Metro county passes ordinance requiring dogs, cats to be spayed, neutered and microchipped – WSB-TV Channel 2

FLOYD COUNTY, Ga. — A metro county approved a new spay-neuter pet ordinance as leaders try to find a way to cut down on the number of strays that shelters are taking in.

The Floyd County Board of Commissioner passed the ordinance by a 3-2 vote on Tuesday.

“We are really struggling with capacity in our shelter. We are struggling with picking up dogs that are under the current ordinance and having space for those dogs,” county manager Jamie McCord said.

“We have made vast improvements in our animal control facilities and animal shelter over the last several years. But the unintended breeding has become an issue. We are not doing a good job of this.”

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Under the new ordinance, any cat four months or older and any dog six months or older must be spayed or neutered and microchipped.

Floyd County pet owners will have not be allowed to have pets that aren’t fixed or microchipped. There are a few exceptions if the owner is a licensed pet dealer and the animals are kept for commercial breeding or if a licensed veterinarian provides a document about health concerns for the animal.

The ordinance also doesn’t apply to a dog that is a classified as a “working dog,” where they are trained for draft, herding, show, sporting and hunting.

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McCord said that while he isn’t 100% sure the ordinance will work to solve the problem, it’s one of the only solutions that county leaders have come up with.

“We do not have any reasonable alternatives that we can potentially address this issue. We think this is our best effort.”

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