Local & Legal
Who to Call for Stray Dogs & Cats in Gloucester County, NJ
By Brandon Stein, NJDEP-Licensed Wildlife Control Operator · 7 min read
Short answer: For stray dogs and cats in Gloucester County, call animal control through your town or the police non-emergency line; many municipalities here are covered by the county's own animal control service. Strays are held at the Gloucester County Animal Shelter on Delsea Drive in Clayton. Wild animals in your home are a separate, licensed-operator job.
Every week, someone in Washington Township or Deptford calls Acorn Wildlife about a dog trotting down Egg Harbor Road or a cat having kittens under a porch, and every week we give the same answer: wrong company, right instinct, here is exactly who to call. Since we serve all of Gloucester County for wild animals and none of it for domestic ones, this page is our complete, no-stake-in-it guide to the county's stray dog and cat system.
Who handles strays here? Gloucester County's setup is unusual.
Gloucester County is one of the few South Jersey counties with significant county-level animal control: the county provides animal control services to many of its municipalities, alongside towns that still run or contract their own ACOs. Either way, your route in is the same: call your town or the police non-emergency line, and the right officer gets dispatched. Strays land at the Gloucester County Animal Shelter, 1200 North Delsea Drive in Clayton.
That consolidation is good news for residents: coverage is more consistent across townships than the pure town-by-town patchwork elsewhere, and there is exactly one shelter to check for a lost pet. Check it in person, and early; New Jersey's stray hold is seven days, the Clayton shelter takes in thousands of animals a year, and online photo listings always lag the kennels. The shelter also handles adoptions, licensing support, and rabies clinic schedules, and its staff are the right people to ask about local TNR groups if a cat colony is your actual issue.
| Situation | Who to call | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stray dog at large | Town/county animal control via police non-emergency | Photo plus cross-street beats a chase every time |
| Injured stray cat or dog | Same dispatch route, marked urgent | After hours the police desk reaches the on-call ACO |
| Lost your pet | Gloucester County Animal Shelter, Clayton, in person | 7-day hold; bring photos and proof of ownership |
| Dog bite or scratch that broke skin | Police, then Gloucester County health officials | Reportable by law; starts the rabies review that protects the victim |
| Feeding a growing cat colony | Shelter for TNR referrals | Trap-neuter-return shrinks colonies; feeding alone grows them |
| Cruelty or neglect | Police / county prosecutor's office | Prosecutors took over NJ SPCA enforcement in 2018 |
| Squirrels in attic, groundhog under shed, bats, raccoon | Acorn Wildlife, (856) 398-1028 | Wild animals only; licensed NJDEP #92411B |
What does animal control do, and where does its job end?
ACOs handle domestic animals: strays, bites, injured pets, licensing. They also respond to rabies-suspect wildlife, because that is public health. Where their job ends, in Gloucester County like everywhere in New Jersey, is healthy nuisance wildlife on private property: nobody from the county is coming to remove the squirrels in your soffit.
We say that without criticism; it is the system working as designed. Public officers cover the public-safety cases: the loose dog, the bite report, the raccoon circling a Glassboro backyard at noon looking sick (New Jersey classifies raccoons, skunks, foxes, and groundhogs as rabies vector species, and sick ones get tested through the health department, so never touch one). Private licensed operators cover the private-property cases: the flying squirrels over a Mullica Hill bedroom, the groundhog excavating under a Williamstown stoop, the bats above a West Deptford gable. That private half is Acorn Wildlife's entire lane, described town by town on our wildlife removal in Gloucester County page. If your situation is wildlife inside or under a structure, calling us first is not queue-jumping; it is the actual correct door.
The ten-minute stray response
- Photograph the animal immediately, then call dispatch; the photo is worth more than your description.
- Friendly dog, safe circumstances: contain in a yard or garage with water. Any stiffness, cowering, or growling: contain nothing, just track it from a distance.
- Get any contained stray scanned for a microchip at the Clayton shelter or any vet, free.
- Post to the town's lost-pet pages; Washington Township's and Deptford's groups reunite pets daily.
- Kittens alone are usually not abandoned; give the mother 4 to 6 hours to return before calling anyone.
- Any bite or scratch to a person: wash thoroughly, then police and health department, in that order, every time.
When it is wildlife, what changes?
Everything: the law, the responder, and the method. Domestic strays are a public service with a shelter at the end. Wildlife removal is regulated private work, NJ Fish and Wildlife licenses the operators, rabies vector species cannot be relocated off your property, bats have a protected summer window, and the durable fix is exclusion, not pickup.
That is why "can't animal control just take it?" has a structural answer: there is no county truck for a healthy groundhog, and there legally could not be a take-it-to-the-woods service anyway, since New Jersey prohibits relocating rabies vector species off the capture property. The lawful playbook for wildlife in structures is inspection, humane removal or one-way exclusion, and sealing, performed by a licensed operator whose license number you should always ask for. Ours is NJDEP #92411B, we are owner-operated out of Cherry Hill with a second base in Trenton, and Gloucester County is core service area. Keep the county's numbers for the dogs and cats, and keep ours for everything with a wilder resume. Call or Text (856) 398-1028.
Is there a fee for animal control response or shelter intake?
Response is a tax-funded service, free to the caller. The Clayton shelter charges owners standard reclaim fees for returned pets and adoption fees, but reporting or turning in a genuine stray costs nothing.
The shelter is full or far. Can I just keep the stray dog I found?
Not immediately; New Jersey law requires strays be reported so owners get their seven-day window. Report it to animal control and the shelter, have it scanned, and ask about foster-to-adopt arrangements. Skipping the report can legally unwind a keep later, painfully.
An opossum is in my trash every night. Animal control or Acorn?
Neither, most nights: an opossum passing through needs a secured lid, not a responder, and they are quietly useful animals. It becomes our call when one dens under your deck, shed, or crawlspace. Opossum removal and deck exclusion are standard jobs for us across Gloucester County.
Which towns does the county's animal control actually cover?
The roster shifts as municipal contracts renew, which is exactly why we will not print a town list that will be stale in a year. In recent years the county has provided animal control service to a substantial share of its municipalities, with the remainder running or contracting their own officers, and every arrangement funnels strays toward the Clayton shelter. The practical takeaway survives every contract cycle: call your own municipality or its police non-emergency line, say what and where the animal is, and dispatch routes it to whichever officer holds the contract that year. If you want certainty for your specific town, the municipal clerk or police desk will tell you in one call. The system is built so residents never need to memorize the org chart; the town's front door always works.
Can I surrender my own pet at the Clayton shelter?
Yes, by arrangement; owner surrenders are scheduled rather than walk-in so the shelter can manage kennel space. Call ahead, bring vet records, and expect a modest fee. If you have any rehoming runway, ask about courtesy-listing options with the shelter and local rescues first, since a pet rehomed straight from your living room skips the kennel stress entirely.
Related: Wildlife Removal in Gloucester County, NJ · Rabies in South Jersey: Actual Risk Numbers · Is It Legal to Trap a Raccoon in NJ?
