§ 5-4.506. Licensing.

(a)

Any person owning or having custody of any dog four (4) months or older shall pay an annual license fee. The license fee for dogs shall be established by the City Council. The increased fees collected by the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services for unaltered dogs, less administrative costs, shall be used to pay for vouchers to support spay/neuter programs.

(b)

Any person owning or having custody of any unaltered dog which meets any of the following criteria shall pay a reduced unaltered annual license fee, as listed in Section 5-2.201 of this title.

(1)

An owner who owns or operates an actual livestock working ranch or livestock farming operation of more than two (2) acres;

(2)

An owner who registers and participates in an American Kennel Club (AKC), United Kennel Club (UKC), or other State or nationally recognized organization and is a member of a parent club or organization for the purposes of showing, training, agility trials, or hunting and provides documentation to the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services of such membership and participation in the above animal activities.

(c)

If the owner fails to obtain the dog license required in this section, upon the expiration of the thirty (30) days, the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services shall impose a twenty-five dollar ($25.00) late penalty on the owner of the dog. This late fee shall not be waived by the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services upon the transfer or abandonment of the dog by the noncompliant owner. This late penalty shall be imposed in addition to any other applicable civil or criminal penalties and all penalties shall be placed in the Stanislaus County Alternative to Euthanasia (SCATE) Program to be used for spaying or neutering of cats and dogs.

(d)

If the penalty mentioned in subsection (c) of this section is not paid, and the owner fails to obtain the license required under subsection (a) of this section within fifteen (15) days from the date when the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services first notified the dog owner of the imposition of the penalty mentioned in subsection (c) of this section, the continuing violation of the license requirement of this section becomes an additional infraction and may be prosecuted as such.

(e)

The Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services shall be responsible for the enforcement and administration of this article and all costs associated thereto.

(f)

A cat owner may voluntarily obtain a license for their cat. If the cat owner voluntarily purchases a cat license, then the cat owner shall be eligible to receive a voucher for the spay/neuter identification program operated by the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services.

(Added by Ord. 3398-C.S., § 1, effective 12-01-05)