MOLLY'S BILL PASSES CALIFORNIA SENATE

We are pleased to announce that the California Senate today passed Molly's Bill (AB 258) 38-0. It was managed on the Senate floor by Senator Leno.
This has been a long time in the making - we started this in the last legislative session - and while it is not a perfect bill, it will, if signed by Governor Brown, for the first time offer a clear path so that unhealthy dogs whose health would be further compromised by receiving the rabies vaccine can be granted an exemption from the anti-rabies vaccine.
This year the bill was co-sponsored by Concerned Dog Owners of California and the Veterinary Arm of HSUS. Assembly Member Curt Hagman and his Capitol Director Victoria Stewart did a great job of overcoming the constant hurdles. In that they were assisted by the California Veterinary Medical Association, their Sacramento representatives Mike Dillon and Christina DiCaro. Our thanks to Assembly Member Hagman, Victoria Stewart, Senator Leno, Jennifer Fearing, Scott Sadler, Val Fenstermaker, Jean Dodds, Pam Runquist and Lisa Lippman for all the time and effort on this bill.

And thanks to CDOC members and dog lovers throughout the state for their calls and letters. We are sure that Sutter, First Dog of California, will whisper in Governor Brown's ear that this is an excellent bill.

And then Molly and others like her will be safe.

Posted via email from cdocdogtalk

UPDATE FROM IRVINE

ANIMAL WELFARE ORDINANCES TO GET SPECIAL MEETING DATE

This morning an email from Jana Ransom advised that the City Council realizes the Animal Ordinances proposed by the Council will need "discussion at some length". For that reason is tentatively scheduled for late September or early October. Irvine has committed to a 30 day notification period on its website at http://www.cityofirvine.org/cityhall/cs/animalcare/proposed_animal_welfare_or.... CDOC will also post as soon as a date is announced.
Please continue your dialogues with members of the City Council about these ordinances, none of which make any sense for Irvine. As CDOC was told by a City staffer, Irvine wants to 'look progressive', evidently at the expense of small business and animals.

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SNIPING WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE

It has often said that 'dog people' are their own worst enemy and this 2011 legislative season seems to be proving that.

First, who are the 'dog people'.  For this and the following blogs in this series, 'dog people' are folks like CDOC members and supporters; individuals who are extremely knowledgeable about dogs, animal husbandry and animal behavior.  Many are also dog lovers.  And so our groups tend to be frustrated when we see laws and ordinances being passed that totally ignore or even refute widely accepted information on canine behavior and health issues.  But in expressing our opinions, we have to be careful not to make the same mistakes ourselves. 

CDOC is the sponsor of AB 1121 in the California legislature.  In broad strokes this bill does three things (for details see the CDOC Web site). 

• It enables local animal control agencies to issue puppy licenses that are not coupled to rabies vaccinations to microchipped puppies and to offer those licenses at the altered rate.  These puppy licenses would be in effect until the puppy was 12 months.  If we look at dogs as a whole, we know about 77% of the dogs on the west coast are altered by 12 months of age.
• It allows local governments to set their own requirements for proof of sterilization.  Current law prohibits information sent electronically, via fax or even physically verifying that a dog has been altered.  So a male dog at a rabies clinic cannot be licensed unless the owner has a piece of paper from the vet.
• It requires pet dealers and rescues to send a monthly report to their local animal control agency so the local agency can follow up to get the dogs licensed.

We understand that different groups have different agendas.  We would like to think our agenda is pretty straight forward - everything with our name on it also says "For the Dogs".  But there are also groups that just oppose any rules about dogs.  And we understand that. 

So we are not surprised that the California Federation of Dog Clubs opposes AB 1121; they are a 'just say no'  group.  And sometimes, as with MSN, that is the right course of action.  And perhaps they feel all intact puppies under 12 months should pay the higher licensing rate.  But we were stunned to see them give as a primary reason that all vets are already required to report rabies vaccinations to all local governments.  From their letter:

Currently, veterinarians are already required to report any dogs vaccinated for rabies to licensing authorities.

THERE IS NO SUCH STATE LAW.  And we don't want such a state law. 

