DEADLINE LOOMING FOR SPAY-NEUTER DOG OWNERS FACE $1,000 FINE OR JAIL TIME.

Byline: Daily News

Dog owners living in the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County must have their dogs spayed or neutered and microchipped by Sept. 3 or face fines of up to $1,000 or jail, county officials said Tuesday.

Applying in communities such as Quartz Hill, Acton and Lake Los Angeles, the requirement follows the adoption of the mandatory spay-neuter and microchip ordinance by the county Board of Supervisors, which became effective on June 1.

``Our agency added a 90-day grace period during which we suspended active enforcement of the measure in order to give dog owners a chance to comply with the new law on their own,'' said Marcia Mayeda, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control.

``That period will expire on Sunday, Sept. 3, and officers from our department will begin active enforcement of the measure, which could mean fines starting at $250 per infraction and increasing to $1,000 and possibly a jail sentence for dog owners who refuse to comply with the law.''

The mandatory spay-neuter law is designed to reduce the high number of unclaimed and unwanted dogs coming into county animal shelters. It applies to all dogs kept in unincorporated areas.

There are exceptions in the law for certified and registered show dogs as well as for dogs that a veterinarian certifies as being at too much medical risk to spay or neuter.

In order to encourage compliance with the measure, the department is offering free microchip implanting and national database registration at its six shelters.

The agency also has enlisted the services of more than 70 veterinary medical practices that have agreed to spay and neuter dogs at the county's own low-cost rates or, in some cases, accept $50 discount vouchers the department is providing to senior citizens and people who have state-issued California Advantage cards.

The new law set annual dog-licensing fees at $20 for altered animals and $60 for unaltered dogs.

Income from the sale of dog licenses will be used to help finance county-run low-cost spay and neuter programs, to further encourage compliance.

``The goal of our agency is to drastically reduce the number of dogs we have to put down every year because there are more dogs available than homes to place them in,'' Mayeda said. ``Most animals in the community do not come from shelters and, in most cases, the dogs are not spayed or neutered. That means we are constantly receiving a new flow of animals every day in our shelters. We have to change this situation in order to move toward a `no kill' shelter model, which I support.''

Dog owners who have questions about the measure or who wish to inquire about having their dogs altered or microchipped can call [phone] for further information.