Puyallup, WA Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

PMC § 8.04.130 is a conditional, impoundment-triggered rule rather than a blanket spay/neuter mandate. It applies only once an unaltered dog or cat has been impounded more than once within any 12-month period: at that point the owner cannot redeem the animal until paying a $75.00 refundable deposit to the animal control authority, held by the shelter to ensure the spay/neuter (and microchip) procedures actually get done. The deposit is refunded only on proof of alteration from a licensed veterinarian; without that proof, the shelter keeps the $75.00.

The rule sits alongside the separate first-offense fee structure in PMC § 8.04.020(3)(b), where an owner gets a lower license fee for an altered animal by furnishing veterinary proof of alteration, or a vet's written statement that alteration would be harmful. A veterinarian's written statement that spay/neuter would harm the animal also excuses the repeat-impound deposit under § 8.04.130(3). Because the trigger is repeat impoundment, not ownership itself, a Puyallup resident whose dog or cat never gets loose faces no alteration requirement at all under this chapter.