PUBLIC FORUM : IS L.A. BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE WITH A $500 DOG LICENSE?We applaud the Animal Regulation Commission for its leadership role in proposing a spay-neuter ordinance for Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . We cannot, however, endorse the ordinance as currently drafted. As proposed, the ordinance provides for a three-tier annual fee structure: $10 for a spayed spay tr.v. spayed, spay·ing, spays To remove surgically the ovaries of (an animal). [Middle English spaien, from Anglo-Norman espeier, to cut with a sword or neutered neu·ter adj. 1. Grammar a. Neither masculine nor feminine in gender. b. Neither active nor passive; intransitive. Used of verbs. 2. a. dog, $35 for documented intact dogs and $500 for an undocumented intact dog. The ``intact animal permit'' is to be administered in conjunction with the annual dog-licensing process under Los Angeles Animal Services, and if one dog qualifies for a permit, then all dogs in the same home qualify. In order to qualify, an animal owner must show evidence of ``responsible pet ownership'' by engaging in one of more than a dozen activities or programs. Common senses dictates that a law that contains more exceptions than the rule and attempts to define ``responsible'' is bound to be strangled stran·gle v. stran·gled, stran·gling, stran·gles v.tr. 1. a. To kill by squeezing the throat so as to choke or suffocate; throttle. b. by bureaucratic red tape. It simply favors certain animal owners over others and does not treat each animal individually. Also, the proposed ordinance places another burden on an already overburdened Los Angeles Animal Services Department. Currently, there is not enough manpower or budget to enforce current law, including annual licensing under which this ordinance would fall. Actors and Others for Animals would like to support spay-neuter legislation. Consideration of one fee for all intact animals - $100 to $150 - seems workable. - Cathy M. Singleton Executive director Actors and Others for Animals If a person keeps his pets in the house and/or yard, it's nobody's business if they are not fixed. Do they think this is going to solve anything? It will only create more homeless animals as people dump them to avoid this expensive hassle. - Jo Haver haver Verb 1. Scot & N English dialect to talk nonsense 2. to be unsure and hesitant; dither [origin unknown] Van Nuys The $500 license fee for keeping an animal unfixed is a step in the right direction. Because of a decade of mismanagement mis·man·age tr.v. mis·man·aged, mis·man·ag·ing, mis·man·ag·es To manage badly or carelessly. mis·man  age·ment n. , L.A. has fallen way behind other cities in its animal control, and it will take much more than mandatory spaying spaying: see castration. and neutering neu·ter adj. 1. Grammar a. Neither masculine nor feminine in gender. b. Neither active nor passive; intransitive. Used of verbs. 2. a. to fix the problem. Responsible pet owners have nothing to fear and everything to gain from a $500 fee. Responsible owners like myself wholeheartedly whole·heart·ed adj. Marked by unconditional commitment, unstinting devotion, or unreserved enthusiasm: wholehearted approval. whole support mandatory spaying and neutering as the first step to getting the pet problem under control. - Terri Mitchell Los Angeles The Pet Assistance Foundation, a nonprofit spay-neuter referral and subsidy organization serving pet owners in Los Angeles since 1955, has always been in support of strong spay-neuter legislation. However, we find that the proposed ``punitive incentive,'' spay-or-pay ordinance has taken a simple idea and made it extremely cumbersome. As proposed, the owner of an unaltered pet has 11 options for exemption. In addition, should one unaltered pet fit the criteria for exemption, all pets in the household are then exempt from the $500 unaltered-animal permit. As we did at the commission meeting, and we do in this forum, we urge the commission, City Council and mayor to simplify the criteria: a yearly license fee of $10 for an altered pet, $150 for an unaltered pet. It would be enforceable and punitive enough to convince the lackadaisical lack·a·dai·si·cal adj. Lacking spirit, liveliness, or interest; languid: "There'll be no time to correct lackadaisical driving techniques after trouble develops" William J. Hampton. public that allowing their pets to breed unwanted litters is no longer a city expense - it is their expense. - Jamie Pinn President Pet Assistance Foundation Van Nuys Is it not Proposition 218 that requires fees to be commensurate with costs? How then can there be three different fees - $500, $35 and $10 - for the same license? A tax may impose an arbitrary standard, but a license fee must represent the actual cost of servicing that particular item that is licensed. A license fee for one particular dog cannot include additional costs associated with other dogs, whether