Animal crusader takes on overcrowded animal sheltersÂ
The bill that would make fixing your pets the law in California was actually born far away in a New Orleans shelter. That’s where Judie Mancuso, who’d flown down from her home in Laguna Beach to aid the post-Hurricane Katrina animal rescue effort, concluded that enough was enough.
“When I walked into that shelter and saw that every animal in there was unaltered–animals who’d been running loose on the streets!–I thought, we have a huge crisis on our hands,” she says. “I knew my next goal would be to put together a statewide spay/neuter bill.”
Not being a resident of Louisiana, she settled for introducing the bill in her own state of California, and hopes doing so will inspire more states to take action.
Chucking the “pinky in a dam” approach
Mancuso’s activism began long before then. In 1990, a TV special on pet overpopulation turned her from a carefree, meat-eating high-tech professional into a vegan animal rescuer. “It showed all these healthy, beautiful, wonderful animals going to the euthanasia table,” she recalls. “I was just blown away. I couldn’t believe that’s how we dealt with the problem.”
She started raising money for shelters, fostering animals, trapping feral cats, and staffing adoption events. Just prior to her fateful trip to New Orleans, she’d even quit her information technology job to devote herself full-time to animal rescue work. She and her husband, Rolf Wicklund, had already decided to forgo kids for the cause.
But it felt a bit like sticking her pinky in a dam that was constantly springing more holes–an estimated 800,000 holes a year, according to one estimate of how many dogs and cats are abandoned in California each year. Roughly half those animals are euthanized.
“Every time we’d make some headway and save a couple animals, someone would dump more,” says Mancuso wearily. “The litters just kept coming through the door. Oh my god, kitten season…!”
Crafting a new rescue strategy
While setting up yet another adoption event with fellow volunteers to place still more homeless animals, the talk kept circling back to the same question: Why aren’t more people spaying and neutering their pets? Since Mancuso had observed, time and again, that many owners can’t be bothered, she decided it was time for a new strategy.
When she got back to California, Mancuso asked Ed Bok, general manager of Animal Services in Los Angeles, to work with her on crafting a mandatory spay/neuter bill. He agreed, and the two started making the rounds, visiting animal care and control officers, veterinarians, police officers, breeders, and service dog groups for help in turning the idea into AB 1634, or the California Healthy Pets Act.
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The above article is more of the amazing spin that supporters dish out for Mancuso’s mandatory spay & neuter bill, AB 1634.
Here’s the facts…
Police canine officers and police canine associations strongly oppose AB 1634 and say the bill cannot be fixed with amendments. The two largest police K9 associations in America and the largest in California are on record in strong opposition to this bill because it would be devastating to law enforcement.
Breeders numbering in the hundreds of thousands as represented by hundreds of breed and kennel clubs strongly oppose AB 1634 and say it cannot be fixed with amendments. AB 1634 would destroy responsible dog and cat breeding, and lead to an increase of poorly-bred imports from other countries.
Service dog for the disabled groups and guide dog for the blind organizations strongly oppose AB 1634 and say it cannot be fixed with amendments. The International Association of Assistance Dog Partners, the umbrella organization Assistance Dogs International, and member groups such as Canine Companions for Independence have all said this.
The California Veterinary Medical Association withdrew all support for AB 1634, and a large majority of veterinarians and regional veterinary medical association strongly oppose the bill.
Why not ask Ms Mancuso 2 things:
1. What happened to all the dogs that “disappeared†under H$U$’s care? Yet - they collected $$ for them - and they apparently killed them?
2. What happened to HER that she has SO little concern for humans? I don’t see ANY sympathy for the people who were displaced or died. My friend’s mother was bed-fast - and she drowned in her own bed! Ms Mancuso doesn’t give a HOOT about her or any other human!
This woman is SICK - not a hero! Her bill is SICK! She needs help!!!
I am also a believer in rescuing animals, promoting adoption, and supporting shelters and organizations that support these causes. However, I fail to see how mandatory spay and neuturing is the correct solution to this problem. I may not know all the facts, but Ms. Mancuso seems to have failed to acknowledge that there ARE responsible pet owners out there. I understand that it’s easy to see the negative side of things sometimes, but stepping back to allow for some positive is always a necessity. How exactly would her bill be any different than bills that are asking for mandatory breed-specific spay/neuturing? The money/time/effot she is putting into this bill would be better spent rescuing animals that need help now and helping to educate people about responsible pet ownership…to prevent needing to go to the extreme that Ms. Mancuso is suggesting.
Beleive me Judie and Rolf are not “unemployed’.. their companies are thriving on her ‘dedication” to mandatory castration of pets.. she might have ‘quit her job” .. but the companty rolls on.. taking in lots of tax free dollars to support the creation of a new “criminal class” .. that of the pet owner who chooses not to have their undergo the risk of surgery to satisfy Judie. how do i know?? I had a pet who died while being neutered.. my choice.. my risk…but Mandatory.. i don’t think so
SPAY AND NEUTER.. IT IS YOUR CHOICE.. LET’S KEEP IT THAT WAY.. SUPPORT FREE AND LOW COST SPAY AND NEUTER.. AND THE CONSTITIUTION.. VOTE NO ON MANDATORY SPAY NEUTER.. BUT SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS….
Grannie was not the only one floating. Thousands of animals were drown and starved to death. You might as well blame yourself for Granny dieing as blame Judie! Someone was paid to help Grannie, nobody paid Judie to help the animals. I didn’t see you there either, did I???
