Fresno, California

SEC. 10.303. – LICENSING OF DOGS.

(a) The owner or custodian of any dog over the age of four months shall procure a city dog license and pay therefor the license fee designated in the Master Fee Resolution. The license fee shall be due and payable on or before the expiration of the vaccination against rabies. Any person failing to procure and pay for such license prior to the expiration of the vaccination shall pay the penalty for such delinquency as designated in the Master Fee Resolution. With respect to dogs first brought into the city, no penalty shall be payable if the owner or custodian procures a license within thirty days after the dog is brought into the city, or within thirty days after the dog reaches the age of four months, as the case may be.

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(2) Before a city dog license may be issued for the lower license fee for a dog which has been spayed or neutered, the owner or custodian of such dog shall provide evidence that the dog has been spayed or neutered. Such evidence shall be a certificate signed by a doctor of veterinary medicine, on his or her letterhead stationery or on a form provided by the city for such purpose, or by the sworn statement of the owner or custodian on a form provided by the city. Any such form or certificate shall state the name of the doctor of veterinary medicine who performed the operation or the name of the clinic where such operation was performed, the street address of such doctor of veterinary medicine or clinic, the telephone number thereof if available, the precise or approximate date when the operation was performed, and a sufficient description of the dog.

SEC. 10-328. – BREEDING, TRANSFER AND SALE OF DOGS AND CATS.

The Council of the City of Fresno finds and declares that there exists a serious pet overpopulation problem within the City of Fresno that has resulted in a threat to public safety and health, inhumane treatment of animals, has resulted in euthanization of animals at the local animal shelter and escalating costs for animal care and control for animal care and control. The Council finds that uncontrolled breeding is a cause and, without further action aimed at the source, this problem and its serious consequences will remain unabated and will increase in severity.

The Council finds that part of the solution is for all dogs and cats over the age of four months to be spayed or neutered, unless their owners purchase the appropriate licenses for the privilege of maintaining the animal intact and/or a breeder permit to allow it to breed. Further, the Council finds that regulation of the transfer of dogs and cats will help alleviate the City’s pet overpopulation crisis by allowing increased City control over enforcement of the dog licensing provisions and limiting the means of obtaining a dog or cat.

(a) The Unaltered Dog [or Cat] License shall contain the following terms and conditions:

(1) The Owner of an unaltered female dog or cat shall not allow the dog or cat to breed without first obtaining a breeder’s permit.

(2) No offspring may be sold, adopted, bartered or otherwise transferred, whether for compensation or otherwise, until such offspring has reached the age of at least eight (8) weeks.

(3) The Owner must prominently display their Unaltered Dog [or Cat] License number in any advertisement to the public for the sale, adoption or transfer (whether for compensation or otherwise) of the offspring. The Owner must provide the Unaltered Dog [or Cat] License number to any person who purchases, adopts or receives the offspring and include the Unaltered Dog [or Cat] License number on any receipt of sale or transfer document.

(4) The Owner shall provide to all persons who receive any offspring, whether for compensation or otherwise, an application for a City dog license, as well as written information regarding the City’s dog license requirements. The Owner shall obtain these documents from the City Manager or designee.

(b) Breeder Permit Requirements:

(1) No person shall cause or allow any dog or cat owned, harbored or kept within the City to breed without first obtaining a breeding permit, as described below.

(2) Applications for a breeder permit pursuant to this chapter shall be filed with the Animal Center Department on a form prescribed by the City Manager or designee. Fees charged for these permits shall be set in the Master Fee Schedule.

(3) Applications for a breeder permit will require the animal to possess an unaltered dog license and a business tax license certificate from the City’s Finance Department; and to maintain the certificate while in operation.

(4) The term breeding permit shall mean a written authorization, issued annually by the City Manager or designee, giving its lawful holder permission to breed a dog or cat.

(5) Each breeding permit shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance, and may be renewed annually before its expiration date.

(6) Each applicant for such a permit shall pay an annual fee as specified in the Master Fee Schedule.

(7) A separate permit must be obtained for each owned dog or cat which is allowed to breed.

(8) The City’s Animal Center Department shall administer an animal breeding permit program to allow the breeding of unaltered dogs and cats consistent with criteria and according to procedures established by the City Manager or designee. Under no circumstances shall such a permit be issued to a person who has been convicted of animal cruelty or neglect.