licensed or not. Those are part of the police function, and as such require either a tax or an assessment approved by a vote of the people who are taxed or assessed. - William O. Felsman Woodland Hills I think it is outrageous to charge such a large fee to license a dog. This is not a case of personal interest; I don't own a dog. However, there are many elderly people who have dogs and cannot afford to pay such a large fee. What about people with disabilities or those living on Social Security? Would the city choose to further isolate the elderly and those alone by imposing a fee to keep a pet that is as much as a month's income to some people? I believe the proposed $500 licensing fee is primarily for the purpose of raising money. Providing free birth control for dogs, cats, etc., would control the animal population, cost the rest of us a bit of money and add nothing to the pockets of government officials. - S. Schwartz Canoga Park I'm a dog owner; in fact, I own three. I don't consider them as just pets; they're actually members of my family. They are licensed, name-tagged, confined, vaccinated against all canine diseases and taken to the vet for all medical needs. They are also purebred purebred progeny derived from at least several generations of animals of the same breed. purebred herds herds (or flocks) composed of purebred animals. Not necessarily registered animals. Distinct from crossbred herds. from championship lines, and, yes, I did breed my female with a registered breeder. Do not discriminate against dog owners. When a license and leash law leash law n. An ordinance requiring that dogs be kept on a leash when not restricted to their owners' property. is enacted for cats, there will be a dramatic reduction in shelter kills, road kills, Halloween kills and malicious other kills. Go back to the drawing board, commissioners, and agree on a fair and equitable solution to this problem, and factor in those in our disabled and elderly population who have no one but their pets 24 hours a day. - Lil Younger West Hills Instead of threatening pet owners with huge assessments and/or fines, why not offer a modified plan with some incentives, such as a flat annual fee of $50 for all unaltered animals? Breeding animals bring in more than enough revenue to offset the annual license fee. Remember, you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar. - Tom Pierret San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. I am very opposed to this ignominious ig·no·min·i·ous adj. 1. Marked by shame or disgrace: "It was an ignominious end ... as a desperate mutiny by a handful of soldiers blossomed into full-scale revolt" Angus Deming. push for an inflated license fee that most people would not pay anyway. I agree that most pets should be fixed if the owner is not going to breed the animal, but I do not feel that people who have always paid their fees should be punished in this manner. There must be some other way to find out who is not having their dogs licensed and punish them. Seems that this is another good reason for secession from L.A. - Sarah Murphy Van Nuys The proposed fee and penalty increases once again illustrate the immediate need to break up the city of Los Angeles
This proposal is nothing more than a new, heavy-handed tax on middle-class homeowners. Low-income residents will simply release their pets to the streets rather than submit to these ridiculously high fees and penalties, thus greatly increasing the pet population problem. However, homeowners will be forced to pay the fees and penalties, just as they are forced to pay countless other fees and taxes to the city and county. If the city had a truly legitimate desire to address the pet overpopulation overpopulation Situation in which the number of individuals of a given species exceeds the number that its environment can sustain. Possible consequences are environmental deterioration, impaired quality of life, and a population crash (sudden reduction in numbers caused by problem, it would abolish all pet license fees and fines, and provide free spaying and neutering services to L.A. residents. These and all other animal control services could easily be paid for by a very small tax on pet-food sales within the city. - B. Thorpe Sun Valley I am writing to express the opposition of the Cat Fanciers Association to the proposed ``spay spay v. To surgically remove the ovaries of an animal. spay, spey to remove the ovaries. See also ovariohysterectomy. spay hook see spay hook. or pay'' ordinance approved by the Board of Animal Regulation Commissioners on Oct. 14. Cat fanciers are incredulous that the commission would consider high fees, after-the-fact punishment, penalties and/or jail sentences as the basis for public policy regarding animal-related issues. Five national studies show that 86 percent of cat owners already neuter neu·ter adj. 1. Having undeveloped or imperfectly developed sexual organs. 