Pasadena MSN 10.6.14 Last night was a night of irony in Pasadena, CA. With great fanfare, the Mayor & City Council awarded a proclamation to a group of school children and designated the month of October as Bullying Prevention Awareness Month. Sadly, the Council couldnt see that they were about to endorse the unwarranted bullying of responsible pet owners. Later, on the agenda, was a discussion of California Proposition 47, which proposes to reduce the gravity of non-violent crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. Endorsement of that proposition passed unanimously with the Council recognizing that minor misdeeds shouldnt haunt and cripple the person for the rest of their life; they supported fairness. Again, they missed the connection to a pet owner taking a misstep yet requiring permanent, irrevocable action. However, when the Councils agenda came to the matter of Mandatory Spay and Neuter for pets, hard hearts prevailed and compassion and fairness were left in the dust; liberal Pasadena transformed into conservative Riverside. As some of us learned last week, the deck was stacked against us; the die was cast, as they wanted to pass SOMETHING. Director of Public Works, Siobhan Foster, updated Council on the proposal. - Canvassing had been done by two employees 3 day/week for the past year. It yielded 35% new licenses & 65% renewals. Specific numbers were not mentioned. - The proposed ordinance will be applied on a secondary basis, i.e., when someone is cited for a license or leash law type violation, the rest will kick in. - There will be a grace period of enforcement for 3 years. - Average fee differentials in nearby cities average +$55 for intact dogs. +$60 is in the ordinance. - Outreach by the City & Pasadena Humane Society through at least 7-1-15 using newsletters, online services, other non-profits, etc. PSH/Pasadena Humane Societys Steve McNall & Elizabeth Campo were next and half-truth after half-truth flowed freely with lots of two-step improvisation as well. - Theyve been providing education since the 1970s. - There IS a pet overpopulation problem in Pasadena. - They provide free subsidies for Pitties & Chihuahuas, as they are overrepresented in shelter numbers. - They will do outreach via OTHER nonprofits & will seek out additional subsidies from outside sources. - Apparently, they currently do not have their own mobile spay/neuter van, but plan to contract out for mobile surgeries. They need more sources of subsidies for surgeries. There was some discussion as to where the unaltered fee differential dollars would go. McNall replied that they would be split between subsidizing low-income services & to the PHS; percentages were not provided. Someone questioned what would happen if a dog belonging to a non-Pasadena resident were picked up. Campo winged it & said that the laws in the owners municipality would apply & that the owner would just have to pay the fine for a roaming dog. BUT, if that happened after the expiration of the grace period, that the dog would have to be neutered to be retrieved even if the owner held an intact license for that animal. Then came comments. Speakers were given 90 seconds. There were 24 proponents versus 16 opponents of the proposed ordinance. PETAs Tracy Riman spoke about how all their volunteers would help spread the word: [where have they been & what have they been doing until now?]. Ill volunteer was the mantra of the evening. Those in opposition to the proposal included: - Dog show superintendent Marion Bradshaw, who spoke on the economic benefits dog shows & the consequences of negative municipal regulations. - Dana Bleifer, DVM, presented the position paper of the Society for Theriogenology on canine & feline spay-neuter as well as referencing the recent Vizsla and Golden Retriever studies. - Pat Cobb & Sally Lewis spoke on behalf of the Kennel Club of Pasadena. - Poodle breeder John Fowler came up from San Marcos with his wife Sheila to testify. - Attorney Marla Tauscher pointed out the legal flaws in the proposal as did another attorney whose name I didnt catch. - Trainer/therapist Deb Ebbersten talked about some of the negative physical effects of juvenile neutering. - Breeder Nancy Reardon explained that responsible ethical breeders would no longer sell pets to residents of a city that required juvenile neutering. - Carol Hamilton despaired. - Dog fancier Lois MacDonald voiced her concerns. - Cat fancier Sarah Bixler spoke. - I spoke on behalf of the California Responsible Pet Owners Coalition with alternatives for an ordinance that could work & that would be more appropriate for Pasadena. - Others spoke eloquently as well. Councilmen Tornek & Kennedy along with Deputy Mayor Robinson had obviously been listening to us + they seemed to have actually read the emails & letters that had been submitted. Mr. Tornek even corrected one of his own constituents who mis-cited veterinary support for MSN. They recognized the flaws in the ordinance as written, saw the potential bias against lower-income residents, grasped the difficulty of actually bringing pets on public transportation for neutering, & saw the enforcement obstacles. Their colleagues did not. The proposed ordinance was approved 5:3. I was told that Pasadena just wanted to pass SOMETHING to allow Mr. Madison to save face. I was also told that it will probably not be enforced & will effectively fall by the wayside. As an aside, I understand that Mr. Tornek will be running for Mayor of Pasadena in future. He would certainly have my vote. Remember that we have elections coming up in a few weeks. Thats an opportunity for Pasadena pet-owing voters to tell their council people what they think about their conduct last night. The ordinance will need to have a second reading before its enacted. Sincerely, Florence Blecher President California Pet Owners Coalition PS Those of you who were able to attend last night or who are among their constituents, you might want to thank our three stalwarts for seeing the issue beyond the fluff & hysteria. PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST IN ITS ENTIRETY
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 00:06:45 +0000
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