SOME TRUTH ABOUT AB1634

Myth We have a dog overpopulation problem.

Fact We have a free market economy in California. If there were too many dogs, pet stores and internet sales would not happen and dogs would not be brought into California illegally. What we have are too many unadoptable dogs that people take to the shelter. Shelter works will tell you that it is not uncommon for someone to bring in an older dog one week and come back for a puppy the next.

Shelters are bringing dogs in from outside California and outside the United States in order to have dogs available for adoption. We have a dog distribution problem, not an overpopulation prolem

Myth California could save $300 million and 500,000 animals.

Fact The $300 million is the total animal services budget for the state. We will not eliminate animal services. They do licensing, getting cats out of trees, picking up stray dogs, etc. More than 90% of the budget is in fixed costs, salaries, health care and pension costs. Euthanasia in California has gone down 58% in the last ten years. Seventy percent of all dogs in California are now spayed or neutered and eighty-five percent of all owned cats. As shelter populations have reduced, their operating expenses have gone up. Shelters are not eliminating personnel and job slots as impounds reduce.

Myth This has worked in Santa Cruz.

Fact When one uses the numbers reported by Santa Cruz to the California Department of Health Services, early mandatory spay/neuter has not worked. Of the five counties in the area, Santa Cruz has the worst numbers. And their budget has nearly doubled. Neither the Healthy Pets people nor Assemblyman Levine disputed the numbers. In fact, after months of saying what good numbers Santa Cruz had, Assemblyman Levine’s final tack was to say it was too bad we had to get bogged down in numbers.

Myth It is healthier for dogs to be spayed/neutered early.

Fact Males that are neutered cannot get testicular cancer; females cannot get mammary cancer. These are both low incidence, easily treatable. The serious cancers such as hemangiosarcoma, osteosarcoma and lymphosarcoma are found in much higher numbers among dogs that have gone through early spay/neuter. There is increase incidence of urinary incontinence, hip dysplasia and cruciate ligament tears in dogs spayed and neutered early.

There is increase incidence of urinary incontinence, hip dysplasia and cruciate ligament tears in dogs spayed and neutered early. The people behind early mandatory spay/neuter recognize this; that’s why they exempt service dogs. They know those dogs need to be healthy. But they think it is OK for laws that leave “regular people” with dogs with health problems.

Myth Dogs that are spayed/neutered early are less aggressive.

Fact Canine Companions for Independence has done the only side by side study on this. What they found was that dogs that were spayed/neutered early were more fearful, more aggressive and could not be used in service dog programs.

Myth Cities will make more money from the higher licensing and the fines.

Fact Two things have occurred when these laws have been passed. (a) people just ignore them so instead of paying the $15 license fee, they do nothing; so licensing revenue goes down and (b) because some communities require veterinarians to report rabies vaccinations, people start skipping these, creating a serious public health risk.

Myth Veterinarians are in favor of this.

Fact When the California Veterinary Medical Association members were told CVMA was sponsoring this, they had so many veterinarians oppose it that CVMA revisited the literature, and went from being a sponsor to not even supporting the bill. This would be a cash windfall for veterinarians so there are some who do support the measure in spite of the health issues.

Myth We spay and neuter animals before they leave the shelter and they are fine.

Fact No one ever follows up; if they did they would probably find results that mirror other studies. The shelters cannot choose who will be allowed to adopt dogs so in their case public policy trumps dog health. But where they are responsible owners, there is no reason to ensure their dogs are less healthy.

Myth AB1634 offers exemptions to all those who should get them.

Fact The exemptions available in AB1634 are few and unworkable. An owner who only wanted to participate in dogs shows, never planning to breed a dog, would have to pay years of special fees while just waiting for the dog to be mature. Sixteen of the eighteen service dog groups in California would not be able to get service dogs from hobby breeders, their current source of dogs. Dogs like the McNab, a dog developed in Califrnia by California ranchers for working in our local terrain would become extinct as they do not belong to a National dog registry.

Myth Dog Breeders cheat on their taxes and cost the money many dollars in revenue.

Fact Hobby dog breeders as a group do report their income to the Franchise Tax Board and thus are contributors to the tax base. Supporters of AB1634 have said that breeders do not pay sales tax. The Franchise Tax Board regulations currently exempt those who have two or fewer litters from sales tax, just as itexempts other income gained from hobbies in other areas.

Dog breeders as defined in the Polanco/Lockyer bill are subject to numerous regulations regarding the health of dogs they sell, taxes, etc. Most dog breeders do not reach this level with their occasional litter.

Every breeder of dogs shall comply with this article.  As used
in this article, "dog breeder," or "breeder" means a person, firm,
partnership, corporation, or other association that has sold,
transferred, or given away all or part of three or more litters or 20
or more dogs during the preceding 12 months that were bred and
reared on the premises of the person, firm, partnership, corporation,
or other association.

Fact We have a problem in California. We have too many irresponsible dog owners, too many uneducated dog owners and we need to be working other ways.

Education
Enforcing current leash and licensing laws
Going after sports that glorify the breeding some of the aggressive bull terrier mixes.
Improving the ability of low cost spay/neuter clinics.