OC Animal Care (Orange County)

OC Animal Care serves unincorporated Orange County and more than a dozen contract cities, including Anaheim, Fullerton, Tustin, and Huntington Beach, from its shelter in Tustin. Several OC cities run their own animal services instead — if your city is one of them, the process is very similar and we'll point your request to the right place.

How dog bite reports work here

Bites are reported to OC Animal Care directly, through police, or via the mandatory report a treating doctor files with the county health officer. An officer investigates, identifies the dog and owner, verifies rabies vaccination, and documents the incident — including where it happened and whether the dog was loose, which matter under California's leash and strict liability rules.

The quarantine process

The biting dog goes under a 10-day rabies observation quarantine, typically at the owner's home for a vaccinated, owned dog, or at the shelter otherwise. The quarantine record confirms the dog's health outcome and the owner's identity and address.

How to request your records

OC Animal Care bite reports, quarantine records, and any prior bite history are requestable through Orange County's public records process. The OC Health Care Agency may hold the physician's bite report separately. Our tool identifies both requests for you.

Service areas change as cities update their animal control contracts — we confirm the right agency for your specific bite as part of helping you. This site provides general information about California processes. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.