Berkeley Animal Care Services adopts dogs and cats under spay-neuter contracts, and California state law requires shelters statewide to alter animals before release, with limited medical exemptions.
Under California Food and Agriculture Code sections governing public shelters, all dogs and cats released for adoption must be spayed or neutered before transfer, or the adopter must sign a deposit-backed contract with a deadline for completion. Berkeley Animal Care Services follows these statewide rules and provides low-cost vouchers through partner clinics. Berkeley does not impose a city-wide mandatory alteration ordinance for privately owned pets, but unaltered dogs require additional license fees and unaltered animals impounded as strays face elevated reclaim costs. Medical exemptions require veterinarian certification.
Failure to complete required alteration after shelter adoption forfeits the deposit and may result in animal repossession. Unaltered license fees are higher.
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