SPAY-NEUTER POLICY ADVOCATED FOR ALL DOGS.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

Los Angeles County officials are considering requiring spaying and neutering for all dogs, except for registered purebreds whose owners can certify that their dogs passed medical and behavioral tests.

Supervisors on Tuesday delayed for two months a vote on a proposal to require spaying and neutering for Rottweilers and pit bull dogs, while county officials examine expanding the requirement to cover other breeds.

``I would support (covering) all breeds, and not just target the two,'' Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said during the public hearing in Los Angeles.

The proposal is due to come back before supervisors April 28, an Antonovich aide said.

``There are a number of different issues that need to be examined before this can return for a vote,'' Antonovich spokesman Tony Bell said.

Animal lovers testified Tuesday on both sides of the spay-neuter issue.

Some said spaying and neutering will lessen the number of dogs that roam streets and end up in animal shelters to be killed.

Others said spaying and neutering has been shown in some cases to be harmful to dogs' health and ineffective in lessening aggression, and that dog owners whose dogs are most likely to roam or attack people and other animals are unlikely to obey such a law. They suggested boosting enforcement of existing laws against roaming and vicious dogs.

Actors and Others for Animals executive director Susan Taylor urged supervisors to couple the spay-neuter law with financial assistance for low-income dog owners, as well as enlarge the county Animal Care and Control staff to enforce dog laws.

``I am glad to see you are making this an all-breed ordinance,'' Taylor said.

But former American Kennel Club president Judith Daniels said a spay-neuter ordinance would be obeyed only by responsible dog owners, not by those whose dogs are the most likely to be problems.

Spaying and neutering are unlikely to reduce dog attacks, she said.

``Spaying and neutering doesn't necessarily change the behavior of a dog,'' said Daniels, who said she and her husband for 35 years have owned Staffordshire bull terriers, one of the pit bull-type breeds targeted by the original proposal.

The original spay-neuter ordinance targeting pit bulls and Rottweilers was proposed after an attack in January on an 11-month-old Palmdale girl - ironically, by a pit bull mix that was both licensed and neutered.

That attack was the latest in an upswing of Antelope Valley dog attacks, all but one involving pit bulls or pit bull mixes. Urged by Antonovich, county officials last year boosted animal control staffing in the Antelope Valley, launched an education campaign for dog owners and conducted periodic sweeps looking for roaming dogs.

The original spay-neuter proposal for Rottweilers and pit bulls called for creating an ``unaltered restricted dog'' license requiring a $150 annual fee.

The proposal said the license would be issued to dogs registered with the American Kennel Club or other valid breed organization, if their owners could show certification of passing hip, heart and temperament tests. The dog owner's home or kennel would be inspected by animal control officials.