This Capstone explains the dog overpopulation problem in San Francisco where the increase in dog impoundments and animal cruelty cases, particularly ones involving dogs, has been straining its Department of Animal Care & Control’s already limited resources. At least 33 local governments around the United States have implemented mandatory spay/neuter laws for all dogs as a way to curb dog overpopulation. This Capstone argues for San Francisco to adopt a similar mandatory spay/neuter law, in which all dogs over the age of six months must be spayed or neutered, with certain exceptions. This will relieve the strain on Animal Care & Control, save the City money, and decrease pain, suffering, and even death among San Francisco’s dog population. Not only is spaying and neutering crucial to reducing the population of unwanted dogs, but it also has many health, behavioral, and societal benefits. This Capstone analyzes the arguments for and against mandatory spay/neuter laws and ultimately argues that such laws should be mandatory. It provides an analysis of shelter data from two municipalities—Clark County, Nevada, and Los Angeles County, California—that have implemented mandatory spay/neuter laws, which reveals that recent dog intake and euthanasia rates are the lowest they have been in the past two decades, indicating that these laws are successful at reducing the unwanted dog population. This Capstone then outlines details of a mandatory spay/neuter law that would be ideal for San Francisco.
","abstract_html":"<p>This Capstone explains the dog overpopulation problem in San Francisco where the increase in dog impoundments and animal cruelty cases, particularly ones involving dogs, has been straining its Department of Animal Care & Control’s already limited resources. At least 33 local governments around the United States have implemented mandatory spay/neuter laws for all dogs as a way to curb dog overpopulation. This Capstone argues for San Francisco to adopt a similar mandatory spay/neuter law, in which all dogs over the age of six months must be spayed or neutered, with certain exceptions. This will relieve the strain on Animal Care & Control, save the City money, and decrease pain, suffering, and even death among San Francisco’s dog population. Not only is spaying and neutering crucial to reducing the population of unwanted dogs, but it also has many health, behavioral, and societal benefits. This Capstone analyzes the arguments for and against mandatory spay/neuter laws and ultimately argues that such laws should be mandatory. It provides an analysis of shelter data from two municipalities—Clark County, Nevada, and Los Angeles County, California—that have implemented mandatory spay/neuter laws, which reveals that recent dog intake and euthanasia rates are the lowest they have been in the past two decades, indicating that these laws are successful at reducing the unwanted dog population. This Capstone then outlines details of a mandatory spay/neuter law that would be ideal for San Francisco.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lang, Davi"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Public Affairs (MoPA)","degree_level":"Project/Capstone - Global access","degree_discipline":"Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["David Ryan","Corey Cook","Angela Fleekop"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-12-13T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-12-13T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:42:43Z","subjects":["mandatory spay neuter","dogs","companion animals","overpopulation","animal rights","animal welfare","Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/6","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["David Ryan","Corey Cook","Angela Fleekop"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Lang, Davi"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-01-13T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Project/Capstone - Global access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Public Affairs (MoPA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["mandatory spay neuter","dogs","companion animals","overpopulation","animal rights","animal welfare","Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/6"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This Capstone explains the dog overpopulation problem in San Francisco where the increase in dog impoundments and animal cruelty cases, particularly ones involving dogs, has been straining its Department of Animal Care & Control’s already limited resources. At least 33 local governments around the United States have implemented mandatory spay/neuter laws for all dogs as a way to curb dog overpopulation. This Capstone argues for San Francisco to adopt a similar mandatory spay/neuter law, in which all dogs over the age of six months must be spayed or neutered, with certain exceptions. This will relieve the strain on Animal Care & Control, save the City money, and decrease pain, suffering, and even death among San Francisco’s dog population. Not only is spaying and neutering crucial to reducing the population of unwanted dogs, but it also has many health, behavioral, and societal benefits. This Capstone analyzes the arguments for and against mandatory spay/neuter laws and ultimately argues that such laws should be mandatory. It provides an analysis of shelter data from two municipalities—Clark County, Nevada, and Los Angeles County, California—that have implemented mandatory spay/neuter laws, which reveals that recent dog intake and euthanasia rates are the lowest they have been in the past two decades, indicating that these laws are successful at reducing the unwanted dog population. This Capstone then outlines details of a mandatory spay/neuter law that would be ideal for San Francisco.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Mandatory Spay/Neuter Ordinance in San Francisco: The Solution to San Francisco’s Other Homeless Problem"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["David Ryan","Corey Cook","Angela Fleekop"],"dc:creator":["Lang, Davi"],"dc:date.available":["2014-01-13T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This Capstone explains the dog overpopulation problem in San Francisco where the increase in dog impoundments and animal cruelty cases, particularly ones involving dogs, has been straining its Department of Animal Care & Control’s already limited resources. At least 33 local governments around the United States have implemented mandatory spay/neuter laws for all dogs as a way to curb dog overpopulation. This Capstone argues for San Francisco to adopt a similar mandatory spay/neuter law, in which all dogs over the age of six months must be spayed or neutered, with certain exceptions. This will relieve the strain on Animal Care & Control, save the City money, and decrease pain, suffering, and even death among San Francisco’s dog population. Not only is spaying and neutering crucial to reducing the population of unwanted dogs, but it also has many health, behavioral, and societal benefits. This Capstone analyzes the arguments for and against mandatory spay/neuter laws and ultimately argues that such laws should be mandatory. It provides an analysis of shelter data from two municipalities—Clark County, Nevada, and Los Angeles County, California—that have implemented mandatory spay/neuter laws, which reveals that recent dog intake and euthanasia rates are the lowest they have been in the past two decades, indicating that these laws are successful at reducing the unwanted dog population. This Capstone then outlines details of a mandatory spay/neuter law that would be ideal for San Francisco.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/6"],"dc:subject":["mandatory spay neuter","dogs","companion animals","overpopulation","animal rights","animal welfare","Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration"],"dc:title":["A Mandatory Spay/Neuter Ordinance in San Francisco: The Solution to San Francisco’s Other Homeless Problem"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good"],"thesis:degree_level":["Project/Capstone - Global access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Public Affairs (MoPA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:42:43Z"}