Domestic Animals

I get multiple calls a week about dogs. Can I legally charge for removal of domestic animals? I am in Tennessee.

Good question. Would be too much of a headache for me to think of and liability. Are you talking just catching loose dogs in a yard etc with catch pole and putting in kennel type of calls. I wouldn't want touch any dogs in our town. I get about half dozen calls about cats or dogs a month even with listing I don't handle them.

Can't do it here in NY. Might want to call your governing agency.

Possible scenario:

Neighbor 1: "My neighbors dog is in my yard. Take my money and remove it.:


You: ok. Cash or check?


Neighbor 2: where's fluffy? I haven't seen him since this morning.


Neighbor 1: saw Buck 77 drive off with him.


Neighbor 2: hello police, my dog was stolen. My neighbor saw Buck 77 drive off with him.







Doesn't seem worth a few hundred dollars.

Think you might be opening a can of worms there. Here you call the SO and they send out a dog catcher. Once the dog has be caught, it's taken to the local humane society and held for a period of time. If the owner comes to claim it, they have to pay a fee, if not then the dog is put down. The dog catcher is employed by the county.

City contract here

Okay thanks guys. That is what I was thinking. I get so many of them, but wasn't sure on how much trouble it would be.

Yep I won't even pickup a dead cat in someone's yard in town. In case someone says something sketchy about me having it in my possession. On a similar note but not the same deal we had a local police man was taking cats that people would catch in a cage and call him on "for whatever reason they would call the police" and then he would take out to country and shoot them. Didn't take too many times doing that and it caught up to him. Big uproar in town he lost his job and plastered his name all over for being horrible person etc...

"Somebody hadda do it!"

Our dog removal thus far has been with dead ones. Getting a large dog off of the owners property seems like the humane thing to do. We also know where to take it to have it cremated. Removal of live dogs is also legal, but we have the city, the DNR, and in some cases even the local police department to handle that. Cats are an entirely different matter. If you love feral cats, Wisconsin is not the state for you!

I have been ask twice if I could get rid of a dead beat in town, I said I did not have a trap big enough to catch him.

Exactly a question that I had brought to me. In fact I was asked just a few weeks ago about removing a domestic canine from a work site. Animal control came out, they had no idea what they were doing, couldnt catch it and finally left leaving the cage and saying if anyone can catch it they can have to $100. From what I have learned so far it is legal to remove an animal that is causing a problem but I think they have to be taken to a shelter and the owner notified if possible. Most towns with leash laws don't want them roaming free anyway so I really don't see how John Doe can have anyone charged with catching an animal that he let loose thud violating local laws. I am looking into this further and checking with towns, cities, counties etc to get more info. I was told by a former animal control officers that you can contract with those entities and thus would be legal in catching them.

What does your local GW say?
You’d be wise to have a good relationship with him.
2 main reasons.
So they send ya work when they learn of a problem.
And to answer questions like this.
Plus I’d be asking on th TNtrappers forum if it was me.

My advice would be to stay away from domestic animal work of any kind. We have done some rescue work over the years but no control or removal work.

You will find out about the down side of this work once you do it for a while. Once knew of a Nuisance operator in a near by town that decided to get into cat removal even after I explained some potential risks and problems that he could be faced with.

Not to long into his new ad on business venture he had to buy many traps, new tires a few times, pay to have spray paint removed from his truck then he needed some head lights and eventually a new wind shield. That is just what I was aware of as a matter of fact.

Personal confrontations were many and some got threatening. It can get dangerous when emotions are involved.

They had a few articles in the local paper about him and what he was doing in the community. They were nice enough to use his real name and company info. After that he got some visits to his home after that press coverage. He eventually gave it up I hear. His insurance refused any further claims after a few incidents.

Give it a whirl and let us know how it works out for you.

I get paid to catch problem domestics for farmers and ranchers several times a year. Mostly cattle but also sheep and horses once in awhile.

When removing skunks ppl will steal a trap and destroy it after a cat catch. Even if it isn't their cat.
That is why I bought some of the traps that use a small tube. Skunks don't hesitate, but cats do.