Rabies compliance and licensing is already at record lows; can you imagine if every vet in the state was reporting?  But, without some alternative ways to encourage licensing, CDOC could see this happening in the future.  So it is important that 'dog people' who really get the issues step up and take the lead in ways that protect dogs and do no harm.

For CDOC the issue is dogs.  Not just our dogs but all the dogs in California.  Local governments in California are still euthanizing dogs for time and space.  Until that is resolved, 'dog people' need to be working for solutions.  Because it is the right thing to do.  And because if we do not, we will not like the solutions that are proposed!  So if you are looking at AB 1121 through the dark colored glasses that says every vet reports every rabies vaccination, please check the law.

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COSTA MESA HAS NO MONEY SO DOGS AND PEOPLE WILL SUFFER

According to the New York Times, The City Costa Mesa has fired half of its city employees, including some in the Animal Control section of the Police Department.  

It seems to us that both the fired employees, and Costa Mesa dogs would be well served if the City brought back the terminated employees and had them work on getting the dogs in Costa Mesa licensed.  Using the AVMA US Pet Ownership Calculator, Costa Mesa has about 28,000 dogs.  If Costa Mesa's licensing compliance rate is at the state average, only about 5600 of those dogs are licensed.

Why does it matter?  It matters because licensed and positively permanently identified dogs get home.  They do not end up in shelters long-term; they are returned to their owners.  They do not become a tax-payer burden.  We know they have had rabies vaccinations.  It matters because those of us fortunate enough to own dogs should contribute to the infrastructure which takes care of lost dogs.  It should matter to everyone who opposes mandatory spay and neuter because when the lost dogs are returned to their owners, 80% of the shelter population does away and the cry for MSN looks silly.

What is at stake here?  Licensing 10,000 of the more than 22,000 unlicensed dogs in Costa Mesa would generate $250,000.  Not one time, every single year.  It would be money well spent for the City to institute a program to bring back staff to work on this.  If pensions are the issue, then hire people as part-timers initially.  Los Angeles County has a canvassing program with full-time staff with benefits and that program generates more than it costs - and their base licensing fee is less than the base fee in Costa Mesa.

We hate to see anyone lose jobs in this economy.  But with animal control, the City has an opportunity to increase income, get the animals onto the database so they can be returned home and provide jobs all at the same time.  

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PUPPY DEFEATS ALLAN DRUSYS - MSN ADVOCATE

If you are a responsible and knowledgeable dog owner who opposes Mandatory Spay and Neuter, you probably have some not so fond memories of Allan Drusys*.  He is the veterinarian in Riverside County who traveled all over the state with Judie Mancuso talking about why MSN was such a great policy.  He spoke to local governments and was a speaker for Lloyd Levine and Dean Florez.  And Drusys prefaced all his talks by stating that he was an elected official - he was on the Yucaipa City Council. 

Well no more.  PUPPY - People Understand Pet Population in Yucaipa decided they had had enough of Drusys.  So PUPPY (a) supported the candidates who are reasonable and (b) got the word out in Yucaipa about Drusys including his repressive animal policies in Riverside.  And the two candidates supported by PUPPY - Masner and Bogh were elected to the Yucaipa City Council.  So congratulations to all the people across the state who had finally had enough and who joined forces with good candidates.  

As Edmond Burke said "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."  Responsible dog owners are taking action all over California.  Thank you.

*A personal favorite was when Drusys was asked by Council Member Bill Rosendahl at an LA City Council Meeting about the failure of MSN in so many places across the country, Drusys got up and said that actually none of those municipalities had ever implemented it - they just passed it.

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NO MSN FOR SANTA BARBARA

Congratulations to the responsible dog owners of Santa Barbara and their reasonable elected officials.  This is  from Ginny White and Janet Lee Vining.

On October 5, 2010, the City of Santa Barbara, California, passed an ordinance amending the existing City pet licensing law.  Although the original proposal was to make the City ordinance consistent with the County of Santa Barbara's recently passed spay/neuter ordinance, the City significantly changed the language and did not support a mandatory spay/neuter approach.  The City designed an ordinance based on education of pet owners regarding spaying/neutering options and responsible pet ownership.  

