Pound neutered my dog without my consent.

Question

The dog pound neutered my dog after he was claimed & we had to pay to get him back. This dog pound is familiar with my dog & we can’t breed him any more with our female.

California, USA

Answer

A few municipalities require shelters to sterilize dogs who have been impounded prior to returning them to their “parents.” The local laws I have seen in California that provide for spay/neuter prior to return of impounded animals are typically not applicable for the first impoundment. Local laws should be reviewed. However, if an animal is not retrieved within the legal hold time (the number of days a shelter must hold an animal to give the animal’s “parent” an opportunity to retrieve the animal), the shelter typically has the right to have the animal sterilized before returning the animal regardless of whether the animal had previously been impounded. The legal hold time varies throughout the country and sometimes even among municipalities within the same state.

Shelters generally charge impound fees when people reclaim their animals. These fees help to defray the shelters' expenses to care for the animals.

Worth noting as well is that many municipalities in California (and elsewhere) have enacted ordinances that require dogs and cats over the age of four or six months to be spayed or neutered unless the animal’s “parent” has an unaltered animal or breeding permit or a veterinarian certifies that the procedure would jeopardize the animal’s health.

Spaying and neutering help to control the serious overpopulation of dogs, cats, and other animals and can provide health benefits. Consider getting your female dog spayed asap!