How to Report Your Concerns

Mesquite Animal Services’ certified team of Animal Services Officers provide a variety of animal-related services to residents. These services include teaching residents how to care for their animals, investigating animal-related disturbances in the city, and transporting and caring for stray or unwanted animals. Animal Services officers are not police officers, but they can issue citations, execute search warrants, and impound or seize property. All officers complete state-mandated basic training within the first six months of employment plus at least 30 hours of advanced training every three years.
Animal Control

Animal Services officers respond 24 hours a day to cases that involve imminent threats to public safety or public health. These cases include most animal bites, injured animals, and certain other animal disturbances. All other cases are investigated during the division’s regular service hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

How to Report Concerns to Animal Services

You can submit your concern online, or, if you prefer to contact us by phone, please call us at 972-216-6283. Be prepared to answer the following questions when you call:
  • Who? - Describe the animal that you’re concerned about, including its species, size, and color.
  • What? - Tell us as many details as you can about what the animal is doing that caused you to be concerned.
  • When? - Is the problem occurring now, or did it happen in the past?
  • Where? - Be as specific as possible when describing the location. A street address, intersection, or business name is better than “the brick house on the left.”
  • Your name and phone number: This information is collected for quality control and for follow-up contact by an officer if needed. It is kept strictly confidential according to state laws.
Once all the necessary information has been collected, the dispatcher will assign the case to an officer and give it a priority status. High priority cases will receive an immediate response, and low priority cases will receive a response within one business day.

Education & Enforcement

Voluntary compliance with city ordinances and state laws is the goal in all cases. Animal Services officers are trained to accomplish this in two ways. The preferred method is to show residents how to comply with city ordinances within their personal circumstances. This educational approach not only corrects the immediate problem, but is also much more likely to ensure future compliance, and thus a quiet, safe neighborhood for everyone.

Citations

If a resident is unable or unwilling to comply with an ordinance voluntarily, an officer may be forced to issue a citation. Citations issued by Animal Services officers are processed through the City of Mesquite Municipal Court. Citation recipients agree to appear before the court to respond to the citation. Failing to appear before the court is an additional offense and may result in an arrest warrant for the citation recipient.

Animal Cruelty

Animal cruelty, dog fighting, and other serious crimes involving animals are investigated jointly with the Mesquite Police Department. If you witness a serious animal-related crime, immediately contact Mesquite Police at 972-216-6759 or Animal Services at 972-216-6283. Your information is kept strictly confidential as provided by state law.