Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager proposed requiring the
owners of
”
pit bull-type dogs
”
to spay or neuter their pets as a way to limit the canines’
potential for aggression and possibly prevent injuries to people
and other animals.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager proposed requiring the owners of “pit bull-type dogs” to spay or neuter their pets as a way to limit the canines’ potential for aggression and possibly prevent injuries to people and other animals.
An ordinance, which would only apply in the county’s unincorporated areas, will be proposed by Yeager at Tuesday’s supervisors’ meeting.
Yeager announced his intention to submit the new pet-owners’ requirements today, weeks after a Concord man’s pit bulls fatally mauled his 2-year-old step-grandson in Contra Costa County. And Monday, Gilroy police shot and killed a pit bull that was attacking a smaller dachshund in the back yard of a home on the 500 block of West Ninth Street.
“We shouldn’t wait for tragedy to strike in this county before we react,” Yeager said in a statement. “We need to be proactive in preventing serious injuries to our residents.”
Spayed and neutered dogs tend to be calmer and less aggressive, diminishing the likelihood of attacks, according to Yeager’s statement. Following the mauling death of a child in 2005, the city of San Francisco enacted a mandatory spay-neuter ordinance for pit bulls. Since then, animal control officials have indicated that the number of pit bulls seized and euthanized has decreased significantly.
Most significant bite episodes involve multiple dogs that reside in the same household and have not been spayed or neutered, Yeager added.
To that end, Santa Clara County already restricts parcels less than five acres to two dogs and parcels five acres or more to three dogs. The county also provides a limited subsidized spay-neuter service for pit bull-type dogs. Last year, 158 dogs were spayed or neutered under this program.
But the county shouldn’t “overreact to every issue,” Supervisor Don Gage said. He said the issue of aggressive or annoying dogs comes up periodically at county meetings, but he noted that many pit bull owners and breeders are able to keep their dogs under control.
He added he would have to thoroughly consider the implications of a spay-neuter ordinance before deciding.
“I think this is something that’s been hashed over many times (before) for dogs that are violent,” Gage said. “I don’t want to duplicate anything we already have that can accomplish the same thing.”
He added that some cities, including Morgan Hill and Gilroy, have restrictions in place to regulate potentially aggressive dogs. Both cities, for example, require dog owners within the city limits to register and license their pets at city hall.
Yeager will also ask county staff to explore other public safety measures that could address the same concerns. Any proposed measures will be referred to the Housing, Land Use, Environment and Transportation Committee and the Animal Advisory Commission for discussion and comment before the board takes a final vote.
In addition to San Francisco, the cities of Gilroy, San Bernardino, Lancaster, Manteca, and Ripon as well as Sonoma County have such laws in place. The city of Yucaipa, Contra Costa County, and San Bernardino County have proposals under consideration.
Gilroy’s dog ordinance requiring pit bulls to be spayed and neutered went into effect May 5.