A veterinary certificate will be required to license an unaltered dog or unaltered cat, but unlike the County ordinance, it does not require the veterinarian's authorization to keep the dog or cat intact.  The City's certificate would state only that the veterinarian has counseled the owner on the concerns and responsibilities associated with owning an unaltered pet and has provided educational material on responsible pet ownership.  The intent is that this discussion would take place during the visit for rabies vaccination so there would be no additional cost to the owner.  To make it easier to have licensing coincide with rabies vaccination, license options were expanded to 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, or 3 years.  This is the first time licenses will be required for cats.  

The fee for licenses for unaltered dogs and unaltered cats will include a small surcharge which will be used to fund educational outreach programs and activities on responsible pet ownership including spaying/neutering.

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PUPPY (People Understand Pet Population in Yucaipa)

This is looking out for dogs at the local level. There is an election in November for the Yucaipa City Council (there are two openings) and Dr. Allen Drusys is running for re-election along with some current members and some new faces. The two candidates receiving the highest number of votes will take seats on the Council. The candidates being endorsed by PUPPY are current council member Tom Masner and Tom Bogh.
To provide a refresher on Allan Drusys, he came to the Los Angeles City Council in 2007 and worked hand-in-hand with Judie Mancuso to get MSN pushed through in Los Angeles. In fact, when he was asked about all the places where MSN had been unsuccessful, he told the City Council it had never been implemented in those places. And that was just a starting place for this ambitious politician.

Drusys testified for AB1634 in Sacramento, lobbied for SB250, drove through MSN in Riverside and is active as an advocate in other places. Because Drusys is an "elected" official, other electeds tend to pay attention. The community in Yucaipa has joined together so that Drysus cannot continue raising kill rates and costs around the state.

The PUPPY website is here - https://sites.google.com/site/250puppy/. To find out how you can contribute to PUPPY contact terraglo@aol.com. PUPPY will also be contacting Yucaipa voters. Please be sure to see the story of Hannah. It was only through CDOC bringing pressure from Sacramento and through Hannah's Supervisor that her owner was able to avoid charges by Drusys. Please pass this along so dog people across California realize Yucaipa is taking action. A politician who loses a local election is less likely to end up in Sacramento and that is where Drusys aims to go.

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LOS ANGELES CONSIDERS REVISING PET LIMITS

The first of two Town Hall Meetings was held on Thursday, September 16th to consider raising pet limits. The sense of the crowd was overwhelmingly in favor of raising the limits. The audience was divided between rescue people and, for want of a better work, dog activity people - those who compete and sometimes breed, with the rescue people being in a majority. Everyone makes the case that if it were possible to have more animals, there would be more adoptions from the shelter and more income for the City of Los Angeles.
Opposition for the plan was led by Phyllis Dougherty who has been working hard to drum up support to defeat this idea. In her press interview Dougherty called the plan a disaster for the animals and said it would result in Los Angeles being called the "barking city". She also sniped at General Manager Brenda Barnette for her past association with purebred dogs. Dougherty led a local campaign against the hiring of Barnette. Also lukewarm was Laura Beth Heisen who was not only Judie Mancuso's hand-picked candidate for the Spay/Neuter Advisory Board but who was also gunning for the job Barnette has.

The meeting, which was described by someone as a "love fest" showed great unanimity among those attending. And it was quite clear that the community embraces Ms. Barnette and welcomes her openness and attention.
The next meeting will be Wednesday, September 22nd at 6:30 pm at the West Los Angeles Animal Care Center, 11361 W. Pico Boulevard. With more time for Ms. Dougherty and Ms. Heisen will be able to drum up opposition it will be interesting to hear the tenor of that meeting. This change in limits was sponsored by Los Angeles City Council Member Bill Rosendahl and seconded by Council Member Paul Koretz

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IF YOU CARE ABOUT DOGS, GET INVOLVED

This is the time to get to know who is running in your local district. Unfortunately, this is often tied into making political contributions - California does run on money. But Toni Atkins is doing this a little differently, she is having a Friend Raiser, no need to make a contribution.

