Campaign to spare shelter pets elicits e-mail from governor

June 29th, 2009, 6:02 pm · 6 Comments · posted by Samantha Gowen, Pet Tales editor

Many readers here at Pet Tales have expressed outrage, sadness and sometimes agreement to a proposal by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to cut hold periods in half for pets in the custody of state-supported animal shelters.

A phone and e-mail campaign has since ensued by pet lovers who seek to discourage the plan — which would enable shelters to euthanize pets in just three days — from being realized.

And while the protest campaign continues and the state Assembly fights over budget amendments, the fate of homeless animals seems fated.

The proposed cuts would save the state $25 million annually, by some projections. Shelters that run below capacity — a rare occurrence in these economically challenging times — would not have to follow the mandate unless hard-pressed and overflowing with lost or unwanted animals.

While the state holds its breath over decisions made in Sacramento, pet advocates will have to make do with an automated e-mail response that is generated when a message is submitted to the governor.

By the way, you can still go lodge your concerns by heading over to Schwarzenegger’s e-mail portal). If that’s not good enough, try a phone call at 916-445-2841, but be prepared to hear a busy signal.

By the way, you can still go lodge your concerns by heading over to Schwarzenegger’s e-mail portal). If that’s not good enough, try a phone call at 916-445-2841, but be prepared to hear a busy signal.

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Here’s the e-mail response from the governor:

Thank you for sharing your concerns with me about the proposal to lift restrictions on hold times at animal shelters. I value your input during these challenging economic times.

As you know, we are in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. We now face a budget shortfall that has grown to $24.3 billion. I have proposed cuts that I would have never proposed except in a worst-case scenario, including eliminating General Fund support for programs like Healthy Families, CalWORKs, Cal Grants and State Parks. This was not an easy decision for me. As a dog owner myself, I have always supported animal welfare and have worked to ensure the humane treatment of animals.

Currently, the state requires all shelters to hold stray animals for four or six days and reimburses them for the associated costs. To address our budget crisis, I have proposed to suspend some Non-Proposition 98 mandates, including the reimbursement funds for these shelters. To help local shelters deal with the challenges of this difficult budget situation, I have also proposed that the state no longer require the four or six day hold time. Shelters still have the flexibility to keep the animals for more days, but my proposal avoids placing an unnecessary burden on local communities.

As I work with my partners in the Legislature to find solutions to these problems, know that I will keep your thoughts in mind. Working together, I believe we can weather this storm and start the slow but steady march back toward prosperity.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger

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JEM says:

June 30, 2009 at 7:36 am

I would rather Arnold cut welfare to the illegals than to cut money to the animal shelters. Leave the animals alone.

Lauren says:

July 2, 2009 at 2:42 pm

I support this cut. Hard times call for hard measures. HOWEVER, I’m of a similar mindset with JEM that if they’re going to do this to the animals, then they should proportionally get rid of welfare to illegals, healthcare and education. We don’t actually need the migrant workers anymore. There are plenty of Californians that need the jobs.

Ugh. I can only imagine the number of cats and dogs that will be put down! Three days is often not long enough for a pet to get adopted!

michelle says:

July 3, 2009 at 7:16 pm

its not even that three days to adopt a pet, its the fact that a shelter won’t contact you if they have your pet. I went there looking for my dog and they told me they didn’t have him. I went back again three days later and he was in the kill cage with his tag still on. He was in the back the first day I went where your not allowed to go. I asked why they didn’t call me and they said its not their job?????? Instead of wasting money having my dog for 4 days, they could have call me and I would have picked him up on the first day.

How about getting rid of lazy gov workers who waste money????

digitaldude says:

July 13, 2009 at 10:39 pm

It’s time for pet lovers to step up to the plate and individually fund activities at their local shelter, making sure your pets and those of others have a chance for survival in these difficult economic times. Sending a donation of $5 or $10 a month can help a great deal when combined with contributions from others. If you know a family experiencing tough times that have a pet, make sure you let them know you’ll be happy to take their pet if they expect to be dropping it off a shelter because they can’t care for it. Some people abandon their pets, leaving them to fend for themselves on the street or leave them in their vacated homes.

Dr. Jim Gardner says:

July 14, 2009 at 4:59 pm

I can understand the Governor’s desire to cut costs, but what he doesn’t seem to appreciate is that cutting costs here results in death. You can cut many programs and merely inconvenience someone (e.g., increase their wait time at a clinic), or have a minor impact on their life (e.,g., cut a breakfast supplement program). But in this case thousands of animals will die. Not inconvenient - not a minor impact, but death. Arnold needs to resign like Palin did. He is a lame duck who did no good. Time for him to go.

SOCdogsandcats says:

July 19, 2009 at 9:20 am

Please let your California State representatives know that there is a better solution to this difficulty than rolling back to the previous decade’s draconian death of three day pet retention in shelters.

Impose an additional State use tax to be picked up by the current local licensing agencies and sent to the State.

Exempt all pets from the State tax if pet has a permanent micro chip id with proof of accurate current information in the database. This encourages permanent identification of pets, increases pet retention and increases the chances that a pet will be quickly re-united with their family.

Additionally add a $5 to $10 State use tax to the redemption of a pet from the shelters. This places more of the burden on those allowing their pets to end up in shelters.

Reducing the hold time to three days will not only affect the ability for pets to find new homes, this will result in many pets dying before their current families can locate them in a shelter. Contact your State representatives today.

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