St. Martin Parish, Louisiana

Sec. 6-24. – Licensing; failure to license.

(a) It shall be the duty of every owner residing in the parish to obtain from the animal shelter and retain an annual license for each dog and cat three months of age and older. The license certificate shall include the name and address of the owner, a description of the dog or cat including its breed, color, gender, and date of birth or estimated age, and the year and number of the license tag. The annual license fee shall be $5.00 for each spayed or neutered dog or cat, and $10.00 for each dog or cat which is not spayed or neutered. Every animal seized, stray, owner surrendered, impounded or otherwise in the custody of St. Martin Parish Animal Shelter must be micro-chipped prior to being retained by owner or adopter and micro-chip number recorded on the reclaim or adoption application. A statement from the vet must be provided if it is recommended that the animal not be micro-chipped due to medical reasons.

(b) For the purposes of this section, a dog or cat shall be considered spayed or neutered whenever any of the following is applicable:

(1) Upon presentation of a certificate issued by any licensed veterinarian stating that the dog or cat, if female, was made incapable of producing young by spaying by the veterinarian, or, the dog or cat, if male, was made incapable of producing young by neutering by the veterinarian.

(2) Upon examination by a licensed veterinarian any dog or cat, whether male or female, is certified by the veterinarian to be incapable of producing young.

(3) If the dog or cat has been previously licensed as a spayed or neutered dog or cat.

A male dog or cat may be considered neutered if upon examination it has evidence of castration.

Sec. 6-26. – Restraint; failure to restrain.

(g) Any owner or attendant who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of failure to restrain.

(1) For the first offense of this section, and any subsequent offense of this section occurring more than one year from a previous violation of this section, an owner or attendant shall be fined $15.00 for failing to restrain an animal that is vaccinated and spayed/neutered; $35.00 for failing to restrain a unvaccinated spayed/neutered animal; $50.00 for failing to restrain a un-vaccinated un-spayed/un-neutered animal; plus a $5.00 per additional day fee for care and feeding while in the care and custody of St. Martin Parish Animal Control.

(2) An owner or attendant who commits a second offense of this section within one year of the first offense of this section shall be fined $80.00 for failing to restrain a vaccinated or unvaccinated spayed/neutered animal, $100.00 for failing to restrain an animal that is not vaccinated and not spayed/neutered, and a leash law citation may be issued.

(3) An owner or attendant who commits a third offense of this section within one year of the previous offense of this section shall be fined $120.00 for failing to restrain a vaccinated or unvaccinated spayed/neutered animal, and $150.00 for failing to restrain an animal that is not vaccinated and not spayed/neutered, and a leash law citation may be issued.

Sec. 6-30. – Adoption of impounded animals.

(d) Every dog or cat adopted from the animal shelter shall be rabies vaccinated at the time of adoption or within three days, and spayed/neutered (if under three months) within 60 days from the date of adoption. Adopted dogs and cats shall only be released to the adopter after all the appropriate fees are paid in full and veterinary services have been chosen. Dogs or cats which are unable to undergo surgery as recommended by a licensed veterinarian may, at the discretion of the animal control manager, be released to a suitable adopter provided the adopter signs a contract in the form prescribed by the division of animal control obligating the owner not to have the dog or cat bred at any time.

(e) Adopters shall be required to pay an adoption fee(s), set by the shelter manager and approved by the administration, at the time of adoption.

(f) For the purposes of this section, a male animal may be considered neutered if upon examination it has evidence of castration.

(g) The division of animal control may enter into agreements with any animal establishment, which is deemed to be a responsible and suitable establishment by the animal control manager or his designee, for the purposes of transferring animals suitable for adoption to the animal establishment in order to facilitate adoptions. Any animal establishment entering into an agreement with the division of animal control pursuant to this section shall sign a transfer agreement in the form prescribed by the division of animal control and agree to comply with the provisions of this chapter and all applicable state, federal, and local laws. The division of animal control shall recover from an animal establishment any costs incurred in rendering medical services to any domestic animal transferred to the animal establishment.

(h) Every dog or cat transferred to any animal establishment that is not spayed/neutered at the time of transfer must be spayed/neutered within 30 days of the dog or cat reaching the age of six months. The animal establishment, upon request, shall provide written verification of the completion of the spay or neuter.