The Officers and Directors of CDOC ACTION would like to express their personal thanks to the people all over the United States who have joined with us in deciding to oppose this type of llegislation.

Responsible dog owners, who do not need to keep their dogs intact, overwhelmingly spay and neuter when the time is right for their dog, as determined by the owners and ther veterinarians; not the government. And whether their dogs are altered or not, their animals are contained on their property, not roaming as a nuisance.

This ordinance is primarily directed at people of color and poor people; people without disposable income or who own dogs that some do not like. People for whom the costs of veterinarians and surgery are a financial hardship can only be negatively affected by this law. Veterinarians in the City of Los Angeles who accept "The Big Fix" certificates will do so only if they can also charge office visits, for pain medication and follow-up care. Without those options, they turn away clients with free certificates. We need to provide truly free spay and neuter mobile vans for this segment of the population, for whom transportation is also an issue. Concerned Dog Owners of California is sponsoring and supporting legislation that can make this a reality.

Very early sterilization of dogs leads to many health and behavioral problems which again can only be well-managed by people with disposable incomes, and time and trasnportation to seek veterinary care. So again, we unfairly punish good people who love their animals but for whom daily life may be a struggle. And the ultimate outcomes include seeing them drop out of the system altogether or relinquishing their dogs to animal control.

In providing some vague exemptions, the City has sought to silence those who can buy the right dogs or buy their way out of compliance - for now. Hopefully they are beginningto see that people who really love dogs will stand up for all the people and all the dogs, regardless of circumstance. And we all know that when this is a failure, as it will be, the recommendations will be to toughen it up, not abandon it. Those exemptions are vague for a reason. And only supporters of mandatory spay and neuter are beiong put on the evaluation commission

CDOC has suggested practical approaches to the City of Los Angeles and we will continue to work to get them to take the steps that will have a positive impact. Passing an ordinance that has been less successful EVERYWHERE IT HAS BEEN TRIED than neighboring communities with voluntary spay and neuter is unacceptable. It is time to say no. Thank you for helping make that possible.