Tulare County, California

4-07-3000 LICENSING OF DOGS REQUIRED:

A.    Except as established in section 4-07-3010(B), every Dog meeting the minimum age requirements to receive a rabies vaccination shall be subject to a Dog license fee, due and payable by its Owner or Custodian within thirty (30) calendar days of the acquisition of the Dog, or entry into the County. Thereafter, such license fee shall become due and payable on the date of expiration on any license previously issued to the Owner or Custodian for the Dog. The amount of such fee shall be established in accordance with Section 4.07.1300 of this chapter. No license shall be issued without evidence of a valid rabies vaccination.

B.    Upon the written certification of a Veterinarian that a Dog has been surgically sterilized, the amount of the license fee shall be not more than one half the fee established for intact Dogs, in accordance with Food and Agriculture Code Section 30804.5.

4-07-3225 SPAYING AND NEUTERING OF DOGS:

A.    All Dogs shall be spayed or neutered by the age of six (6) months, with the following exceptions:

1.    Dogs used by police agencies;

2.    Dogs that have a letter from a licensed Veterinarian stating spaying or neutering the Dog would be detrimental to the health of the Dog;

3.    Licensed Unaltered Dogs.

B.    Owners who have intact Dogs prior to the enacting of this Ordinance have six months to comply with subsection (A).

C.    Owners moving into the County of Tulare under the jurisdiction of these Ordinances in possession of intact Dogs have 90 days to comply with subsection (A).

D.     First-time offenders will be provided with information on subsidized sterilization services and be given an additional 60 days to comply with this Section. If they still fail to comply enforcement action will be taken in accordance with 4-07-2200.

4-07-4300 BREEDER PERMITS:

A.    It is unlawful for any person to breed Dogs for sale or other transfer, or to advertise for the sale or other transfer of such Animals, without first obtaining a Tulare County breeder permit for the litter’s Dam. The fees for a breeder permit shall be set by the Board of Supervisors and shall be paid to Animal Services.

B.    To obtain a permit, the applicant must fill out the appropriate application for each breeding female and be approved by Animal Services. The applicant must agree that they may not sell or adopt any Dogs until eight weeks of age and each has been vaccinated against common diseases; that each female dog will be bred based on the advice of their California licensed veterinarian ensuring that she is managed with excellent husbandry and has good reproductive health. A record of this advice and an annual veterinary examination supporting it shall be provided annually; that they commit to care for their retired/aged-out breeding Dogs or to make all reasonable effort to rehome the Dogs; and that any euthanasia of Dogs will be performed by a licensed Veterinarian. The breeder must list the permit number when advertising Dogs for sale or other transfer, must list the permit number as part of the sale or other transfer paperwork, and must disclose the permit number to all parties acquiring animals.

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D.    No breeding permits will be issued for Noncommercial Kennels.

E.    An individual without a Kennel Permit may obtain no more than one (1) breeding permit per calendar year. Permits are nontransferable and in the event that the Dog covered by a breeding permit dies or otherwise becomes unbreedable for that year, no replacement permit will be issued.

F.    A breeder permit shall be in addition to any other requirements and conditions set forth in the County ordinances or by state law, including Health and Safety Code Section 122045 et seq.

4-07-4300 SAME: ADVERTISING:

It is unlawful for any person to advertise for the sale or other transfer of any Dogs without including in the advertisement a valid Tulare County breeder permit number.

4-07-4400 VIOLATIONS:

A.    Individual without Kennel Permit; Violation of Breeding Permit Requirements.

1.    First Violation: A correctable Administrative Citation will be issued.

a.    Any individual, non-Kennel Permit holder, found by Animal Services to be in first-time violation of Section 4-07-4300 may correct the violation by either of the following:

i.    Retroactively obtaining a breeding permit(s); or

ii.    Providing proof of surrendering the puppies, after 8 weeks of age, to an Animal Rescue Organization, and proof of spaying the mother after 10 weeks, but before 14 weeks, after giving birth, and neutering the father if in the owner’s possession.

2.    Second Violation: A noncorrectable Administrative Citation will be issued. The penalty for a second violation will be one thousand dollars ($1,000), unless the dog owner provides proof of surrendering the puppies, after 8 weeks of age, to an Animal Rescue Organization, and proof of spaying the mother after 10 weeks, but before 14 weeks, after giving birth, and neutering the father if in the owner’s possession, in which case the fine will be fifty dollars ($50).

3.    Third Violation: Animal owner will be required to have their female dog spayed to protect the animal from further breeding activities. The animal owner will not be allowed to obtain any further Unaltered Dog License or Breeding Permit for a minimum of 36 months from the date of the third violation.

4-07-5200 ANIMALS SUBJECT TO IMPOUNDMENT:

D.     Redemption.

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4.    Upon the second Impoundment within a twenty-four (24) month period, any Animal so Impounded must be spayed or neutered at the Owner’s or Custodian’s expense prior to redemption, and any applicable breeding permit issued for the Animal revoked.