Part 1 — LICENSING

10.20.010 License tags – Issuance – Fee. Pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 30801) of Division 14 and Section 31751 of Division 14.5 of the Food and Agricultural Code, the director shall issue serially numbered metallic dog and cat license tags stamped with the name of the City of Carson and shall collect for each such tag the sum of $1.00.

The provision of this Division 1 do not require either a tag or a license for:

1. Any dog or cat found within the City of Carson when the owner thereof resides in the unincorporated portion of the County of Los Angeles or in any municipality within the county, and such dog or cat is wearing or has attached to it a license tag for the current year issued by such municipality or county;

2. Any dog or cat owned by or in the charge of any person who is a nonresident of the City of Carson or of the County of Los Angeles and is traveling through the City of Carson or the County of Los Angeles or temporarily sojourning therein for a period of not exceeding thirty (30) days;

3. Any dog or cat brought into the City of Carson and kept therein for not to exceed thirty (30) days for the exclusive purpose of entering the same in any bench show, or dog or cat exhibition, or field trials or competition;

4. Any dog or cat brought or sent in to the City of Carson from any point outside thereof for the exclusive purpose or receiving care in any dog or cat hospital, in the event that such dog or cat is kept at all times strictly confined within such hospital;

5. Any dog or cat wearing or having attached to it a license tag for the current year issued by a municipality within the County of Los Angeles when the owner thereof has, within one (1) year last past, moved his principal place of residence from such municipality to the City of Carson; provided, that such municipality similarly exempts from tag and license requirements dogs and cats wearing current license tags and owned by persons who have moved from the City of Carson to such municipality.

A. Every person owning or having custody or control of a dog or either sex over the age of four (4) months which comes within the definition of guide dog, signal dog, or service dog who submits proof to the director that such dog has been successfully trained as a guide dog, or as a signal dog, or as a service dog shall procure a dog license tag and a license, which dog license tag and license shall be good while such dog is owned or harbored by the same person. No fee shall be charged for such license over and above the $1.00 required for the dog license tag.

B. As used in this section, "guide dog" means any guide dog or seeing-eye dog which was trained by a person licensed under Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 7200) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code.

C. As used in this section, "signal dog" means any dog trained to alert a deaf person, or a person whose hearing is impaired, to intruders or sounds.

D. As used in this section, "service dog" means any dog individually trained to do work or perform tasks to meet the requirements of a physically disabled person, including, but not limited to, minimal protection work, rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items.

10.20.110 License tag – Fee for spayed or neutered animals. Pursuant to Sections 30804.5 and 31751.5 of the Food and Agricultural Code, any dog or cat license tag issued pursuant to Section 10.20.030 of this Part 1 shall be issued for one-half or less of the fee required if a certificate is presented from a licensed veterinarian that the dog or cat has been spayed or neutered.

A. The license fees provided for in this chapter shall be paid annually to the director in the amount set forth in Section 10.90.010

B. A delinquency charge as provided in Section 10.90.010 shall be assessed when the license fees provided for in this chapter are not paid on or before the expiration date of the date the license is required to be obtained by the provisions of this title.

The director shall not issue a dog or cat license unless the applicant exhibits a certificate signed by a veterinarian, licensed either by the state of California or by any other state to practice veterinary medicine, that:

A. The period elapsing from the date of vaccination with approved rabies vaccine to the date of expiration of the license being issued does not exceed the time as established by the state; or

B. Such dog or cat should not be vaccinated with rabies vaccine because such vaccination would jeopardize the health of such dog or cat due to infirmity or other disability, which infirmity or other disability, and the estimated date of termination thereof, is shown on the face of the certificate to the satisfaction of the director.

If, during a license period, a dog or cat is sold or title to the dog or cat is otherwise transferred to a new owner, such new owner may apply to the director for a transfer of such dog's or cat's tag and license and pay a transfer fee of $5.00. Upon receipt of such application and fee, the director shall issue a certificate of transfer of such tag, and the names and addresses of the former and new owners.