Anyone who lives in her district and does not attend and get to know her and express their views will have no ability to complain. We say we want them to listen. They can't listen if we are not there to talk.

---

Reminder:

Ruth Rollins

and the

Point Loma Democratic Club

Invite You to a

Friend-Raiser

For

Toni Atkins

For

State Assembly

Sunday, September 12, 2010

10:00 am - 12:00 pm

At the Rollins Home in Point Loma

1268 Savoy Street

San Diego, CA 92107

For more information, contact Ruth at (619) 222-9344.

Come enjoy a continental breakfast and join Toni Atkins, former San Diego City Councilmember and candidate for the 76th Assembly District, for a conversation about California's future.

HOW DID THEY VOTE

(Phone number is 916.319.20XX - xx is the district number)

Bold indicates termed out or not running although several are running for the Senate.

NO VOTES

Adams (R) - 59, Anderson (R) - 77, B. Berryhill (R) - 26, T. Berryhill (R) - 25, Block (D) - 78, Buchanen (D) - 15, Caballero (D) - 28, C. Calderon (D) - 58, Chesbro (D) - 01, Conway (R) - 34, Coto (D) - 23, DeVore (R) - 70, Evans (D) - 07, Fletcher (R) - 75, Fuller (R) - 32, Gaines (R) - 04, Galgiani (D) - 17, Garrick (R) - 74, Gilmore (R) - 30, Hagman (R) - 60, Harkey (R) - 73, Huber (D) - 10, Jeffries (R) - 66, Knight (R) - 36, Logue (R) - 03, Miller (R) - 71, Nestande (R) - 64, Niello (R) - 05, Nielsen (R) - 02, Norby (R)- 72, V. Perez (D) - 80, Salas (D) - 79, Silva (R) - 67, Smyth (R) - 38, Swanson (D) - 16, Torres (D) - 61, Torrico (D) - 20, Tran (R) - 68, Villines (R) - 29

Yamada (D) - 08

ABSENT/ABSTAIN/NOT VOTING (Any are fine)

Bradford (D) - 51, Carter (D) - 62, Cook (R) - 65, De La Torre (D) - 50, Ma (D) - 12, Mendoza (D) - 56, Monning (D) - 27, Saldana (D) - 76, Skinner (D) - 14, Strickland (R) - 37

YES VOTES - All D

Ammiano (13), Arambula (31), Bass (47), Beall (24), Blumenfeld (40), Brownley (41), Davis (48), De Leon (45), Eng (49), Feuer (42), Fong (22), Fuentes (39), Furutani (55), Gatto (43), Hall (52), Hayashi (18), Hernandez (57), Hill (19), Hollingsworth (36), Huffman (06), Jones (09), Lieu (53), Lowenthal (54), Nava (35), Portantino (44), Ruskin (21), Solario (69), Torlakson (11), J. Perez (46)

SB250 DEFEATED

Defeating SB250 was the culmination of four years of work by CDOC, Save Our Dogs, Canine Companions for Independence and other groups to protect dogs and responsible dog owners. Our continued presence in Sacramento all during the year has paid off. But CDOC would not have been able to maintain that presence without two important pieces; the guidance and assistance of Scott Sadler, who represents CDOC and responsible dog owners in California and financial support to engage a well-respected firm. Sadler is the face of 'the dog people' in Sacramento on a daily basis and it is a good face to have.

We need to expand our work in Sacramento and through the League of Cities and the California State Association of Counties. This will mean upping the ante but it will also mean we will be able to be more effective at the local level. And we will get more information out about this.

But today is a day to look at your dogs, know they will not be arbitrarily sterilized because they got out one time and relax -- to an extent. It is also a day to take 10 more minutes and write to your legislator. If they were a Yes vote, let them know how unhappy you are with their performance - they should not get a free pass just because we have been concentrating on others. This is important. It's not OK to vote for a bill that would have killed more dogs. If they were a No vote or an abstention thank them for not voting for a bad bill.

