Outraged pet owners and animal rights attorneys say these harsh tactics are all about generating money and unfairly impact low-income Americans.

But animal control agencies, which are run by local governments or contractors, say the fees and fines they collect help them to do their jobs and pay for things like storing animals. They also say their rules are meant to encourage responsible pet ownership and keep neighborhoods and animals safe.

The ASPCA, an animal welfare non-profit, said enforcement efforts are "typically rooted in good intentions" but they can have "unintended consequences" that can lead to owners losing their pets.

After coming under fire for alleged mistreatment of animals, Stockton has overhauled its shelter policies by lowering fees, facilitating more animal adoptions, and trying harder to reunite lost and seized pets with their owners -- all of which the shelter claims has resulted in a steep drop in euthanizations, from more than 75% of animals at the shelter in 2012 to 25% last year. It still faces a lawsuit filed by an animal rights group that alleges animal abuse, though the shelter says many of the allegations were already being addressed.

But aggressive tactics are still common elsewhere.

They are threatening people. They are intimidating people." — Kim Maguire-Hardee, a local activist who runs a low-cost spay and neuter clinic

Indio, California resident Elizabeth Vasquez says that animal control officers seized her two dogs, Silver and Canelo, for being loose in the neighborhood and fined her $500. She claims they were secure in her backyard at the time.

She used her grocery money to pay $200 -- enough to get Canelo back. But animal control killed Silver before she could scrape together enough cash to get the dog out, says Vasquez, who speaks only Spanish.