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Plano toughens pet sterilization rules
12:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, April 21, 2009
By THEODORE KIM / The Dallas Morning News
tkim@dallasnews.com
Just months after Dallas adopted strict pet sterilization rules, the Plano City Council has approved even tougher requirements.
Plano's council last week unanimously approved an ordinance requiring most dogs, cats and ferrets to be spayed or neutered and implanted with microchips at 4 months of age.
It applies to all animals for sale or that change ownership, but exempts certain hobby dog breeders.
Observers say Plano's ordinance is among the strictest in the nation. The rule, which the council approved April 14 in its consent agenda, took effect immediately.
The action capped a months-long debate over the merits of mandatory sterilization, which has gained steam here and beyond as communities seek to contain both vicious dogs and fast-growing populations of strays.
"We hope this will help with the problem," Jamey Cantrell, the city's animal services manager, said of Plano's rising number of strays.
A number of cities, including Dallas, have overhauled animal control laws to address strays and vicious dogs.
Moreover, state lawmakers are considering more expansive measures to curtail wanton and inhumane breeders. For instance, proposals in the House and Senate would give Texas regulators the power to police and license the commercial breeding industry.
But animal groups remain at odds on just how early in a pet's life to mandate sterilization, if at all. The requirements also have riled the insular world of hobby dog breeders, who view the rules as heavy handed.
Dallas considered requiring sterilization at 4 months, but later adopted a 6-months rule after hobby breeders complained.
Plano tried to strike a compromise: While the city enacted a stricter standard, the ordinance attempts to exempt hobby dog aficionados.
Verjean Lunenschloss of Plano, a breeder of great Danes, has been vocal in her opposition to the city's spay/neuter requirement.
She also predicted the city would have problems enforcing the new ordinance, as well as the hobby dog exemption to it.
Yet she lauded Plano for seeking common ground.
"We're not happy with the 4-month requirement. But overall we're satisfied," she said.
The spay/neuter requirement is but one part of a broader overhaul of the city's animal control laws.
Other changes, adopted in February, include limiting single-family homes to owning a maximum of 10 pets and prohibiting animals from being tethered to objects in most circumstances.
