Dog ownership stripped down to conditional custody of sterile animals
You're just there to pay the bills.
Do ya feel lucky now, dude? Do ya?
California AB 1634 ain't about "breeder's rights" in California. Hell, no.
The proposal's sponsor, Lloyd Levine--Democratic Assemblyman and animal extremist tool from Van Nuys--may be struggling to keep the spotlight focused on those nasty dog and cat "breeders" but he just took aim at the homes--and pets--of well over 15,000,000 dog owners and 13,000,000 cat owners in California.
Levine thinks they aren't smart enough to make veterinary care decisions. He wants the State of California to do it for them: mandated, compulsory surgical sterilization at 16 weeks of age.
He just might succeed, too. The proposal made it out of its first committee on a strictly party-line vote. Makes you wonder what California Dems are all about, doesn't it?
No exceptions for pet owners in the Golden State. None. Zero. No way, no how.
What's that? You don't want your dog or cat to undergo surgery? You're worried about --
the cost?
the anesthesia?
the health impact of castration?
Maybe you like your dog or cat just fine "as is"?
You just want a little time to think it over?
You like to make your own decisions about the dogs and cats you live with?
You think 16 weeks is a tender age for major surgery?
Tough shit.
Lloyd Levine thinks he knows how to manage your pets better than you do.
Where's the money going to come from, Lloyd?
Who's going to pay for all of this blood-letting, anyway? My vet charges $600 to spay a dog. So can I send Lloyd Levine the bill? Huh?
There are no funding provisions attached to Levine's AB 1634.
California pet owners are on their own. They have to either find the money to spay or neuter their dogs and cats, or face a $500 fine for each intact animal they're convicted of owning.
That leaves low-income dog and cat owners between a rock and hard place.
Will economically stressed, fearful owners be forced to turn their pets in to shelters? Will they simply release them in public parks? Who's gonna pay the bill for sheltering (and probably killing) all of those pets that currently have homes? Any thoughts on that, Lloyd?
Let's run Lloyd Levine's numbers. Shall we?
Because this part is interesting. Lloyd's Van Nuys neighborhoodshows a median household income significantly below the California average. His assembly district also has a significant minority population.
Actually, let me rephrase that. "People like Lloyd" are in the minority in his Assembly district. Levine claims he's been working on that mandatory spay-neuter proposal for ten years. But what makes me think he didn't have the residents of Assembly District 40 in mind when he sponsored this proposal?
Maybe its the way it discriminates against them.
Levine already announced his candidacy for the California Senate. He has his eye on SD 23, currently held by (also term-limited) Sheila Kuehl. Lloyd Levine thinks he might be movin' on up in the world, it seems.
Is Lloyd counting chickens?
Levine sure as hell won't be the only one running for SD-23. Expect outgoing Members of the Assembly Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) and Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood), or even newly minted members Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica) and Mike Feuer (D-West L.A.).
Could be. Outraged, pet loving Dems are already on the move
Gross interference in the lives and civil liberties of law-abiding citizens is NOT a Democratic value.
Laws that disproportionately penalize the poor?
NOT a Democratic value.
Furthering the agenda of special interests and extremists?
So NOT a Democratic value
Sticking it to 60+ percent of the voting population?
Geez, I hope someone somewhere at Democratic Party Central realizes how NOT a Democratic value that is.
Lloyd, baby. Wake up andsmell the dog!