(1) All dogs, cats, pot-bellied pigs, and ferrets must be licensed each year to a person of the age of 18 years or older, except as otherwise provided herein.

(2) Any person owning or possessing any animal subject to licensing shall obtain a license for such animal within 30 days after the animal reaches the age of four months; or, in the case of an animal over the age of four months, within 30 days of the acquisition of the animal.

(3) License applications shall be submitted annually to the Animal Control Division, utilizing a standard form which requests name, address, and telephone number of the applicant; breed, sex, color, and age of the animal; previous license information; and rabies vaccination and sterilization information. The application shall be accompanied by the prescribed license fee, a current rabies vaccination certificate, and a sterilization certificate.

(4) The fees charged for licenses shall be those set forth in the Consolidated Fee Schedule as currently adopted by the City Council. No animal will be licensed as spayed or neutered without veterinary verification that such surgery was performed.

(5) The license shall be effective for 12 months from the date of purchase, through the end of the same month of the following year, after which a late fee may be imposed. The license may be purchased 30 days prior to the expiration date. A current license from another jurisdiction may be transferred to a license from this agency upon payment of the transfer fee as set forth in the Consolidated Fee Schedule, and proof of current licensure is provided from the previous agency. A transferred license shall be valid through the term of the original license.

(6) A fund shall be maintained for the purpose of providing financial assistance for the sterilization of animals where the owner of said animal is financially unable to provide for surgery. The fund shall be comprised of donated funds and $10 of each unsterilized license fee.