Michigan Animal Control Officer Training Requirements

General Information

The Dog Law of 1919, Public Act 339 of 1919 as amended, provides for the creation of local animal control agencies and ordinances that establish animal control programs, facilities, personnel, and funding for necessary expenses incurred in animal control.

In addition, the Act contains minimum employment and fitness standards for animal control officers (ACOs), including a minimum course of study of no less than the 100 instructional hours that is prescribed by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). This course of study is required for applicants unless they are a police officer or have already served as an ACO for at least three years.

If individuals are interested in becoming an ACO, MDARD will work with these individuals and animal control agencies to identify and recommend appropriate training that may count toward the minimum of the 100 instructional hours that are needed. To further assist in these efforts, MDARD collaborates with organizations that provide training programs and approves options that are appropriate for consideration as part of these instructional hours.

Individuals and animal control agencies are encouraged to contact us (Animalshelters@Michigan.gov) regarding the curriculum for ACOs that MDARD has prescribed in order to gain a thorough understanding of the roles and shared responsibilities that are involved in ensuring animal health, animal welfare, and public safety.

Training Curriculum

For more information, please contact Animalshelters@Michigan.gov.

Individual Training Reviews

When completing the minimum of the 100 instructional hours that are needed, trainees are responsible for documenting their entire course of study. To help record one's training, MDARD has created a training log that must be submitted to AnimalShelters@Michigan.gov (along with any certificates, letters, and other forms of training documentation) to verify that a person's training is complete. For the entries on the log, please be sure to capture key details-such as descriptions of specific training events, trainer(s), and date(s). These details are necessary when one's training is being reviewed and verified.

Once this documentation is received by MDARD, it will be reviewed; and trainees will be notified if any additional training or evidence of training is needed or if their training is complete. If complete, trainees will receive a letter acknowledging that their training is consistent to the prescribed requirements. This letter should be kept as MDARD purges the training review documents after 5 years.

Laws and Regulations 

Key laws regarding core animal control operations:

• Dog Law: Public Act 339 of 1919 
  Refers to dogs and protecting livestock and poultry from damage by dogs, providing for the licensing of dogs, regulating the keeping of dogs, etc.

• Michigan Penal Code: Public Act 328 of 1931, Chapter IX, Animals

• Animals Running at Large: Public Act 328 of 1976 
  Regulates animals running at large and provides for compensation from damage done by these animals and stipulates penalties.

• Dangerous Animals: Public Act 426 of 1988 

• Regulation 129: Governing Dog Kennels

• Large Carnivore Act: Public Act 274 of 2000

• Wolf-Dog Cross Act: Public Act 246 of 2000
  Bans individuals from keeping wolf-dog crosses. Allows temporary housing of these animals at shelters when testing for wolf DNA, arranging for the wolf-dog cross to go to a legal home in another state or sanctuary, or performing humane euthanasia.

• Bodies of Dead Animals: Public Act 239 of 1982, Regulations for Act 239 of 1982 

• Registration and Identification of Dogs

• Generally Accepted Animal Agricultrual and Management Practices

• Public Health Code Excerpt: Public Act 368 of 1978, Section 7333
  Provides for Controlled Substance Animal Euthanasia license for animal shelters and provides for animal control officers to perform field chemical capture of animal running at large using certain controlled substances.