Pet Lovers Rally Against Proposed Pet Ordinance

Mayor John Cook’s proposed ordinance to curb the amount of cats and dogs killed in El Paso shelters is getting heat from an unlikely group of people: pet lovers.

The Oate Trail Dog Fanciers Association held a meeting at Sorrento Italian Restaurant on Wednesday to rally against Cook’s recommendations. Though members at the meeting disagreed with parts of the proposal, many are glad the issue of shelter overcrowding is getting some tongues wagging.

“I think it’s pretty idiotic,” said Mary Young, a member who uses her Yorkie named Marbles as a service dog to help her get around. “The ordinance as proposed is punishing those of us who are very, very responsible dog owners”.

The ordinance was introduced last month and ignited controversy among breeders and businessowners.

It would ban pet stores and unregistered breeders from selling cats and dogs. New recommendations include requiring shelters to spay or neuter cats and dogs that are more than 4 months old. If a cat or dog is found and claimed at a shelter, the owner would pick up the bill. City officials are also considering tripling the registration fees for dogs or cats that have not been spayed or neutered.

Young says she is against the idea of mandatory neutering and spaying.

“I would be very particular as to who was neutering my dog,” she said. “I wouldn’t want just anybody to do it”.

Every year, 18,000 animals are killed in pet shelters across the city. The proposed ordinance could cost the city up to $700,000 to implement and enforce.

“[The ordinance’s goal] is to get to where we are not killing so many animals a year,” said Mayor Cook in an interview with ABC-7 shortly after the proposal was introduced.

Other members at Wednesday’s meeting support the spirit of the ordinance, but not the provisions it requires.

“The solution is not more laws. The solution is to figure out why we can’t win the hearts and minds of 75 percent of the pet owning population in this town,” said Susan Mucha with the Oate Trail Dog Fanciers Association.

Mucha points to unethical breeders and pet owner irresponsibility as the real root of El Paso’s shelter overcrowding problems.

Brandy Gardes director of a local animal rescue organization, said steeper fees might discourage owners from claiming their pets at shelters.

“If Fluffy goes missing and I can’t afford the fine, what am I going to do?” Gardes said.

Cook has said he is open to hearing other solutions to the problem.

“We’ll put all the options on the table and then we’ll find out which ones will have the greatest impact in reducing the number of unwanted pets and pets we have to euthanize every year,” he told ABC-7.

Attendees of Wednesday’s meeting said the best thing about the proposed ordinance is it’s getting a conversation going about shelter and overpopulation problems.

“The redeeming thing about [the Mayor’s proposed ordinance] is it’s bringing all the different kinds of animal groups together in the city to really start talking about what is it that we need to do,” said Mucha.