Spay/Neuter
Carpinteria, California
6.04.120 – Dog license required fees—Change of ownership.
A. Except as provided in Section 6.04.130, it is unlawful to own, keep or control any dog unless a license has been procured in accordance with this chapter. An annual license fee shall be paid for every dog four months of age or older owned, kept or controlled in the city. Said fee shall be set by resolution of the city council consistent with Food and Agricultural Code Section 30804.5 which requires that the fee for any dog that has been spayed or neutered shall be one-half or less the normal license fee.
6.04.550 – Spay/neuter requirements.
6.04.560 – Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to reduce the number of dogs and cats in shelters and reduce the number being euthanized.
6.04.570 – Intent.
The intent of the chapter is to create a culture and common practice of spaying/neutering dogs and cats. Education and voluntary compliance is the preferred method of achieving spaying/neutering, with enforcement measures as a last resort.
6.04.580 – Prohibition against unaltered dog or cat.
Every person who owns a dog or cat over the age of six months that is kept in the City of Carpinteria is required to have such dog or cat spayed/neutered unless an exception applies under Section 6.04.590. Nothing in this section shall make veterinarians mandatory reporters of animals that have not been spayed/neutered.
6.04.590 – Prohibition against unaltered dog or cat, exceptions.
No person shall own a dog or cat over the age of six months that is kept in the City of Carpinteria that has not been spayed/neutered, unless valid written documentation is provided to show proof that the animal is exempt from the requirement to be spayed/neutered by reason of one of the following:
A. The dog or cat is a breed approved by and is registered with the American Kennel Club, American Cat Fanciers Association or a similar registry recognized by the Code Compliance Division.
B. The dog has earned, or if under three years old, is actively being trained and in the process of earning, an agility, carting, herding, protection, rally, hunting, working or other title from a registry or association approved by the code compliance division.
C. The dog is being, or has been, appropriately trained and is actively used in a manner that meets the definition of a guide, signal or service dog as set forth in Penal Code Section 365.5, subdivisions (d), (e) and (f), or the dog is enrolled in a guide dog program administered by a person licensed under Business and Professions Code Section 7200 et seq.
D. The dog is being, or has been, appropriately trained and is actively used by law enforcement agencies, the military, or search and rescue organizations, for law enforcement, military, or search and rescue activities.
E. The owner of the dog or cat provides a letter to the code compliance division from a licensed veterinarian certifying that the animal’s health would be best served by spaying/neutering after a specified date; or that due to age, health or illness of the animal, it is detrimental to the health of the animal to spay/neuter the animal; or that arrangements have been made to spay/neuter the dog or cat within sixty days after the compliance deadline and the dog or cat is spayed/neutered within that sixty-day period. This letter shall include the veterinarian’s license number and the date by which the animal may be safely spayed/neutered. The letter shall be updated periodically as necessary in the event the condition of the animal changes.
F. The owner of the dog or cat is an American Kennel Club “Breeder of Merit.”
G. The dog or cat has a valid breeding permit issued to the owner by the code compliance division.
It shall be the owner’s responsibility to comply with the spay/neuter provisions of this article, including paying the applicable license fee.
6.04.610 – Implant.
A dog that has not been spayed/neutered shall be implanted with an animal identification device, at the owner’s expense, identifying the owner of the animal.
6.04.620 – Breeding permit.
A. No person shall cause or allow any dog or cat owned, harbored or kept within the City of Carpinteria to breed without first obtaining a breeding permit, as described below. The term breeding permit means a written authorization, issued annually by the community development director, giving the animal’s lawful holder permission to breed a dog or cat.
B. Each breeder’s permit shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance and may be renewed annually without any fee before its expiration date. Each applicant for such a permit shall pay an initial fee of one hundred dollars, or the then established initial fee approved by the city council of the City of Carpinteria. A separate permit must be obtained for each dog or cat which is allowed to breed. No person is eligible for a breeding permit unless that person can present documentary evidence to the code compliance division from a veterinarian that the parent dogs have received all recommended vaccinations and have had proper veterinary care.
C. The code compliance division shall administer an animal breeding permit program consistent with the following criteria:
1. Under no circumstances shall a breeding permit be issued to a person who has been convicted of animal cruelty or neglect.
2. The owner of the unaltered female dog or cat shall not allow the whelping of more than one litter in any household within the permit year, unless prior written permission has been obtained from the animal control director for good cause shown (including, but not limited to, where breeding is required to protect the health of the animal or where the permittee was forced to euthanize a litter of dogs or cats through no fault of the permittee).
3. Issuance of a breeding permit shall be conditioned upon the animal owner’s consent to an initial inspection by the code compliance division to verify that a breeding permit is not used to whelp more than one litter in any household. The inspection shall be scheduled at a date and time mutually acceptable to both parties and within ten days of submittal of the breeding permit application submittal.
4. No offspring may be sold, adopted, bartered or otherwise transferred, whether for compensation or otherwise, until it has reached the age of at least eight weeks, and has been immunized against common diseases according to current veterinary practice in Santa Barbara County; and the sale or adoption of the dog or cat shall include a statement signed by the seller or person providing the offspring for adoption attesting to the signatory’s knowledge of the animal’s health and the animal’s immunization history.
5. Any holder of a breeding permit in the City of Carpinteria who advertises to the public the availability of any dog or cat for sale, adoption or transfer, whether for compensation or otherwise, must prominently display the permit number in any such advertisement. Further, the breeding permit holder must provide the permit number to any person who purchases, adopts or receives any animal from the permit holder and include the permit number on any receipt of sale or transfer document.
6. Any holder of a breeding permit in the City of Carpinteria that sells or otherwise transfers a dog, whether for compensation or otherwise, shall provide to the new animal owner a City of Carpinteria dog license application.
D. The following animals are exempt from breeding permit requirements:
1. Dogs documented as having been appropriately trained and actively used by law enforcement agencies, the military or search and rescue organizations for law enforcement, military or search and rescue activities;
2. Dogs documented as guide, signal or service dogs pursuant to California Penal Code Section 365.5, subdivisions (d), (e) and (f);
3. Dogs and cats certified by a licensed veterinarian as not being suitable subjects for spaying-neutering due to health reasons;
4. Dogs and cats under the care of governmental animal control agencies; animal rescue organizations which have demonstrated to the code compliance division that they have implemented an ongoing spay/neuter plan, as well as an adoption plan; or humane societies or societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals, if such societies are incorporated under the provisions of the California Corporations Code and the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law;
5. Dogs documented as enrolled in a guide dog breeding program administered by a person licensed under Business and Professions Code Section 7200 et seq.;
6. Dogs and cats owned by any person who is able to present documentary evidence that the person is an American Kennel Club “Breeder of Merit.”
