New sterilization law effective Jan 1, 2009

You may have heard that as of January 1st, 2009, all cats and dogs that are adopted from an animal rescue organization in Colorado must be either be:

• spayed or neutered prior to release, or

• adopted with the promise of being sterilized within 90 days. The adopting owner must sign an agreement to that fact and pay a deposit. Upon providing proof of sterilization by a licensed veterinarian within 90 days, the owner's deposit will be refunded. If an owner fails to provide such proof, the animal shelter has the right to reclaim the pet.

This is a great step forward to combat pet overpopulation and we applaud the effort.

However, the new policy has posed some challenges, mainly the lack of licensed veterinarians in rural areas to meet the needs of small community shelters. To help alleviate the problem for one such shelter, West Ridge Animal Hospital has begun to perform spays and neuters for the local rescue organization, K9 Bed and Bisquit.

We are glad to do our part in reducing the number of homeless pets in Colorado.

Go here to see the bill as it is written.