Who to call when an animal needs help
Start here if an animal is hurt or in danger, or if a vet bill is more than you can pay. This site can't take a report or send anyone out. It shows you who can.
If an animal or person is in immediate danger
Call your local emergency number first. Then find the organizations that serve your area.
Find help nowReporting cruelty or neglect
Report it to the agency that enforces animal laws where the animal is. That may be the police, animal control, an SPCA or a humane society. If you don't know which one handles it, ask the police or animal control.
Before you call, write down what you saw and when. Only take photos from a place you're allowed to be, such as a public street.
Where to go next
- Find local help
Organizations in every Canadian province and territory and every US state. Each card shows the area it serves.
- Reporting animal cruelty
Who to call, what to have ready and how to follow up after a report.
- Animal laws: where to start
The US PETS Act and the cruelty sections of Canada's Criminal Code, in plain words.
- Help with vet bills
Groups that say they help owners pay for vet care. Each one sets its own rules.
- Where to read more
Links to Ready.gov, the Red Cross, the ASPCA and other groups, each opened on 4 October 2026.
- Adopt and foster
Want to give an animal a home? Start with a shelter or rescue near you.
If no listing covers your town, call your city or county animal control or the police non-emergency line, and ask who handles animals there.