Stonecrest, GA Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

The duty runs on two independent tracks. Sec. 5-25(a) requires a dog or cat that a court has classified as dangerous or vicious to be sterilized by a licensed veterinarian within 30 days of the final classification order. Sec. 5-25(b) requires any dog or cat adopted from the city, or through a qualified adoption facilitator, rescue group, or shelter, to be sterilized: puppies and kittens within six months of adoption, and adult dogs and cats within just 30 days of adoption. Sec. 5-25(c) sends ferret owners to whatever sterilization rules exist under state law rather than imposing a separate city mandate.

Compliance for the classified-animal track feeds directly into the certificate of registration under Sec. 5-12(b)(4), which lists written veterinary evidence of sterilization as one of the four documents needed before the city will issue the certificate that lets the owner legally keep the animal. On the administrative side, Sec. 5-21(b) requires veterinarians to return spay/neuter certificates to the police chief or designated animal control officer within 30 days of the surgery date, and it bars payment on any voucher for a city-requested sterilization submitted more than one year after the surgery. Enforcement of both tracks runs through the Police Chief and DeKalb County Animal Control under Sec. 5-19.