Many may not be aware but in July of 2015, the county did pass a licensing law for animals. Here is the link where the law is recorded.
Citizens were given six months ( I think I remember that part correctly) to either spay/neuter their dogs or pay a licensing fee for unaltered animals.
This is covered in Article IV section 3-44. There is also a broad variance for commercial breeders, hunters, etc. it was later tabled by commissioners when some citizens objected.
The commercial breeding laws are found in Article I Section 3-22. Standards of care for large commercial breeders. Of particular interest are the following:
(b) All large commercial dog and/or cat breeders must register with Cleveland County Animal Control. (c) All breeders must complete an annual application and pay an annual nonrefundable registration fee of fifty dollars ($50.00)
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Large commercial dog and/or cat breeder means any person who owns, has custody of, or maintains ten (10) or more female dogs or cats over the age of six (6) months that are capable of reproduction and kept primarily for the purpose of breeding and selling the offspring as pets.
Call me crazy, but this opens the door wide for backyard breeders if this is even being enforced…. with 18 puppies surrendered at CCAC yesterday with their moms, CARE currently has 17 puppies in our possession, and are looking at taking in more this weekend… there is a obvious and definite problem that needs to be addressed.
As a rescue, we offer to spay the female dog when we take puppies from individuals. If people surrender puppies to our local county run shelter, it should be mandatory that the mother be spayed.
Too many lives lost, because of human not being responsible. It is not the animals’ fault, but yet they pay with their lives…. stop the madness, be their voice!
