A. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any impounded animal that is not redeemed within the applicable holding period specified by this chapter or required by state law, may, in the discretion of the division manager, be adopted for not less than the amount of redemption fees set forth in Sections 9.44.180 and 9.44.190 of this chapter, plus the cost of alteration as set forth in subsection B of this section, destroyed or otherwise disposed of; provided, however, that no animal shall be adopted rescued destroyed or otherwise disposed of until seventy-two (72) hours after notice of the impoundment has been given to the owner if the owner be known, and further provided that owner-relinquished animals are available for adoption immediately.
If the animal is then released, the receipt signed by the division manager or the manager's designee shall be a valid title to the adopter.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, an impounded animal determined by the division manager or the manager's designee to be unadoptable may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of as ordered by the division manager or the manager's designee.
B. No dog, cat, rabbit or swine shall be adopted pursuant to this section unless the animal was spayed or neutered prior to its impoundment or is spayed or neutered at the adopter's expense prior to delivery of the animal to the adopter.
C. Notwithstanding subsection B, an animal that is too young, too old, too ill, or too injured to be spayed or neutered may be adopted if the purchaser makes a spay/neuter deposit of not less than forty dollars ($40.00), and not more than seventy-five dollars ($75.00) and agrees in writing to spay or neuter the animal and provide written proof thereof to the division manager on or before a specific date set forth in the written agreement. The written agreement shall contain the following statements:
I agree to spay or neuter the animal I am adopting as required by state law and the Sacramento City Code. I understand that failure either to spay or neuter the animal I am adopting or to provide written proof that I have done so to the division manager on or before ___(date)____is a violation of Section 9.44.170 of the Sacramento City Code. The violation is an infraction punishable by a fine, or may be punishable by an administrative penalty of not less than $300.00, or both.
Any person signing an agreement who fails to spay or neuter the animal, or fails to provide proof that the animal has been spayed or neutered, on or before the date specified in the agreement, shall be guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine, or may be subject to an administrative penalty of not less than three hundred dollars ($300.00) imposed pursuant to the procedures set forth in Chapter 1.28 of this code, or both. Any person who is issued a citation or administrative penalty order for violating this section shall be subject to an additional administrative penalty of five hundred dollars ($500.00) if he or she fails to spay or neuter the animal, or fails to provide proof that the animal has been spayed or neutered, within thirty (30) days after the date the citation or order is issued. (Ord. 2002-048 § 1; prior code § 6.07.084)