TO MY FRIENDS, FAMILY AND ASSOCIATES
I am asking that you take two minutes to help me save lives of dogs in California and to protect your right and my right to be a responsible dog owner in California.
I am asking you to go to this web page just below and generate a letter opposing SB250. You don't need to know who your Assembly Member is, that will be checked for you. If you did a letter before, it is time to do another one. And you can send one letter from each registered voter in your household.
If this bill were in place, any intact dogs who got loose in the fires would be impounded and owners would have fines, and sterilization costs on top of whatever damage the fire did. Senator Florez staff specifially declined our request for a natural disaster exemption.
We only have a few days to stop this legislation. This is important. The people supporting this bill have millions of dollars and has made thousands of dollars of contributions to Senators Florez and Steinberg to get this passed. We only have you.
Thank you.
P. S. If you have a Facebook page or a Twitter account, please add this link and ask people in California to send letters.
SB250 - Some Information about the bill and what it will do
SB250 is a bill introduced by Senator Florez, who is running for Lt. Governor, and is in the California Assembly. For detailed information you can go here.
Here is a snapshot of what the bill would do:
If your dog gets gets out of your yard or if you have it off leash at a park twice over its entire lifetime, you are deemed irresponsible and you must sterilize that dog and every other intact dog you own. You can never own an unsterilized dog again. That means you can never get another puppy except from the shelter.
If you have a licensed dog is at the park and on leash but without a tag, you are deemed irresponsible - it is considered in violation. So that dog must be sterilized and all your other dogs must be sterilized and you can never own an intact dog again.
If a neighbor complains about your dog and animal control cites you, that dog cited and all your dogs must be sterilized and you can never own an intact dog again.
Any dog training for or participating in an obedience trial, hunting test, dog show, herding trial, earthdog event, agility trial or tracking event is in violation of this bill. When cited by Animal Control, their owners must sterilize all their dogs and can never own an intact animal again.
If you are keeping a dog, for a friend or fostering a rescue dog and it gets out, you are adjudged to be irresponsible and you must sterilize that dog and all intact dogs you own.
- There is no exemption for Search and Rescue Dogs.
- There is no exemption for Cadaver Dogs.
- There is no exemption for Working Dogs.
- There is no exemption for the people who breed and raise Service Dogs.
- There is no exemption for Performance Dogs.
- There are no exemptions for people below the poverty level.
You cannot get a rabies shot for your puppy until it is four months of age. As the bill is written, if you do not get the rabies shot and your license the same day, you can be denied a license for having an unlicensed dog four months of age. You must then sterilize that dog and every other intact dog you own, and you can never own an unsterilized dog again. That means you can never get another puppy except from the shelter.
SB250 does give you a way to get rid of all the penalties and fines: turn your dog over to Animal Control to be euthanized and none of this will cost you a cent.
Both Concerned Dog Owners of California and Save Our Dogs has pointed out these deficiencies to the author and his staff. They have declined to make changes.
When CCI seeks to acquire outside dogs for our breeding program in order to prevent inbreeding and maintain genetic diversity, it is to small, private breeders whom we turn. These ‘hobby’ breeders produce healthy, sound animals because most of them are passionate about their avocation and invest the necessary time and care to breed the healthiest, highest quality dogs. It is precisely these breeders, because they seek to comply with the law, who will find it too expensive, onerous or downright impossible to continue breeding dogs. It appears that if someone has an animal that escapes twice in it’s entire lifetime, not only does that trigger the mandatory sterilization for that animal, but the person can’t ever own an intact animal again. This is draconian and unreasonable, and does nothing to improve the welfare of dogs in California.
You can read the analysis here.
"The passage of SB 250 would indicate that our events and our intact dogs are not welcome in California."
AKC events bring more than $100 million in revenue to California annually.
..."the ASPCA is not aware of any credible evidence demonstrating a statistically significant enhancement in the reduction of shelter intake or euthanasia as a result of the implementation of a mandatory spay/neuter law.
Caution must therefore be applied when interpreting existing claims regarding the effects of local mandatory spay/neuter (MSN) laws."
"The AVMA does not support regulations or legislation mandating spay/neuter of privately owned, non-shelter dogs and cats. Although spaying and neutering helps control dog and cat populations, mandatory approaches may contribute to pet owners avoiding licensing, rabies vaccination and veterinary care for their pets, and may have other unintended consequences.
... potential health problems associated with spaying and neutering have also been identified, including an increased risk of prostatic cancer in males; increased risks of bone cancer and hip dysplasia in large-breed dogs associated with sterilization before maturity; and increased incidences of obesity, diabetes, urinary tract infections, urinary incontinence, and hypothyroidism. "
Such a law went into effect in Los Angeles in late 2008 and here is the increase in rate of killing. The other counties, all but one of which has a higher foreclosure rate and poverty level than Los Angeles are viewed to show that while the economy has some impact, it is MSN that makes the difference.
The LA law was proposed by the same group proposing SB250.
But you can see that their rate of killing exceeds that of all the surrounding communities, none of which have mandatory spay and neuter.
But MSN has required enormous budget increases which is why the Department of Finance is urging NO on SB250.
They have the highest kill rate in California. They kill four times as many dog per capita as the entire state of California.