DOG OWNERS FACE NEW LAW PIT BULLS, ROTTWEILERS TARGETED IN PROPOSAL.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

Prompted by a pit bull's mauling of an 11-month-old Palmdale girl, Los Angeles County supervisors told county officials Tuesday to draft a proposed law to regulate the breeding of pit bulls and rottweilers.

The law could require mandatory spaying and neutering of those dogs, although reputable breeders and owners of show dogs could qualify for exceptions that would exempt their animals.

``The people who are causing problems generally don't have papers on their dogs. They generally are not showing their dogs,'' Marcia Mayeda, director of the county Animal Care and Control Department, said Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors meeting in Los Angeles.

Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who proposed the law, said Mayeda's department has increased its staffing, is conducting sweeps to remove vicious dogs from the streets and has stiffened penalties for irresponsible dog owners. But he said attacks continue, and pit bulls and rottweilers are disproportionately involved.

``To reduce this serious public-safety threat and prevent future tragedies, this action will provide guidelines for responsible pet ownership and penalties for negligent or reckless owners,'' Antonovich said.

The proposed law would apply only outside incorporated communities in the county, not inside the cities. Mayors of Palmdale and Lancaster, however, said they expect the city council in each of their communities to adopt the same ordinance.

Dog owners who testified at Tuesday's board meeting said breed-specific laws are hard to enforce and tend to penalize responsible dog owners for the actions of irresponsible ones. They called for better enforcement of laws already on the books.

``The responsible owner is being penalized here,'' rottweiler owner Martha Salazar told the board.

Sheri Grant of Colton, a rottweiler breeder for 20 years, was near tears as she testified about raising these dogs.

``I've never had an incident. I raised my family with them. We're in the public all the time,'' Grant said.

Darryl Houser, who operates a boarding facility in the Antelope Valley for dogs and cats, said enforcing special rules only on pit bulls and rottweilers will be difficult because there is no scientific test to identify them.

Dogs referred to as ``pit bulls'' are often mixtures, and they are similar in appearance to completely different breeds of dogs, dog experts say.

Mayeda said more than 20 percent of the nearly 40,000 dogs taken into Los Angeles County shelters between July 2004 and June 2005 were pit bulls and rottweilers.

Because of their tendency to fight with other dogs, pit bulls must be housed individually in pens, and rottweilers usually are, Mayeda said, so they disproportionately take up space at a shelter.

``The intent is to reduce the number of stray and unwanted breeds that are overwhelming our shelters,'' Mayeda said after the meeting.

The law will be written so that breeding licenses can be obtained by dog owners who can show pedigree papers, obedience-training certificates or other documentation, she said.

Supervisor Yvonne Burke noted that pit bulls are popular with street gang members, and she said backyard breeders are common in neighborhoods inhabited by gang members.

``Some people use vicious dogs for sentries,'' Burke said.

Ironically, the attack that prompted the breeding proposal was by a licensed, neutered pit bull inside its owner's house. Authorities said the 11-month-old neighbor girl had been brought to visit when the dog attacked her and mauled her severely on the head.

Animal-control officials are still investigating whether any criminal charges should be filed against anyone, department spokeswoman Brenda Sanchez said. The owner turned the dog over to animal-control officials after the attack and it was euthanized.