Chicopee, MA Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

Section 144-22 of the Chicopee Code is the sterilization mandate in Chapter 144, and it reaches dogs leaving the City's custody, not dogs already owned. No unclaimed dog can be released for adoption without being sterilized, or without a written agreement from the adopter guaranteeing that the animal will be sterilized. A deposit of at least $35 is paid at the time of adoption, and $25 is refunded after proof of sterilization.

How a dog becomes adoptable: under § 144-5, animal control officers, police, humane officers or Board of Health officials impound unrestrained dogs in an animal shelter. Impounded dogs are kept not fewer than seven days, or any lesser minimum period the Massachusetts General Laws permit, unless the owner claims them. An owner reclaiming a dog pays an administrative fee of $40 plus $15 for each day the animal was impounded. A dog not reclaimed in that window becomes the property of the local government authority and is placed for adoption in a suitable home or humanely euthanized. That adoption pool is what § 144-22 governs.

Owned dogs: Chapter 144 uses license pricing instead of a mandate. Under § 144-20(J) a license is $5 for a neutered male or spayed female one year or older and $25 for an unneutered male or unspayed female one year or older, while any dog under one year old is $5. Separately, § 144-23(C)(4) lets the Board of Health order a dog declared a nuisance or dangerous dog to be surgically sterilized and microchipped with all costs borne by the owner. Section 144-20(O) requires shelters, rescue organizations, pet shops, professional breeders and veterinarians in the City of Chicopee to notify the licensing authority upon transfer of ownership of any dog.