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Pet Spay/Neuter laws

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Just Blue

Senior Member
If only. I've adopted many pets over the years, and I've never had anything like this happen before. It didn't occur to me, as there was a lot else going on at the time.

Ok, thanks :)
And yet you don't know how to figure out a male from a female. :rolleyes:
 


Mass_Shyster

Senior Member
Texas:

Three months ago I adopted a kitten, and signed a contract agreeing to have it sterilized one month later. The contract signed said the kitten was female, and nine months old. When I brought it to the vet one week later, I was told the kitten was male, and only about four-five months old. This is significant because according to the law in this state, male kittens adopted as pets do not need to be sterilized until eight months of age. In any case, the kitten had a bad cold and was both too young and too sick(according to the vet) to neuter at that time. I received no contact from the animal shelter at any point, and even if the sex of the kitten was wrong, it wasn't important enough for me to address.

Anyway, one month later(just after the deadline), the kitten was well enough to operate on, and just barely old enough to neuter without any issues. I made an appointment, and he was sterilized, about one month after the day specified by the contract. When the vet called the shelter to verify that they would still pay the expired voucher to have the cat neutered, they agreed- but they also informed me that they would issue a citation for failure to neuter the cat by the deadline. This is a class C misdemeanor.

So, given that both the age and sex of the kitten was wrong, and that I had a sick kitten to take care of immediately after adoption, I believe I acted in good faith in having the animal neutered as soon as it was possible and reasonable to do so. I am not in violation of the law, and had the shelter been following the law as written, the contract should have allowed me more time to neuter the kitten. What legal recourse do I have, and am I likely to have to pay whatever fine associated with the citation?
Does the shelter have the authority to issue a citation, or are they simply calling "someone" else?

I suggest you contact whomever that authority is and let them know that the shelter violated the same law by issuing an incorrect STERILIZATION AGREEMENT

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/HS/htm/HS.828.htm
 

Gail in Georgia

Senior Member
Having done volunteer work in shelters, people come up with all sorts of excuses as to why they don't spay/neuter/vaccinate the animals they adopt. Shelter folks have to deal with this sort of thing all the time.

Frankly, if you get the citation, ignore it. If it comes down to a court hearing (unlikely), bring the evidence you have from your vet as to why the surgery could not be performed within the required time period after adoption.

Gail
 

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