Animal control services for unincorporated areas of the County will change beginning September 23, 2026.
The City of Crestview, through its Animal Services Division of the Crestview Police Department, will deliver these services in all areas north of Eglin Air Force Base. The number for north animal services by the City of Crestview is (850) 682-2055.
Okaloosa County, through its Animal Control Division of the Public Safety Department, will serve unincorporated areas South of Eglin Air Force Base. The number for the south animal services by Okaloosa County is (850) 651-7400 (Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency dispatch line).
Services include dangerous dog and bite cases, animal cruelty and neglect, quality of life-related ordinance violations, livestock at large and disease reporting. The County and City of Crestview will not handle non-emergency stray pickups or owner surrenders at this time.
The evolution of this service is dynamic and we expect additional changes in the south end of the County as municipal contracts evolve.
As animal control services are divided north and south of Eglin Air Force Base, sheltering and veterinary services for animals in the care and custody of animal control officers will be divided in the same manner. Crestview Animal Services will provide sheltering services for northern Okaloosa County (areas north of Eglin Air Force Base), while the County, through its vendor, will provide services for southern Okaloosa County (areas south of Eglin Air Force Base).
“This initiative will bring animal control services in-house so that we can better serve the residents of Okaloosa County with ongoing animal control issues,” said Okaloosa County Board Chairman Trey Goodwin. “We are very fortunate to have partnered with the City of Crestview and local businesses to streamline the process between animal control and sheltering to keep costs down.”
“Please be patient with us as we ramp up this operation to meet the needs of the County. It won’t be perfect on day one, but our commitment to you remains the same- we’ll be better each day,” said Public Safety Director Patrick Maddox.
View more information about animal control services for unincorporated areas of Okaloosa County at https://myokaloosa.com/animalcontrol.