Last year CDOC presented every legislator who was not a Yes vote with a Best of Breed Rosette with their name and the statement Dog's Best Friend. We will make sure we acknowledge them on your behalf again this year.

One Worth Fighting For

Too often in the dog fancy, we are accused of only opposing legislation. Unfortunately, the truth is we do seem to come out in force when we feel threatened by legislation such as mandatory spay/neuter bills but are not as fast to act if we are not directly affected. Such is the case with AB 2000, a bill that is intended to save dogs' lives which would otherwise be compromised. Called Molly's Bill after a dog with a life threatening reaction to the rabies vaccine, AB 2000 would allow a medical waiver for the required rabies vaccination without facility quarantine. California is a rabies state but it is rarely found in domesticated dogs. Dogs living in California are required to be vaccinated every three years. For dogs with lethal reactions, compromised immune systems, or those suffering from cancer or other illnesses it is consider contraindicated to vaccinate for rabies. This leaves owners in a difficult quandary-- violate the law or potentially kill your loving pet.

AB 2000 provides the fix by allowing a veterinarian to provide medical proof that a dog should be exempt from the rabies vaccine mandate. Dogs under four months of age are exempt, provided owners do not allow the puppy to wander freely or publicly. It would seem reasonable to assume that dogs medically exempt from the rabies vaccine would voluntarily follow similar guidelines, primarily so as not to expose their pet to diseases from other dogs.

AB 2000 is in the Senate Health Committee. Even if AB 2000 doesn't directly affect you, it might some day so now is the time to show support. Contact the Senate today!

BILL BRUCE IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Bill Bruce will be coming to California next week to give his presentation on licensing rather than MSN as a way to keep dogs out of shelters. 

This is the information: 

Thursday, February 4th

Hyatt Regency Sacramento 

6:30 pm 

1209 L Street 

Sacramento

Friday, February 5th 

Courtyard by Marriott

7:00 pm 

1000 Fairgrounds Drive 

Vallejo

(Across from Marine World) 

These events are free and everyone is welcome.  To reserve your place, just go here http://www.cdoca.org/page26/page26.php. 

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SB250 Bumper Stickers

If you go to this website, your can order your No on SB250 Bumper Sticker for only $3.95.

Click here to download:

SB250Bumper Sticker.snagproj (78 KB)

This is a great way to let the general public know about SB250. Also, be sure and direct people to www.SB250.org, CDOC's informational site on this bill.

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THESE ARE THE PEOPLE PETA IS MOVING TO LOS ANGELES

CDOC has stayed out of the bashing of organizations that promote MSN because we don't want to get distracted from our goal of education and finding solutions.  But this very latest offering from PETA, timed for the Holiday Season, requires a comment.

If you have not seen the ad with the naked model who uses a cross to cover the strategic parts of her body, here it is.   There is also an interview with Catholic League President Bill Donahue and the PETA VP of Marketing Lisa Lange.  According to PETA, truly religious people from all over are calling and thanking them for these photos.    She says that sex is good (evidently except for animals) and these and the other ads with naked celebrities are beautiful.  

CNN Commentator Mike Galanos says he finds the ads offensive, as does the Catholic League.  Interestingly, Catholic League President Bill Donahue seems to be up to date on PETA activities and calls attention to the fact that they kill 90% of the animals in the care and do not operate a single shelter.  At no time does Lange dispute that kill rate;  she simply keeps telling the anchor that the ads are lovely. 

You can see the video here.  .  

And PETA has picked California and specifically Los Angeles, as a new headquarters to bring us more of the same.  

The PETA statement about moving their people to Los Angeles said "PETA will transfer about 40 employees - a quarter of its staff - from its Norfolk headquarters next summer to capitalize on the bright lights and big names of Los Angeles.  The organization will move its campaigns, youth and online marketing divisions to Los Angeles, said Tracy Reiman, PETA's executive vice president.These departments conceive of and carry out those eye- and headline-catching, envelope-pushing and just plain quirky actions that have helped put animal rights on the map.  She said PETA is expanding that office, she said, to be closer "to the city that defines popular culture and cultivates big personalities and bigger ideas. We can have a big impact on the small screen and the larger screen."

