The Fix Is In
L.A. prepares for a neutering spree.
It's not yet 8 a.m. in the parking lot of Super A Foods in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, and nearly a dozen people are lined up to get their cats and dogs spayed and neutered inside the Amanda Foundation's free mobile clinic.
"I didn't get to my kitties in time in the first place. That's why I'm going through this headache now," says Kenneth Vandenberg, 46, who brought in his boys, Sylvester and Shippo, to be fixed. "I had two cats. Now I have 11."
As of last week, people like Vandenberg won't have the option to wait until it's too late. A new law just went into effect requiring most owners in Los Angeles to get their pets fixed after they reach the age of four months—one of the toughest such local ordinances in the nation, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. People with show and service dogs, licensed breeders and those who get a health letter from their vets are among those exempted. The city won't start enforcing the law until October, but pet owners are already taking notice.
"Our phone calls have tripled since the ordinance passed," says Teri Austin, the former star of "Knots Landing" who now heads the Amanda Foundation, a nonprofit rescue organization contracted by the city since 2005 to operate its mobile clinic in low-income neighborhoods, one of two such vans funded by the city.
"My mom was telling me about the law," says Amanda Delagarza, 18, who brought her four-month-old pit bull Canelo (cinnamon in Spanish) to the mobile clinic, even though she worries "there's not gonna be no more dogs."
The opposite problem spurred animal rights activists to lobby successfully for the new law, which was signed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in February after passing the city council by a 14-1 vote. They are trying to reduce the number of animals euthanized in Los Angeles shelters (15,000 of the more than 45,000 animals taken in last year). The number of pets put down has dropped steadily over the past five years, with a nearly 22 percent decline in 2007, but the goal is "no kill."
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Member Comments
Posted By: amcpike @ 05/01/2008 6:53:10 PM
Comment: I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who has adopted laws similar to those in L.A., but go even further. Here, all dogs and cats must be spayed or neutered and you can purchase an intact permit for $150 per pet, per year. All pets must be microchipped, and have current vaccinations. They must also have a city license. The $6 fee for the city license goes into a fund to help low income residents to spay and neuter their pets, but where do you think the intact permit fees go? Directly into the City's slush fund. There are even laws regarding the shade and shelter for your pets and amounts of food and water that must be present, etc.
These laws are a blatant disregard for the rights of pet owners. These laws do not punish the law breakers. Those that don't care about their animals will continue to let them run loose and will not bother with the new laws. When they get caught for violating, then they just surrender the animal and get another one down the road. These laws punish those of us that care deeply for our animals. I for one show my animals and so I am punished with high fees to keep them intact. I can guarantee that mine don't get out. Shouldn't I have to pay a fine when they do, rather than be charged up front for something that they have not done. My dogs will not be bred irresponsibly. They may not be bred at all if we do not feel their traits are worth passing on to better the breed. As far as the AKC being in it for the money. They are a non-profit organization. How could they be in it for the money?
There are legitimate studies that show the health risks of spaying and neutering animals. The animal activists have their hearts in the right place, but I think fines should only be levied if someone is proven to be in violation. Low cost procedures should be offered, but the process should be voluntary, not required. We cannot possibly save all of the unwanted animals. Making these laws will not make the problem disappear, but rather make good law abiding citizens into outlaws if they don't want to comply because they show or breed dogs.
Posted By: BadGas @ 04/24/2008 4:47:33 PM
Comment: Maybe people that do not want to spay and neuter their pets could work in the animal shelter for a week euthanizing unwanted animals...
Posted By: BadGas @ 04/24/2008 4:46:26 PM
Comment: Maybe folks that dont want to spay or neuter their animals could work in the animal shelter euthanizing animals for a week...