Santa Barbara, California

§ 6.12.050 Dog License Requirement.

A. Mandatory License Requirement – Altered Dogs. Any person owning or having custody or control of one or more dogs in the City shall obtain a license and pay the license fee for custody or control of each such dog over the age of four months. The license fees authorized by this chapter shall be established by resolution of the City Council, and such fees shall be set at a lesser amount for dogs which have been spayed or neutered. In the event the animal to be licensed has been spayed or neutered prior to the issuance by the City of the first license to that dog, a written statement^[1] from a licensed veterinarian certifying the dog to have been spayed or neutered must be presented at the time the license is obtained in order to qualify for a reduced dog license fee.

B. Mandatory License Requirement – Unaltered Dogs. For those dogs which are to be licensed as nonspayed or non-neutered dogs, prior to the issuance by the City of the first license to a dog, and each time a City dog license is issued after the renewal of a rabies vaccination certificate for that dog, the owner of an unaltered dog shall present to the City a copy of the veterinary certificate (as such certificate is shown in the form attached to this chapter as an exhibit) certifying that the owner has discussed the potential concerns which may arise in owning and keeping an unaltered dog with a duly-licensed veterinarian and that the owner has been counseled by the veterinarian on the owner’s responsibilities in keeping an unaltered dog. The unaltered dog certification required by this subsection may, at the discretion of the veterinarian, be incorporated into the wording of the rabies vaccination certificate issued by that veterinarian.

§ 6.12.055 Unaltered Cat License Requirement.

A. Mandatory License Requirement – Unaltered Cats. Any person owning, keeping, or having custody or control of one or more unaltered cats in the City shall obtain a cat license from the City and pay the required license fee for having custody or control of each unaltered cat over the age of four months. The license fee authorized by this chapter for unaltered cats shall be established by resolution of the City Council.

B. Unaltered Cats – Veterinarian Certificate. For those cats licensed as required by subsection A above, prior to the issuance by the City of the first license to such a cat, and upon the issuance of each City license thereafter, the owner of an unaltered cat shall present to the City a copy of a veterinary certificate (as such certificate is shown in the form attached to this section as an exhibit) certifying that the owner has discussed the potential concerns which may arise in owning or keeping an unaltered cat with a duly-licensed veterinarian and that the owner has been counseled by the veterinarian on the owner’s responsibilities in keeping an unaltered cat.

§ 6.12.058 Special Fund – Unaltered License Surcharge.

Notwithstanding Section 6.04.020, in establishing the amount of City pet license fees for the keeping of an unaltered pet pursuant to Section 6.12.050 or Section 6.12.055 hereof, the City Council may also establish a license surcharge amount, which surcharge is to be earmarked into a special City fund for use, at the discretion of the Chief of Police, in funding City educational outreach activities regarding the possible concerns with owning an unaltered pet and to foster methods to encourage City pet owners to be responsible in the ownership and maintenance of an unaltered pet.