Starting January 1, the Cambria County Humane Society is now in charge of animal control services for the city of Johnstown.

The no-kill shelter signed a contract with the city of Johnstown to take in stray domestic animals found in the city.

“We’re serving the animals of our community by abiding by our mission of no kill and quality of life,” said Jessica Vamos, the executive director of the Cambria County Humane Society.

The city will pay the shelter a little over $800 a month. However, the shelter is leasing an animal control vehicle from the city for about $200 a month, so the shelter will get just over $600 a month for the animal control contract.

After a three-month trial period, the city council will vote whether or not to approve the contract for the entire year.

“We will work very hard to connect these animals with their owners and if we’re unable to do so we will be able to re-home them,” Vamos said.

Any Johnstown resident who sees a stray pet should contact Johnstown Police by calling: (814) 533-2074. Officers will then reach out to the shelter.

“They have a schedule to contact our on-call officers so they can be dispatched to help with cases of stray animals,” said Vamos.

The shelter plans to reach out to other municipalities to start an animal control agreement so the shelter could take in stray pets from all over the county.