Starting Friday, stray dogs and cats, as well as other animals that are impounded in Menifee, will no longer be under the jurisdiction of the Riverside County Department of Animal Services, which has been replaced by another entity that will oversee animal control for the city.

Department of Animal Services spokesman John Welsh said all shelter and control operations will shift to the nonprofit Animal Friends of the Valleys at the end of the week.

The change stems from a Menifee City Council vote in May to end the municipality’s contract with the county in favor of an agreement with AFV, which provides animal control and care services to cities throughout the southwest county area, including in the cities of Murrieta and Temecula.

Stray, injured or dangerous animals that are located within Menifee will continue to be taken to the county’s San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus until the end of business Friday. After that, all pets will be transferred to AFV’s Southwest Communities Animal Shelter in Wildomar.

The county’s contract with Menifee officially ends on June 30.

“During the transition period, officials from the county and the city of Menifee, in concert with leaders at AFV, are urging pet owners to check both the county’s website and Animal Friends of the Valleys’ website for their lost pets,” Welsh said.

The county’s website is www.rcdas.org; AFV’s is animalfriendsofthevalleys.com/.

Because of budget constraints, the Department of Animal Services may be partially shuttering the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus.

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