FEES RISE FOR FERTILE DOGS CITY HOPES $100 COST WILL HELP REDUCE STRAY POPULATION.

Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer

Annual city fees for unneutered dogs jumped from $30 to $100 on Wednesday, the first day of a new law aimed at cutting down on strays and euthanasia in shelters.

Cats are not required to be licensed. But city officials urged cat owners to alter their animals or face a fine up to $100 if they allow their pet to roam outside.

Five employees have been hired to enforce the law, although officials acknowledged they don't intend to try to make every pet owner comply and have no plans to scour neighborhoods or go door to door.

``When our officers meet somebody, it will not be: I'm going to bust you. I'm not going to arrest you, I'm encouraging you to spay and neuter,''' said Dan Knapp, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services.

The officers will talk with pet owners who pick up their stray dogs or cats at city shelters. And they will read classified advertisements in newspapers to locate and notify breeders of the new law.

Critics including Lois Newman, the president of the Cat and Dog Rescue Association, believe the law is unenforceable.

``They have five officers in a city of 4 million people,'' she said. ``Do you think the City Attorney's Office is going to prosecute five (thousand) or 10,000 of these cases? Of course they're not going to.''

Knapp disagreed. ``The City Attorney's Office has assured us that they will aggressively prosecute,' he said during a news conference at the South Central Shelter.

Officials believe the pet ordinance could help prevent about 67,000 dog births over six years, and 420,000 cat births over seven years.

``It'll work,'' Knapp said.

Now, of the 71,000 dogs that end up in city shelters each year, 51,000 are euthanized, Knapp said.

Breeding permits for cats or dogs cost an additional $100 a year per animal. The fee for altered pets remained the same: $10 a year.

Coupons for $20 for cats and $30 for dogs will be available at shelters to help pay for the surgery, which cost on average between $25 and $100, Knapp said.

Under the law, owners of unaltered pets have 45 days to comply, and then can be fined up to $500. If they fail to pay that after 15 days, they could face six months in jail, or a $1,000 fine.