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1. What can I do if I lost my pet?

When your pet strays from home, it can be a traumatic experience for both you and your pet. The Humane Society of the United States offers these tips to help you should your pet become lost. * Contact local animal shelters and animal control agencies. * File a lost pet report with every shelter within a sixty mile radius of your home. * If there is no shelter in your community, contact the local police department. * Provide these agencies with an accurate description and recent photograph of your pet. * Notify the police if you believe that your pet may have been stolen.* Search the neighborhood. * Walk or drive through your neighborhood several times each day. (Early morning and evening are best times to look for lost pets.) * Ask neighbors, letter carriers and delivery people if they have seen your pet. * Advertise. Post signs at grocery stores, community centers, veterinary offices, traffic intersections and other locations and place advertisements in newspapers and with radio stations. * Leave items with a familiar scent outside your home. A litter box, pet bed, or a sweatshirt recently worn by a loved one can attract a pet who has strayed and become disoriented. * Be wary of pet recovery scams. When describing your pet, leave out one identifying characteristic. When talking about your pet to strangers, offer no information, ask many questions, and carefully answer questions posed to you. Be wary of people who insist that you wire them money in order for them to return your pet. * Don't give up your search even when you have little hope left. Animals who have been lost for months have been reunited with their owners. * A pet (even an indoor pet) has a better chance of being returned if he/she always wears a collar and an ID tag with current information. Ask your local animal shelter and veterinarian if permanent methods of identification (such as tattoos and microchips) are available in your area. Be sure to report your missing pet to Animal Control at (361) 777-4444.

2. Do I have to register a pet in Portland?

Both dogs and cats are the required to be registered in Portland. Veterinarians in Portland can issue a city tag at the same time the required Rabies vaccination tag is issued. You can also register a dog or cat at the Portland Police Department, 1902 Billy G. Webb Dr. (361) 777-4444 by presenting current Rabies vaccination records. Whether your veterinarian issues the city tag, or you obtain it directly from the City, the cost for registering your pet is $5.00 per year.

3. What do I do about a stray animal on my property?

Call for Animal Control services at (361) 777-4444.

4. How can I avoid dog attacks?

Never go into someone else's yard to pet a dog. * Never try to pat a dog that is chained up. * Don't reach through a car window to pat a dog. Even if the dog is one that you know and who likes you, he may not recognize you. The Safe Way to Meet a Strange Dog: 1) Stand quietly with your arms at your sides. 2) Do not shout at the dog. 3) Do not wave your arms, grab at the dog or run away. 4) If a dog looks frightened or angry, leave it alone. 5) Do not look straight into the dog's eyes. Questions and Answers about unfriendly dogs: Q: What do I do if I am approached by an unfriendly dog? A: Do not run, scream or talk. Just stand still and be quiet. Don't look directly at the dog, even if he comes up to sniff you. You can look at his tail or his foot, but don't look into his eyes. In dog language, that is a threat. Remember, quiet, still, no staring. Most likely the dog will lose interest once he looks you over. Then you can slowly move away. Q: How do I approach a dog? A: Walk up to the dog from the side, not the back or directly in front. Hold out your knuckle and let him sniff your hand, this method keeps your fingers protected. That's how dogs tell who you are by sniffing. Pat him under his chin or on the side. Never pat a dog by coming down over the top of his head or the back of his neck because it is threatening. Practice by patting your pet dog correctly. Q: What do I do if I fall down? A: Remember, quiet, still, no staring. If you are down and the dogs seems to want to bite you, slowly curl into a ball and fold your hands behind your neck.

5. My pet was bitten by another animal, what should I do?

If your pet is bitten by a wild animal: * Take your pet to a veterinarian immediately. * If the attacker is at high risk for rabies, such as a raccoon, skunk, fox, or bat, handle your pet with gloves and wash any area which may have saliva from the attacker on it. Because an attack can last seconds or more, saliva from the attacker can be deposited all over you pet. * Keep children away from the pet. * These instructions apply whether or not your pet is vaccinated. * To prevent your pet from being bitten by another animal, keep pets under control at all times and in the house at night. * You can prevent children from being bitten by: keeping them away from dogs or cats that are eating anything; keeping them away from any strange animals; keeping them away from sick or injured animals; not allowing them to take a toy or ball away from an animal that is playing with it. * By law, animal bites to humans and pets must be reported to the animal control authority at (361) 777-4444.

6. What animals spread rabies?

The rabies virus can infect any animal (if it has hair or fur, it's a mammal), but it is only common among certain mammals like bats, skunks, foxes and raccoons. Cats, dogs and livestock can also get rabies and spread it to their owners - if they do not have special shots to protect them. Rabies is very rare among rodents like squirrels, rats, mice and chipmunks, Birds, fish, lizards, turtles and insects (bugs) cannot spread rabies.

7. How can I tell if an animal is rabid?

The only way to know for sure if an animal has Rabies is through laboratory tests. In general, rabid animals often behave strangely after the virus attacks their brains. Rabid animals may attack people or other animals for no real reason, or they may lose their fear of people and seem to be unnaturally friendly. Not all rabid animals act this way, so you should avoid all wild animals, especially bats, skunks, foxes and raccoons. Also, you should not feed or touch stray cats and dogs.

8. Do coyotes carry rabies?

Yes. Like all warm-blooded animals, coyotes may contract rabies. You can learn more about rabies here.

9. What do I do if I find a bat in my house?

Bats in the home can be dangerous because a few may carry rabies. It may be necessary for the bat to be tested for rabies if someone in the home was exposed to a bat bite, bat saliva, or bat guano. It is possible to be bitten by a bat in your sleep and not know it, particularly if the potentially exposed person is a child or a heavy sleeper. If the bat is alive, it may need to be captured for rabies testing. Follow these directions to protect yourself. Close the windows, closet doors, and the door to the room where the bat is. Turn on the lights if the room is dark, and wait for the bat to land. Wear thick gloves and cover the bat with a coffee can or other hard container such as a glass jar. Slide a piece of cardboard under the can, trapping the bat. Tape the cardboard tightly to the can. Refrigerate the bat and call the Animal Control at (361) 777-4444. If the bat is dead, use gloves or another barrier to place the bat in a hard container. Do not touch the bat with your bare hands. Refrigerate the bat as soon as possible, and contact Animal Control at (361) 777-4444 to determine if it should be tested for rabies. If testing is necessary, it is provided by the City and there is no cost to you. If the bat is no longer in the home, contact your doctor to determine if it is necessary to begin rabies post-exposure prophylaxis.

10. What should I do if I find a dead bird?

Please place the bird in a bag and dispose of in the regular trash. Be sure to use bags or disposable gloves when handling the dead bird and thoroughly wash your hands afterwards.