Macon County Animal Services
(828) 349-2106

Our mission is to protect the health and safety of our residents, and to protect animals and promote their humane treatment. We will make every effort to promote pet adoptions of healthy, nonaggressive animals by the general public and promote responsible pet ownership. To reduce the number of homeless pets, we will ensure that all dogs and cats are spayed or neutered prior to adoption and current of their immunizations.

Although we open for business at 8am, Animal Control Officers are at work at 8am every day taking care of the animals first thing in the morning, cleaning and feeding. Animal Control Officers also come in on Saturdays and Sundays to take care of the animals, but we are not open to the public.

An Animal Control Officer is on-call afterhours to handle emergency animal related issues, and animal bite cases year round. Animal Control Officers will respond to reported animal related complaint involving animal within the County as soon as practically possible. Animal Control Officers can be reached afterhours and on weekends for animal related emergencies and bite cases by calling 911.

Our major duties consist of:

• Responding to calls about dangerous animals.
• Documenting animal bites and overseeing the performance of rabies protocol in coordination with Macon County Public Health.
• Investigating reports of animal cruelty and neglect.
• Picking up sick or injured animals.
• Picking up stray animals.
• Investigating complaints about animal nuisance violations.
• Providing adoption and animal re-unification services.

Adoption and Re-unification Services

To find out what animals are available for adoption, please call 828-349-2106 or come by Animal Services at 1377 Lakeside Drive in Franklin. Adoption fee for dogs, cats, puppies and kittens are $65 and includes any current vaccinations that the animal is needing to include rabies if the animal is old enough to receive, spay or neuter, de-worming and microchipping.

You may also follow us on Facebook at Macon County Animal Services where animals available for adoption, stray animal found in the hope of reuniting them with their owners, happy animal adoptions and return to owner stories will be posted.

North Carolina General Statute 130A-196 requires that when a person has been bitten by an animal, the person or parent, guardian or person standing in loco parentis of the person bitten and the person owning the animal or in control or possession of the animal shall notify the local health director immediately.

In Macon County such notification is done by contacting Emergency Services by calling 911. Emergency Management will notify Animal Control immediately of the incident. An Animal Control Officer will take a report of the incident from the victim of the bite and the owner of the animal.

Should you be bitten by any animal, provide Animal Control with all pertinent information such as the owner's name, address, phone number and description of the animal. If ownership cannot be confirmed, provide the last known location of the animal and the Animal Control Officer will attempt to locate the animal in that area. NOTE: bats, skunks and raccoons are the most common carriers of Rabies in North Carolina.

This law further requires that all dogs, cats, ferrets that bite a person shall be immediately confined for 10 days in a place designated by the local health director, regardless of the status of rabies vaccination. The vast majority of the time bite quarantines can be performed in the owner's home. Quarantines are done purely to safeguard the health of the victim(s), whether the animal was current on its rabies vaccination or not.

Should your animal bite someone, be responsible. Assist the victim with the wound and provide them with your name, address, phone number, and information regarding vaccination of your animal against rabies. You are also required by law to contact Animal Control. Call Macon County Animal Services at (828) 349-2106 directly or by calling 911.