Move afoot to spay Chicago pets
May 14th, 2008 Posted in Pet PicturesBurke was asked how the city would go about enforcing the ordinance, since cats are not licensed and dog licenses are widely-ignored.
“When you drive down the street and see a gang banger with all kinds of gang regalia walking along with two or three pit bulls, it’s pretty simple for the policeman to raise the dog’s tail and see whether or not it’s spayed or neutered. If it’s not, the gang member is in violation,” Burke said, noting that street gangs operate dog-fighting rings.
“The rest of dog and cat owners—many of them are very law-abiding citizens and understand the nature of this law and what it’s designed to do—to reduce the number of vicious animal roaming the streets.”
Exceptions to the spay and neutering mandate would be granted to those who apply for a breeder’s license, triggering a criminal background check.
“I don’t know of too many gang members [who] would be willing to subject themselves to this type of scrutiny,” Burke said.
Exceptions would also be made for show-dogs, guard dogs, service dogs and any dog or cat certified by a licensed veterinarian as having a “valid health reason not to be sterilized.”
Burke said the sterilization crackdown was prompted by the vicious Southwest Side attack on Gabriela Munoz Lopez.
On April 10, Lopez was reportedly on her way to pick her children up at school when five pit bulls descended upon her, seemingly out of nowhere.
Lopez suffered bites to her face, head and legs before being rescued by a Good Samaritan, who happened to be passing by in his van. The man backed his van onto the sidewalk and pulled Lopez into the vehicle.
To justify the added expense to dog owners, the alderman cited a recent study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
It showed that “sexually intact” dogs are 2.6 times more likely to bite than neutered dogs. But, thwarting dog attacks is not the only motivation. It’s reducing the homeless population of pets.
“Dogs and cats reproduce exponentially, which means one dog or cat can be responsible for hundreds of puppies or kittens in their lifetime,” said Paula Fasseas, founder and chair of PAWS Chicago, the city’s largest humane organization.
“As a result, nearly 20,000 cats and dogs are kiled each yet in Chicago. This legislation will ensure that pet guardians bear the responsibility for adequately caring for their pets.”
Burke noted that dog owners who can’t afford the cost of sterilization can get it done at no cost through the Fasseas Foundation.
Tags: abiding citizens, cats, cats and dogs, dog licenses, dog owners, dogs, dogs and cats, gang banger, guard dogs, health reason, homeless population, intact dogs, journal of the american veterinary medical association, kitten, kittens, lifetime, medical association, neutered dogs, paws, Pet, pets, pets dogs, pit bull, pit bulls, population, pup, puppies, service dogs, show dogs, southwest side, spay and neuter, spayed or neutered, street gangs, vet, veterinarian, veterinary medical association, vicious animalRelated posts
Tags: abiding citizens, cats, cats and dogs, dog licenses, dog owners, dogs, dogs and cats, gang banger, guard dogs, health reason, homeless population, intact dogs, journal of the american veterinary medical association, kitten, kittens, lifetime, medical association, neutered dogs, paws, Pet, pets, pets dogs, pit bull, pit bulls, population, pup, puppies, service dogs, show dogs, southwest side, spay and neuter, spayed or neutered, street gangs, vet, veterinarian, veterinary medical association, vicious animal
