Animal breeders and owners took to the streets Saturday to urge the Waco City Council to back off from its plan to require them to pay for permits to keep their pets intact.

They showed up with their dogs at a “Waco Tail Party” rally at Heritage Square, sponsored by the Cen-Tex Kennel Club with an assist from the Waco Tea Party.

About 20 people showed up in the first 30 minutes of the two-hour event.

JoAnn Uptmor protests Saturday with her Australian shepherd, Marney, at the “Waco Tail Party.”
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

The ordinance in question is up for the second of two required votes Tuesday, after passing unanimously on the first vote last month despite opposition from breeders.

The council meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at the city operations center, 1415 N. Fourth St.

The ordinance would force owners to neuter dogs and cats older than 6 months or pay a yearly breeding permit fee, estimated to be $50 per pet.

The ordinance allows exceptions for animals who are trained for public safety work, who are held at a pet store or shelter or who have a veterinarian’s note advising against neutering.

Advocates at the Waco Humane Society and the city’s animal advisory board said the “spay or pay” ordinance could be effective in reducing pet overpopulation. The ordinance would be enforced only on a complaint basis or in the course of other animal control enforcement actions.

But opponents at Saturday’s event said the ordinance would amount to a pet tax that only responsible owners would pay.

“I think it’s unfair,” said attendee JoAnn Uptmor, a member of the Cen-Tex Kennel Club. “It’s just attacking people who are responsible.”

She was there with her Australian shepherd, Marney, who is spayed and works as a therapy dog.

“I really believe in spaying dogs,” Uptmor said. “There are too many dogs on the road and too many people who let their dogs breed with no purpose.”

But she said the city should try to craft an ordinance that targets puppy mills and irresponsible breeders.

Uptmor said she was not involved in the Waco Tea Party and was unclear on how much it was involved in the protest.

Jeanie Davis, the organizer of the event, is both a Cen-Tex Kennel Club member and a member of the Waco Tea Party, which formed last year as part of a national backlash against government spending and other issues.

Davis said the animal ordinance is an example of government stepping beyond its limits.

“Limited government is what we stand for, and here the government is trying to interfere,” she said.

jbsmith@wacotrib.com

757-5752

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