If you are fortunate enough to have a legislator who is more concerned with the welfare of their constituents than access to money, movie stars and playboy bunnies, you might forward this blog.  PETA is the only national organization linked with Judie Mancuso and the legislation like AB1634 and SB 250.  One of the reasons a housewife from Laguna Niguel who had no actual organization and has not proposed a single positive suggestion can direct those big contributions is that she has a link to the money and bodies of these folks. 

Maybe your legislator will agree with PETA that this is a sexy, appropriate and beautiful ad.  Or maybe they will agree with Donahue that 

"PETA is a fraud. It also has a long and disgraceful record of exploiting Christian and Jewish themes to hawk its ugly services. Those who support this organization sorely need a reality check. They also need a course in Ethics 101."

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CDOC NAMES CALDERON "2009 LEGISLATOR OF THE YEAR"

Concerned Dog Owners of California named Assembly Member Chuck Calderon 2009 Legislator of the Year for his work on behalf of dogs during the legislative session.  Assembly Member Calderon supported legislation that would have provided tax incentives for people to take shelter dogs, supported legislation to toughen rules against dog fighting and opposed the legislation that would have required mandatory spay and neuter of owned dogs.  

The latter legislation would have had a serious effect on the ability of service organizations to obtain dogs for their programs.  It also had no exemptions for search and rescue dogs and other dogs that help professionals on a daily basis.

Making the presentation for CDOC was CDOC Member Gerri Monohan, President of the Golden Retriever Club of Great Los Angeles, Mary Fry, Carol Hamilton and Dean Lund.  All these people are constituents of Calderon.

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SANTA BARBARA COUNTY MSN ORDINANCE

Here is the CDOC Response to a letter from Lee Heller, well-to-do SB animal activist, which was printed in todays Santa Ynez Valley Journal.

Dr. Heller has impressive credentials, a history of activism, and she organized both adults and children into a cohesive, yellow-ribbon bedecked band of supporters.  But what she never did was present any evidence that MSN works.  Nor did the County Public Health Department.  And that is because all the statistics go the other way.

If there is evidence of success for MSN why was it not presented?  Why has the State Legislature rejected it for the last 3 years?  Why has the California Department of Finance reported that it will have a negative financial effect of local government?  Why have the American Veterinary Medical Association and ASPCA issued written position papers opposing the MSN of owned dogs?  Why did HSUS not weigh in?

There were no shelter experts on the Task Force.  The three people that are nationally recognized as having the most expertise are Richard Avanzino, Nathan Winograd and Bill Bruce.  Avanzino and Winograd live in California; it would have been easy to get their testimony.  Bill Bruce attended a task force meeting but was not allowed to make a presentation the the meeting.  Is this the way an organization seeks real solutions, by not listening to the people who have run successful programs?

The Santa Barbara MSN ordinance was based on fear, sympathy and perhaps political contributions (some task force members bragged they had made large contributions and the Supervisors would vote yes).   One could never base a YES vote on facts because there are none.

Instead of embracing programs that have worked, the County chose to put in place a model that has never fared as well as licensing, education and incentive programs.  The winners are the veterinarians because Dr. Ron Faoro, DVM and Task Force Chair made sure that only they can issue exemptions.  And if they decline to give an exemption, they will be right there to sell the S/N surgery.  The losers will be the additional owned animals that will die, the additional owned animals that will be surrendered and the taxpayers that will pick up the extra costs.

This is Heller's letter:

Spay-neuter does work

Thank you for your extended coverage of the recent Board of Supervisors hearings and vote on a new spay/neuter ordinance for dogs and cats. The ordinance will require that pet owners get a certificate from their veterinarian if they want to keep their pet intact. Its goal is to motivate people to spay or neuter their pets by getting them to think a little about the consequences of not doing so: namely, overcrowding and unnecessary deaths in our county’s shelters. Those who truly wish to keep their pets intact may do so simply by obtaining the certificate as part of their normal rabies vaccination/licensing process.