(9) In addition to the criteria and procedures established by the City Manager pursuant to paragraph 8 of this subsection, all breeding permits shall contain the following terms and conditions:

(i) The Owner of an unaltered female dog or cat shall not allow the whelping of more than one litter in any household within the permit year. Notwithstanding this provision, the City Manager is hereby authorized, upon application of a permittee, to allow on a one time basis the whelping of up to two dog or cat litters per breeding animal within any domestic household within a permit year, if the permittee establishes, according to regulations promulgated by the City Manager, that such breeding is required to protect the health of the animal or avert a substantial economic loss to the permittee. In the event that a permittee is forced to euthanize a litter of dogs or cats, the City Manager may authorize the whelping of one additional litter of dogs or cats within the same permit year by the permittee.

(c) Sale and Other Transfer of Dogs and Cats.

(1) Any person who offers or provides, whether for compensation or otherwise, any dog or cat for sale or other type of transfer, shall disclose to the transferee information regarding the license and permit requirements of the City applicable to the transferred animal.

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(7) Failure to display the breeding permit number or include it in any advertisement for sale, adoption or other transfer of dogs and cats is an infraction punishable in accordance with Subsection (d)(4) below.

(8) Possession of a valid permit under this section of the Code does not entitle the permit holder to engage in activity which is otherwise prohibited by law.

(d) Enforcement of Dog License Provisions and Penalties.

(1) Any cat or dog owner found by the City to be in violation of the breeding permit provisions of this section may correct the violations(s) by providing conclusive proof to the City that the dog(s) or cat(s) have been spayed, or by obtaining the necessary permit(s) mentioned in this section, no later than thirty (30) days from the date when the City first notified the owner of the violation. Should the owner fail to correct the violation(s) in the manner described above, the City shall impose a $1,000 civil penalty per animal on the dog or cat owner. This penalty shall not be waived by the City upon the transfer or abandonment of the dog or cat by the non-compliant owner. This penalty shall be in addition to any other applicable civil or criminal penalties.

(2) If the civil penalty mentioned above is not paid and the owner does not spay/neuter his/her dog(s) or cat(s) or obtains a breeding permit(s) required under Subsection (b)(2), above within fifteen (15) days from the date the City first notified the owner of the imposition of the civil penalty mentioned in Section (d)(1), the continuing violation of the permit requirement of this section becomes a misdemeanor and may be prosecuted as such.

(3) The City may revoke any permit issued pursuant to this section upon a finding that the permit holder has violated its terms and conditions. Such a finding shall be made after an administrative hearing pursuant to Section 1-401 et seq.

(4) Except as specifically mentioned in Subsection d(1), (2) and (3), above failure to comply with any of the requirements mentioned in Subsections (a), (b) and (c) of Section 10-328 of this Code shall be an infraction.

SEC. 10-329. – PET RESPONSIBILITY ACT.

The Council of the City of Fresno finds and declares that a contributing cause of the serious dog overpopulation problem within the City of Fresno is the number of unaltered dogs found at large. The Council wishes to promote responsible pet ownership as a means for promoting the public health, safety, and welfare of humans and pets in the City of Fresno. The Council finds and declares that mandatory spaying or neutering of dogs is appropriate when dog owners fail to act responsibly to prevent their animals from being at large.

(a) Title. This Section shall be known as the “Pet Responsibility Act.”

(b) Applicability. This Section shall apply to all persons whose dogs are found to be at large in violation of Section 10-308(a) of this Code and any requirements imposed by this Section shall be cumulative to any requirements or penalties otherwise imposed by this Code.

(c) Definitions. The following terms used in this section shall be defined as follows:

(1) “At large” shall mean an animal in or upon any public street, public alley or other public place or in or upon an unenclosed lot or premises, unless the animal is securely confined to the lot or premises by a suitably strong leash or is securely and continuously held by the owner or custodian of such animal by a strong leash suitable for maintaining control of the animal, or the animal is confined within an automobile.

(2) “Owner” shall mean the owner or custodian of any animal.

(d) Enforcement. This Section shall be enforced as follows:

(1) Upon a first violation of Section 10-308(a), the owner shall be issued a written warning prior to the issuance of a citation or initiation of further enforcement action.

(2) Upon a second violation of Section 10-308(a) an owner shall be issued an administrative citation with a penalty in the amount of $100.00;

(3) Upon a third or subsequent violation of Section 10-308(a) an owner shall be issued an administrative citation in the amount of $200.00.

(4) Upon a third or subsequent violation of Section 10-308(a) an owner shall be issued an order to comply with one or both of the following requirements:

(A) Spay or neuter all dogs possessed by that person and provide proof of compliance to the poundmaster within sixty (60) days;

(B) Implant a microchip identification device in all dogs possessed by that person.

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(g) Appeals. Any person receiving an administrative citation, order to spay/neuter an animal, or order to microchip an animal may appeal the issuance of the administrative citation or order pursuant to Chapter 1, Article 4 of this Code.