Dog Issues

Lewis County has not had serious dog problems since 1979, when New York State began requiring that every town have a Dog Control Officer. Cliff Cook has been a Dog Control Officer in Lewis County since 1980. He currently provides animal control for 15 out of 17 towns and provides shelter for 16 towns for the county, as well as Boonville in Oneida County.
For future information, you may contact New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets at their Web Site at www.agmkt.state.ny.us.

Spay/Neuter Program
The Humane Society participates in the New York State low cost spay/neuter program. This program permits the adopter of either a cat or a dog that is adopted from a participating shelter to get a State voucher, if available. With the voucher, the cost of spay/neuter is only $30.00. On November 1, 2001 New York State passed a law mandating that when adopting any unspayed cat or dog from a shelter a mandatory $35.00 deposit must be paid at that time. After the pet has been spayed or neutered, within 30 days after adoption, and proof is submitted, the deposit is refunded to the owner. If the deposit is not claimed, the money is turned over to the Department of Ag & Markets Spay/Neuter Fund.