PET FIX-ATION VAN NUYS GROUP TO LAUNCH FREE SPAY, NEUTER CAMPAIGN.

VAN NUYS - Pledging to quell pet overpopulation in Los Angeles, a San Fernando Valley animal shelter unveiled an ambitious plan Wednesday to spay or neuter every dog and cat in the city for free.

The Pet Orphans Fund of Van Nuys, which for 28 years has been finding loving homes for unwanted dogs and cats, so far has raised $38,000 to kick off the drive. It will begin in Van Nuys and expand as money permits.

``Our city is in a crisis,'' said fund director Arlene Ober, before nuzzling Addison, a black Labrador retriever rescued last month from the pound, one of the fund's roughly 55 dogs and 85 cats available for adoption.

``People throw dogs from car windows, banish them from their yards, dump them in empty lots, at post offices. Vets have called with boxes of kittens and puppies on their doorsteps. We personally have found dogs tied to our tree out front.

``Unfortunately, most end up dying in the streets'' - or at the pound.

The Pet Orphans Fund campaign, which will be formally launched today with the support of the Mid Valley Chamber of Commerce, city animal regulators and Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, requires ample shoe leather.

Fund volunteers, in addition to manning tables at local supermarkets, will head door to door across Van Nuys, handing out certificates valued at between $45 and $75 each for specified veterinarians. Their campaign to spay or neuter an estimated 500 dogs and cats could take 2 1/2 months.

Their more ambitious plan to ``fix'' pets in the entire city of Los Angeles could take up to four years and cost tens of millions of dollars.

But if successful, supporters say, it could save more than 50,000 unwanted dogs and cats - about 70 percent of all animals that enter the pound - from being put to death each year in city animal shelters.

``It's a wonderful effort, go for it,'' said Jackie David, spokeswoman for Los Angeles Animal Services, the city's animal regulation agency. ``If it looks like a successful program, we would present it to our commissioners to see about giving financial support.''

Pet overpopulation has loosed 26,000 dogs and more than 1 million cats on city streets, David said. Each year in Los Angeles, 53,000 children are bitten by dogs, which are three times more likely to attack if not spayed or neutered.

Public safety, pet overpopulation and the horror of so many dogs and cats killed by the city each year are what propelled Ober and the Pet Orphans Fund to action.

For each female dog fixed, city officials estimate 67,000 additional dogs can be prevented over six years. For each female cat spayed, 420,000 offspring can be prevented over seven years.

That's a huge animal population subtracted from the 665,000 dogs and 745,000 cats that now warm Angelenos' homes, say supporters of the plan.

Ober hopes the program will mean fewer abandoned and abused animals will end up in her shelter.

Like Lulu, a ridgeback dog with a tire track around her waist. Or Charlie, a King Charles spaniel with a socket for an eye. Or Gracie, a collie mutt with a severe chip on her shoulder.

``This is a perfect example of why we spay and neuter,'' she said, playing with Lulu. ``A perfectly wonderful dog. But (there's) not enough homes for the animals we have.''

Animal rescue groups are applauding the program.

``Oh, my goodness,'' said Melya Kaplan, executive director of Venice Animal Allies, which has pushed for a no-kill Los Angeles. ``That's the best news I've heard for a very long time. It's beyond phenomenal: Pet Orphans will touch all of our hearts by doing this.''

To save funds, Pet Orphans Fund requests that only needy residents accept the vouchers. For information, call [phone]. For city spaying and neutering voucher assistance, call (800) SPAY-4LA.

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(color) Trevour, a dog sheltered by the Pet Orphans Fund of Van Nuys, gets a smooch from fund manager Arlene Ober. The group plans to launch a free spay, neuter campaign today.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer