City of Stockton
Animal Services
Animal Abandonment and Enforcement
Legislative and Environmental Committee
May 15, 2024
SMC 6.04.360
Adopted by Council on July 11, 2023 and implemented in August 2023.
Makes the ACT of willfully abandoning any animal within the City unlawful and a citable offense.
Burden of Proof is on Animal Services
Without video proof of abandonment and identifiers such as license plate number or some identification, willful
abandonment cannot be proved.
Animals with microchips are considered abandoned if their owner does not step forward to reclaim them following a 6 day hold and notification period.
Fines
First Offense $100
Second Offense or subsequent $1,000
First offenses are charged as an infraction, second and subsequent offenses are charged as misdemeanors
Second and subsequent offenses within one (1) year of the first offense have a fine of up to $1,000 and up to six (6) months imprisonment
Animal Services has issued 7 “first offense” citations since the implementation of SMC 6.04.360 in August 2023.
There have not been any second or subsequent offenses to date.
Process
➢ Office staff handles calls and
dispatch out to field officers
➢ Animal Service Officers handle
response and investigation
➢Investigation includes locating and
contacting owners of lost and
abandoned animals
Staffing
➢ 5 Animal Services Officers (ASO)
➢ Officers in the field, responding to all calls
related to animal services
➢ 3 Full-time Office Staff, 1 Part-time
➢ Office staff tasked with handling needs from the
entire Animal Services Division, they are not
specific to ASO work alone
Animal Services Statistics
Annual calls for service received
32,651 received for 2023
6,530 calls for each officer each year
Breaks down to approximately 25 calls per
day per officer