attorney may request the reporting party’s name. We may be compelled by the court system to divulge the complainant’s names.
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