Is an animal shelter the owner of a stray animal?
No. Senate Bill 1785 of 1998, also known as the Hayden bill, declares that animal control shelters are involuntary depositaries. It is the opinion of the Board that animal control shelters are not the bona fide owner of the animals and therefore, not exempt from the Practice Act. This opinion is derived from the amendments the Hayden bill made to certain sections of the Civil and Penal Codes. (Civil Code sections 1815, 1816, 1834, 1845, 1846, 1984, and Penal Code section 597.1).
