Lawrence Humane’s Animal Services team is responsible for animal services-related concerns in unincorporated Douglas County, Kansas. These responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Animal bite investigations and confinement protocol
• Nuisance animal complaints (noise, odor, property damage, etc.)
• Animals at-large, threatening public safety
• Neglect or cruelty concerns (lack of food, water, shelter, or abuse)
• Dangerous or Vicious Dog investigations
• Pet resource distribution to achieve compliance

Our mission is to achieve a safe, humane county for people and animals. We have a compliance-based philosophy that follows national standards of enforcement set forth by the National Animal Care & Control Association (NACA) and other animal control/field services experts. 

Lawrence Humane Society’s Animal Services team serves unincorporated Douglas County, Kansas.
If you live inside the city limits of Lawrence, Eudora, or Baldwin City, please contact your city’s animal control department for assistance.

To learn about the Douglas County, Kansas, animal ordinances, please refer to Chapter 2: Animal Control in the official County Code.  

You can report:

• Stray or loose animals
• Animal bites or attacks
• Aggressive or dangerous animals
• Neglect or cruelty concerns (lack of food, water, shelter, or abuse)
• Nuisance complaints (excessive barking, roaming animals)
• Livestock and/or wildlife issues in the county

You can submit an Animal Services Complaint Form online or call us at 785-371-0499.

For emergencies (where people or animals are in immediate danger), call 911.

Our Animal Services team reviews each report, prioritizes urgent issues, and investigates when needed. We may contact you for more information or provide education and resources to resolve the issue.

Stray animals are brought to Lawrence Humane where they are scanned for a microchip, held for their legal stray hold period, and cared for until they are reclaimed or made available for adoption.

We encourage pet owners to reclaim pets as quickly as possible to reduce stress on the animal. If your pet is impounded, you will need:

• Photo ID
• Proof of rabies vaccination (or we can vaccinate onsite)
• Payment of applicable impound and boarding fees

Our Animal Services Officers respond to calls 7 days a week during daytime hours, with after-hours on-call response for emergencies.

Lawrence Humane’s Pet Resource Center is is open for stray intake and reclaims:

• Monday – Friday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM

• Saturday – Sunday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM

The majority of lost or stray animals have families who love them and are typically found less than one mile from their homes. To keep pet families together, it is best to try to locate a lost pet’s family prior to bringing the animal to the shelter. On average, only 3-4% of the stray cats and only 15-20% of the stray dogs brought to the shelter are returned to their owners.

If you find a lost pet, be sure to follow these steps:

1. Check for ID: Some pets have a collar with the phone number stitched in, or a tag with a number that you can call to locate the pet parent.
2. Alert your neighbors: Take a photo and share it with your neighbors by using the methods your community utilizes most to communicate. This could include Nextdoor, a Facebook group, or a neighborhood email list. Be sure to include where the animal was found and how to get in contact with you. Be descriptive, include as much detail as possible, and be sure to include where the animal was found and how to get in contact with you. It is important that you know the cross streets and/or the address where the pet was found.
3. Take a walk: If possible, take a walk around the neighborhood to see if anyone might recognize the animal and know who they belong to.
4. Check for a microchip: Bring the pet to the nearest veterinarian clinic or shelter to get a free microchip scan. If the pet has a microchip, alert the microchip company that the animal has been found.
5. Bringing the animal indoors to safety: Bringing a new animal into your home can pose risks to you and/or your household. As a precaution, please keep all pets separate and wash your hands frequently when handling the found animal. Disease and illness can spread quickly.
6. Start searching local lost & found pet alert sites: The owner may have posted their pet as missing, so be sure to check websites such as Petco Love Lost, Pawboost and social media groups.

If you are unable to locate an owner or unable to continue caring for the found animal, please contact your local shelter to discuss services. It’s important that the animal is taken to the shelter in the city it was found in to give them the best opportunity to reunite with their owner.