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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