The good news is that the mere passage of the ordinance is already having its intended effect. The day after the vote, because of coverage by media outlets like the Journal, one of our local rescue groups got a call from the owner of two kittens: she’d read about the new law and was looking for information about how to get her kittens fixed. Those are two cats that will not be adding to the overabundance of excess kittens we have been seeing in the past few years!

It’s also important to let your readers know that if they want to fix their pet but fear that they can’t afford to do so, they are lucky to live in this county. Our three humane societies -- Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Valley, and Santa Maria Valley -- all have low cost clinics, and in some cases fee waivers for those in need. Private cat rescue organizations such as Catalyst for Cats and VIVA (Volunteers for Intervalley Animals) will cover all costs for feral cats and in some cases, tame ones also. And CARE 4 PAWS is offering free spaying or neutering of any owned pet. For more information, readers should contact the organizations listed. CARE 4 PAWS, which currently runs its free clinics with the generous support of Buellton Veterinary Clinic, can be reached at (805) 968-2273.

Lee E Heller, Ph.D., J.D., Summerland

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MANDATORY SPAY AND NEUTER HEARING IN SANTA BARBARA

Today the Santa County Board of Supervisors heard testimony on the proposed mandatory spay and neuter ordinance proposed by Santa Barbara County Animal Services.  This ordinance would require dog owners to visit a veterinarian every time they wanted to license their dogs. It would be up to the veterinarian whether he or she judged the owner suitable to own an intact dog.  No ordinance guidelines have been suggested; it is totally up to the veterinarian’s opinion.

Speaking in opposition to the bill was Santa Maria Mayor Larry Lavagnino.  Santa Maria contracts with Santa Barbara County for animal control.   Mayor Lavagnino pointed out that while the number of animals processed by the Santa Barbara shelter has actually decreased almost 13% from 1998 to 2008, “Santa Barbara County’s bill to the City of Santa Maria has increased 247% in the same 10 year period.   Ten years ago they charged Santa Maria $145,000 and now they are charging us $503,000.  And we are at the tipping point.”  Lavagnino urged a program that focused on licensing since identified dogs don’t end up in the shelters.

 Also speaking in opposition to the ordinance was former County Supervisor Brooks Firestone.  He said that emotions rather than logic are prevailing in addressing this issue.  Firestone urged the Board to vote No.

Dr. Ron Faoro, who was also a sponsor of the failed AB1634, is the guiding light behind this ordinance.  He has stated that anyone has the option to try and convince their veterinarian that they should be allowed to own an intact animal.  His practice charges $71.00 for a visit and rabies shot.  This ordinance, if adopted, will be a huge financial boon to the Santa Barbara Veterinary community.   With only 50% compliance, the Ordinance would generate more than $11 million in income to the veterinary community.

Andy Caldwell, Executive Directive Director of Santa Barbara non-profit COLAB testified “something that makes the licensing program more expensive and complex is not going to increase compliance.”

The proposed ordinance is modeled on a Santa Cruz County ordinance.  Santa Cruz has had mandatory spay neuter for 15 years.  The dog euthanasia rate is 24%, the same as Santa Barbara County, and their cat euthanasia rate is 51% while Santa Barbara County’s is 38%.  Those in opposition point out that this is evidence that this approach does not work. 

The final vote on the ordinance will be held on December 1^st.

CDOC will have a table at the SLO dog show on Saturday.  If you are a resident of Santa Barbara County or if you have ever attended a dog show in Santa Barbara, please come by to complete a letter. 

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PENINSULA HUMANE DIRECTOR SPEAKS OUT ON SB250

San Mateo was the first city in the United States to try Mandatory Spay and Neuter.  They found that euthanasia went up in those parts of the County affected by the MSN law while it decreased in the other parts of the County.  They also saw licensing compliance reduce by 35% the first year.  

San Mateo now takes a different approach to this issue, using education and free spay and neuter programs.  And they have been steadfast in their opposition to MSN as they have personally seen the negative unintended consequences.   You will find Director Ken White's comments on SB250 interesting. 

http://tinyurl.com/ykahgqq

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