Agenda - 02-12-2013 - 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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21 17 information about spay /neuter services in the area. The handout mentioned above will also contain this information. c. Identify low - income families who may be reluctant to spay/neuter their pets due to cost, and provide personalized service to link there to affordable, accessible, safe, and efficient spay/neuter programs. OCAS has already put into place a program to provide individualized, personal assistance to low- income pet owners to help connect them to low- or no -cost spay/neuter services. d. ]Provide compelling incentives for pet owners to spay/neuter their dogs and cats. The committee continues to recommend a tiered and differential impoundment fee that financially favors pet owners who have sterilized their cats and dogs, and provides negative incentives to pet owners who have chosen not to spay/neuter their pets. Our latest version of this includes higher penalties to owners who have recovered an animal three or more times from the shelter, as well as a deposit system for these owners to further encourage sterilization. The proposed tiered impoundment fees are: First recovery: $25 for a sterilized cat/dog, $50 for a reproductive cat/dog Second recovery: $50 for a sterilized cat/dog, $loo for a reproductive cat/dog Third recovery: $ 100 for a sterilized cat/dog, $200 for a reproductive cat/dog. The fee for a reproductive pet is a combination of a $ loo impoundment fee and a $ loo sterilization deposit. If the owner provides OCAS proof of sterilization in the form of a veterinary record within 90 days of recovering his/her pet, the $100 sterilization deposit will be refunded to the owner. Fourth recovery: $200 for a sterilized cat/dog, $400 for a reproductive cat/dog. The fee for a reproductive pet is a combination of a $300 impoundment fee and a $100 sterilization deposit. If the owner provides OCAS proof of sterilization in the form of a veterinary record within 90 days of recovering his/her pet, the $100 sterilization deposit will be refunded to the owner. (Note: The committee recognizes that the combined fee of $400 may make it prohibitively expensive for some owners to recover their pets. However, it should be stressed that most low - income households would qualify for low - cost or no -cost sterilization services from the County's own program and thus pay no more than $20 for the procedure. In addition, the fact that a reproductive animal has been brought to OCAS as a stray four or more times should be taken into consideration when deciding whether it is in the animal's best interest and in the best interest of the community to be returned to that owner. The owner also would have had at least three prior interactions with OCAS staff during which education regarding spay/neuter options would have been provided.) The committee decided to implement the deposit system only after the second dog /cat recovery for these reasons: c. The committee opted to keep impoundment fees low for first and second recoveries, understanding that animal escapes can happen that do not necessarily reflect owner negligence. After first and second recoveries, our hope is that the helpful information provided by OCAS staff regarding spay/neuter benefits and options will encourage most owners to spay/neuter their reproductive animals. By the third pet recovery, we believe that stronger incentives are required. These include higher impoundment fees and the promise of a returned sterilization deposit if proof of sterilization within 90 days is provided.