Fort Collins, CO Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

Chapter 4's dangerous and vicious animal provisions, Sec. 4-197(a)(1), set out the terms a Municipal Judge must include in a permanent Dangerous Animal Permit once a court finds an animal dangerous and does not order it destroyed. Among the mandatory conditions listed alongside liability insurance, special identification collars, secure confinement, and warning signage, subsection (a)(1)k requires that the animal be spayed or neutered within ten days of the Dangerous Animal Permit being made permanent, with documentation provided to the Larimer Humane Society. This sits inside a much larger regulatory package for dangerous animals under Sec.

4-96 and 4-197 rather than a general pet ownership rule; ordinary dogs and cats kept as pets in Fort Collins carry no municipal spay/neuter obligation. The separate sterilization requirement in Sec. 4-142 is also narrow: it binds animal shelters and rescues, not individual owners, requiring that a shelter or rescue not release a dog or cat to a new owner unless the animal has already been sterilized by a licensed veterinarian, subject to a documented veterinary delay exception under state law.