2. Sexually undeveloped. n. A castrated animal. v. To castrate or spay. neuter 1. or spay their pets. Sixty-nine percent of dogs are sterilized ster·il·ize tr.v. ster·il·ized, ster·il·iz·ing, ster·il·iz·es 1. To make free from live bacteria or other microorganisms. 2. as well. This high compliance demonstrates the success of educational programs over recent years. Euthanasia rates in shelters have declined nationwide from 20 million annually in 1980 to today's estimates of 5 million to 8 million, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a Washington, D.C-based animal welfare advocacy group. It is the largest animal welfare organization in the world, with nearly 10 million members and a 2006 budget of US$103 million. , or 3.2 million reported by Tufts University Tufts University, main campus at Medford, Mass.; coeducational; chartered 1852 by Universalists as a college for men. It became a university in 1955. Jackson College, formerly a coordinate undergraduate college for women, merged with the College of Liberal Arts in . Widespread education about proper animal ownership and the advent of low-cost sterilization sterilization Any surgical procedure intended to end fertility permanently (see contraception). Such operations remove or interrupt the anatomical pathways through which the cells involved in fertilization travel (see reproductive system). is primarily responsible for this, not legislation. We urge the city of Los Angeles to reject this misguided proposal in its entirety and turn its attention and valuable time to nonlegislative programs, which will have full community support. - Joan Miller Legislative coordinator Cat Fanciers Association Manasquan, N.J. Another reason to leave L.A. - $500 to $1,000 fines for not having your dog fixed. This is another intrusion into a citizen's private choices and another way for the city to get more money we can't afford to give. - Carol Bierle Sun Valley Does it not occur to anyone that this highly unfair fee would punish the animal owner who keeps his animals in control on his own fenced property, but who might have a very rare occurrence of carelessness on the part of a visitor - for example, not closing a gate properly and letting his animals out? This owner will go to great lengths to get his animals back, running ads, visiting pounds, posting signs, etc., and trying to make very sure the incident does not happen again. - Phyllis Woods North Hollywood Putting the bite on dog owners to neuter pets - give me a break Although I agree with neutering in some cases, I find it totally unfair to start targeting dogs. You want to target? Make cats your No. 1 priority. - Mickey Tagliaferri Granada Hills It's about time It's About Time may refer to:
Putting to death 50,000 animals in the city alone and three times that number in the county is a disgrace. Those who do not alter their dogs and cats contribute to this directly. Even if they find homes for all their kittens and puppies, these animals have displaced others that need homes, which means more death at the animal shelter "Dog Pound" redirects here. For the rap group, see Tha Dogg Pound. An animal shelter is a facility that houses homeless, lost or abandoned animals; primarily a large variety of dogs and cats. . - Pam Konyk Van Nuys I fully support the increase to $500 for dogs that have not been neutered. All of my pets have always been neutered as soon as they are old enough. This fee will put an end to all these backyard breeders who are producing poor-quality dogs of all breeds, many of which end up in the pound due to behavioral problems. - Diane Marchitelli Reseda Probably more cats than dogs are euthanized. It's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to license cats that roam and propagate. Dog owners have had the burden of subsidizing the department for too long. - Charlene T. Vincent Chatsworth While it is certainly laudable for the commission to want to reduce the number of animals euthanized at municipal shelters, a punitive fee addresses only part of the solution to a problem that has both financial and sociological consequences. Although the proposed fee of $550 is excessive and won't fly, there is some shock value to even mention a sum of that size. Ultimately, the imposition of a $100 license fee for unspayed and un-neutered dogs and cats might still be a powerful inducement for pet alteration. In the same vein, one might wonder why cats are not included, as they tend to proliferate even more than dogs, and at present are not even licensed. - Irving Lander Van Nuys If you threaten irresponsible pet owners with $500 fees, they will ignore them until they are caught, at which time they will take their poor pet to the animal shelter to have it put to sleep. Perhaps a better solution would be a large fee for licensing an un-neutered dog, with a rebate given upon proof of neutering the animal. I would rather spend money for employees to do paperwork than to destroy innocent pets. - Lynette Malone Van Nuys A better alternative is to educate children ages 6 to 9 while they are impressionable and possess the ability to empathize em·pa·thize v. To feel empathy in relation to another person. with living things Living Things may refer to:
(at secondary school) → collégiens mpl; lycéens mpl schoolchildren school should visit the pound to witness the euthanasia operation and see firsthand the solution to pet overpopulation. - Darene Sutherland Reseda I, as a dog owner, do not agree with this $500 fine they want to impose on us. I feel that most dog owners are responsible people who get their pets vaccinated, keep them in a fenced yard and are not responsible for so many dogs and cats being destroyed each year. The problem lies with people who have dogs and let them run loose, don't take care of them and don't get them vaccinated yearly, as we do. We have many stray dogs on our block, and I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. where they come from. I have called the shelter on a number of occasions about the strays, and they tell me they don't have enough people to come out. I think they should spend more money on picking up these stray dogs and fining the people who own them, and stop picking on the responsible owners. - Edith Smith Edith Agnes Smith was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia on October 2, 1867, one of four children of Benjamin Smith, a well known Halifax dry goods merchant and Anna Maria Smith. In 1887 she attended the first classes offered at the Victoria School of Art and Design. Sylmar Trash the spay-or-pay proposal The Animal Council is a nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. founded in 1991 to seek positive, humane solutions to contemporary animal issues. We believe the people of Los Angeles will be sold a high-priced ticket to the back of a bus to failure unless the spay-or-pay proposal is trashed trashed adj. Slang Drunk or intoxicated. Our Living Language Expressions for intoxication are among those that best showcase the creativity of slang. . The proposal is based on false assumptions that intact pets so negatively impact public resources that only a favored class of people may own them and avoid a criminalized, $500 tax. Inclusion in the favored class is dependent upon obtaining a perhaps discretionary city permit requiring participation in activities of nonprofit organizations meeting a city committee's qualifications. The alternative is completing 100 hours of volunteer service - a tiIme equal to a typical vacation and sick leave. Los Angeles already has a $30 unaltered dog license, compared to only $16 or a discounted $30 for a two-year unaltered dog license in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , which has combined basic animal law enforcement directed to safety and nuisance problems with humane and socially inclusive innovation. A lifetime cat registration fee is $5. We urge Los Angeles residents to demand similar effective programs based upon easily available, voluntary spay and neuter services, especially for feral cats, and nonjudgmental non·judg·men·tal adj. Refraining from judgment, especially one based on personal ethical standards. Adj. 1. nonjudgmental treatment of all citizens - even those who don't meet our personal standards. - Sharon A. Coleman President The Animal Council Milbrae It's a `long-overdue step' Cheers to Gini Barrett and the Animal Regulation Commission for taking a long-overdue step to stop the tragic and needless slaughter of thousands of companion animals in this city each year. There is no question that we need a much higher license fee for unaltered animals. It is the ``intact'' dogs - fueled by their raging hormones - that jump fences, roam our streets, form dangerous packs, fight for mating privileges and breed puppies that will have no homes. Plus, statistically, the unaltered dog is three times more likely to bite a human - from aggression, not protection. We all pay through higher insurance rates - more than $1 billion in dog-bite claims per year - and millions of our local tax dollars are spent to kill the unwanted offspring of other people's animals. Let's hope the City Council will work with this initial proposal and mold it to apply equally and indiscriminately. Its purposes should be to: Make it cheaper to alter than to pay the higher licensing fee. Create a sufficient investment to cause those who decide to keep their dogs ``intact'' to also keep them ``on leash'' or in their yards. Stop imposing the financial and emotional costs for killing innocent pets on those who do not create the problem. - PhylIlis M. Daugherty Co-director Animal Issues Movement Los Angeles CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Michelle Jones gets acquainted with a dog she adopted at the West Valley Animal Shelter. Michael Owen
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