FINE MAY PUT TEETH IN SPAY-NEUTER PLAN.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Staff Writer

Even as Los Angeles city officials propose fining pet owners who neglect to spay or neuter their pets, the City Council is studying how to tighten eligibility for low-cost altering.

A string of vicious animal attacks by roaming stray dogs prompted Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas to propose an ordinance that would require pet owners to spay or neuter their animals unless they pay a $100 fee.

Los Angeles would be the largest city to adopt such an ordinance, following Denver and San Mateo, Calif., and other communities struggling for a solution to stray dogs and maulings.

``It is a huge problem in the city of Los Angeles. It's high time that it be addressed,'' said Ridley-Thomas.

The problem was no more apparent than one day last week at the Sepulveda Basin Off-Leash Dog Park in Encino.

Reseda resident Robert Harris said he decided not to neuter his dog Champ because he believes that makes the canine more loyal, aggressive and protective.

``I think responsible ownership is what you need to promote, not surgical alterations,'' said Harris.

Within minutes, Champ was chasing two female dogs, forcing Harris to leash his pet. The object of Champ's desire was Mesha, a dog owned by Reseda resident Niki Sigmon.

``See, that's what I mean,'' said Sigmon, after rushing to separate Champ from Mesha, a female who has been spayed. ``I don't see any reason why they shouldn't be neutered.''

Strays a problem

Unbridled mating of dogs has left Los Angeles city with an estimated 44,000 stray dogs, many of them in the northeast San Fernando Valley, and animal shelters are 150 percent beyond capacity, officials said.

``We've got an animal population that's out of control - worse than any city in the nation,'' said Animal Services General Manager Dan Knapp. ``We are out of control and you can see that by the dog bites and dog maulings.''

A first of six public hearings on the proposed ordinance is set for July 26 at 9 a.m. at the Board of Animal Regulation Commission chambers at 419 S. Spring St., 12th floor, in Los Angeles. After the hearings, the proposal may be revised before it is presented to the council.

Currently, when pet owners apply for a license, they pay $10 if their pet is altered or $30 if the animal is unaltered. Breeders pay an annual license tax of $50, said Jackie David, spokeswoman for the Department of Animal Services, previously known as the Department of Animal Regulation.

The proposal would require breeders to pay an additional $200 fee for unaltered animals, said David.

Under the ordinance, violators would be charged a 100 percent penalty. For instance, a resident with an unaltered animal who has not paid the $100 permit fee would be charged that amount plus a $100 penalty. The violation would be considered a misdemeanor, which in some cases is punishable by six months in county jail and up to $1,000 in fines, according to Deputy City Attorney Valentin Dinu, who drafted the proposed ordinance.

The ordinance requires pet owners to pay for spaying or neutering, about $25 per animal, and would be enforced with the help of five new Los Angeles Animal Services officers, said David. Details of how the ordinance will be enforced have not yet been hammered out, she said.

The San Mateo ordinance carries a $500 fine for violators, and despite threats from residents, no one has challenged it in court, officials there said.

The ordinance sets up a conflict with another city program of providing low-cost altering through vouchers available at city shelters and nonprofit organizations.

Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr. called for a temporary halt of the 7-year-old program in May because he found there is no limit on the number of vouchers distributed to individuals, nor were there any income restrictions.

``My question to the animal regulation staff was, could a wealthy person walk into a animal shelter and get as many vouchers as they wanted and the answer was yes,'' said Svorinich, who asked Animal Services to investigate and report back on the matter in 30 to 60 days.

Breeding season

Wednesday, the City Council passed a motion to resume distribution of vouchers after Animal Services pointed out the need for the program in the middle of breeding season, said Knapp.

The vouchers, worth $20 per cat and $30 per dog, help defray the costs of spaying or neutering. The program costs $1 million annually and is funded through Animal Services' general fund and a $2 donation from each dog license fee, said Knapp.

Lois Osborne, a board member of the nonprofit agency Mercy Crusade, which helps low-income individuals spay and neuter their pets, said the ordinance will go far in reducing the number of strays.

``Most of the stray dogs out there are animals that people couldn't care for,'' said Osborne. ``They can't afford to feed them and they dump them.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) Dog walker Katie Luckerman of West Los Angeles gives treats to her clients after an outing at the Sepulveda Basin Off-Leash Dog Park in Encino.

(2 -- color) Zachary Nicotra of Reseda has fun giving a few dogs perhaps more help than they need getting a drink of water at the dog park.

(3 -- color) Niki Sigmon yells at an unaltered shepherd as it confronts her fixed, black dog. With her is her grandson, Zachary Nicotra.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Daily News