THOUSAND OAKS : City Raises Fees for Unneutered Dogs

With licensing fees rising in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, Thousand Oaks this week agreed to a 50% increase in the annual fee charged to owners of dogs that have not been neutered.

In Thousand Oaks, dog license fees will jump from $20 to $30 on Jan. 1 under an ordinance adopted unanimously by the City Council. The city contracts with the Los Angeles County animal care and control office to administer its animal services.

In the fiscal year that ended June 30, Thousand Oaks spent $92,000 in shelter and other costs related to unneutered dogs. Owners of neutered dogs are charged $10 a year for a license.

“An increase to a $30 fee for unaltered dogs will create an even wider gap in these fees and a greater cost benefit to having dogs altered,” a city memorandum reads.

Annual license fees are also on the rise elsewhere in Ventura County, where more than 36,000 dogs are licensed.

Animal regulation officials in Camarillo said they plan to ask the Board of Supervisors to increase the rate for neutered dogs from $8.50 to $10 a year. The owners of unaltered animals would be charged $30 every year, an increase of $3 from current fees.

Santa Paula and Oxnard are the only Ventura County cities that license their dogs themselves. Both cities charge $7.50 a year for neutered dogs and $25 for unneutered dogs, but Santa Paula plans to raise its license fees to $10 and $30 by Jan. 1.