SECTIONS 30501-30504 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 30501-30504

30501. (a) The board of supervisors of any county or the governing
body of any city may adopt Sections 30801, 30802, 30803, 30804,
30805, 30952, 31105, 31106, 31107, 31108, 31152, 31153, 31251, 31252,
and 31254. If those sections are adopted by the board of supervisors
of any county or the governing body of any city, those sections
shall apply within the territorial limits of the county or the city,
as the case may be. Nothing in this division requires a county to
enforce those provisions within the territorial limits of any city
located within the county.
(b) Whenever the term "board of supervisors," "county," "county
clerk," or "animal control officer" is used in this division, those
terms shall also be deemed to include the governing body of a city, a
city, the city clerk, or the animal control officer of a city,
respectively.

30502. Any dog license tag which is issued by any city and county
or city constitutes compliance with this division if it is issued
pursuant to an ordinance which does all of the following:
(a) Substantially complies with this division.
(b) Provides for the wearing of the license tag upon the collar of
the dog.
(c) Provides for the keeping of a record which shall establish the
identity of the person that owns or harbors the dog.

30503. (a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), no
public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention
of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue
group shall sell or give away to a new owner any dog that has not
been spayed or neutered.
(2) For the purposes of this section a "rescue group" is a
for-profit or not-for-profit entity, or a collaboration of
individuals with at least one of its purposes being the sale or
placement of dogs that have been removed from a public animal control
agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals
shelter, or humane shelter or that have been previously owned by any
person other than the original breeder of that dog.
(b) (1) If a veterinarian licensed to practice veterinary medicine
in this state certifies that a dog is too sick or injured to be
spayed or neutered, or that it would otherwise be detrimental to the
health of the dog to be spayed or neutered, the adopter or purchaser
shall pay the public animal control agency or shelter, society for
the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter,
or rescue group a deposit of not less than forty dollars ($40), and
not more than seventy-five dollars ($75).
(2) The entity shall establish the amount of the deposit at the
level it determines is necessary to encourage the spaying or
neutering of dogs.
(3) The deposit shall be temporary, and shall only be retained
until the dog is healthy enough to be spayed or neutered, as
certified by a veterinarian licensed to practice veterinary medicine
in this state.
(4) The dog shall be spayed or neutered within 14 business days of
that certification.
(5) The adopter or purchaser shall obtain written proof of spaying
or neutering from the veterinarian performing the operation.
(6) If the adopter or purchaser presents proof of spaying or
neutering to the entity from which the dog was obtained within 30
business days of obtaining the proof, the adopter or purchaser shall
receive a full refund of the deposit.
(c) Public animal control agencies or shelters, society for the
prevention of cruelty to animals shelters, humane society shelters,
and rescue groups may enter into cooperative agreements with each
other and with veterinarians in lieu of requiring spaying and
neutering deposits to carry out this section.
(d) Any funds from unclaimed deposits made pursuant to this
section, as it read on January 1, 1999, and any funds from deposits
that are unclaimed after January 1, 2000, may be expended only for
programs to spay or neuter dogs and cats, including agreements with a
society for the prevention of cruelty to animals or a humane society
or licensed veterinarian to operate a program to spay or neuter dogs
and cats.
(e) This section only applies to a county that has a population
exceeding 100,000 persons as of January 1, 2000, and to cities within
that county.

30504. For purposes of this division, each member of a litter of
puppies, weaned or unweaned, shall be treated as an individual
animal.