She doesn’t care about humans? You don’t care about humnans or animals. Who do you think has to put the needle in the arm of a cat or dog and push the plunger? A human that has to go home everynight and try and cook dinner and do homework with their kids while they try and shake off the faces of the animals they killed that day.
It is amazing to read the above notes and not wonder people’s motivation. I generally believe that people are born understanding the difference between wrong and right. The problem is that if an individual or group is gaining financially from some activity, their basic understanding of wrong and right is blurred. The State of California is currently in a financial crunch. Spending millions of dollars per year on killing surplus animals isn’t helping. Education, though important, isn’t helping. Recently there has been a lot of talk about information from a misguided author that there are better ways to approach this problem. And certainly some of this data may certainly be helpful. But we are facing a crisis with regards to pet overpopulation in Califonia shelters. When shelter workers are screaming for the killing to stop it appears to me that these cries can’t go unnoticed. An when I hear others who are in oposition and notice they own businesses that profit from the sale of companion animals or the show of these same creatures, I go back to my orignial analysis. There must be some blurring going on. I am for a fiscally resonsible State and Local government. LA City has spoken. It is my hope that as a State we can move on toward a more fiscially responsible and humane solution to this problem. 1634 appears to be the way.
How pathetic the statements are from the opposition for AB 1634.
When people help ANY sentient being it is a good thing! The bills oppossers constant comparison of helping humans to that of animals clearly demonstrates their lack of compassion and knowledge regarding the issue at hand.
In order to successfully “slow the flow” of healthy, UNWANTED, adoptable animals every community must acheive three goals: extensive education and community outreach, community involvement and MANDATORY spay/neuter.
Thank you Judie Mancuso for your unselfish dedication to such a worthy cause!
The true reason “Police canine officers and police canine associations oppose AB 1634″ is opposition-lobbyist Bill Hemby’s affiliation and control of these groups. MOST real police dogs are not bred OR raised in the state and NONE of them are affected. The true reason why opponents have made this claim is because there are hundreds of them who like to PLAY police dog breeders with their training and breeding programs much like the boys in the woods in the south like to play militia. Get real. Hey, were the members of those Police organizations consulted and did they vote or did Bill Hembly simply direct the groups to oppose?
Not one single rationale has been stated to explain how law enforcement would be ‘devastated’ and that would be because ALL police dogs are exempted. This is a silly, baseless claim.
Actually, breeders in California only number in the thousands but organizers like Diane Amble and Walt Hutchins have called upon out of state breeders to help jam the legislator’s faxes with repetitous opposition letters, many under false names and addresses. Others, including Diane, propagate rumors and half-truths, like ‘IT’s the vegan, HSUS, Kool-aid drinking Nazis trying to take away meat of school children!’ And if this ’social situation’ in California were solvable with money and effort, then why are they not summoning their brethern to aid that solution? Why are they not ‘taking the lead’ and raising money for funding the education which they claim is the answer? Are their own dogs licensed and are they zoned??
AB 1634 would drastically improve responsible dog and cat breeding, by reducing low quality backyard breeders seeking only profits. Those who qualify for breeding exemptions will be more likely to have the support and cooperation of ALL knowledgeable breeders who will be able to perform more education and thereby elimiate ALL poorly-bred imports from other countries. And the price of dogs will go up and show grounds will remain free, even in the face of budgetary crisis!
Service dogs for the disabled and guide dogs are *exempted* by AB 1634 and groups who blindly opposed the bill have been misled by opponent’s claims that there will be “no more assistance dogs.” Who says that to a little boy in a wheelchair?? As they comprehend that these breeder distortions are deliberate, maniplualtive and their clients are protected, they are quietly withdrawing their opposition.
The California Veterinary Medical Association was a strong backer until their leadership withdrew its support over concerns that the membership did not have opportunity to ratify the decision. Unlike the Police Groups who never will have a chance for a membership vote, the CVMA wanted to have a general vote but this was subsequently blocked by the opposition who had insisted on it.
Yes… the facts are disputed but the swags are at work. Even the number of dogs killed are denied. Or called ‘feral cats’ because they don’t matter, as we know. Two things we DO know: breeders propagate dogs, they DON’T participate in solutions!
I can’t believe how incredibly ignorant some of the previous comments have been;indicating that Judie doesn’t care for humans and that she is sick. Have you ever taken a walk down the streets of South Central to find dozens of stray dogs wandering the streets, eating from the garbage and left to die a sad, lonely death? And what about the reults of those “backyard” breeders that illegally breed dogs only to have them come out deformed and missing say, their front limbs? And then they destroy and abuse the ones that no one wants to adopt, when it was their fault for incorrect breeding in the first place?
Too many people out there do not know the importance of spaying and neutering your pets, and if one simple act can help prevent future pain and suffering for puppies and kittens that no one wants, then I’m all for AB 1634!!!! Vote YES; we’ve got lots of folks behind this bill so you people better get ready to spay and neuter your pets, cause it’s gonna be the law baby!
I think Judie is doing an incredibly wonderful thing. It takes a really dedicated and genuine person to do what she has done, and I completely support her bill. It breaks my heart to hear about the staggering numbers of animals that are euthanized due to overpopulation, and just think, if we don’t have those unwanted animals wandering around to begin with, then that will be all the less to euthanize! And sure, there are some legitimate breeders out there, but what about all the illegal and untrained ones who do it in their backyard? And what about puppy mills? I dare you to google those on the internet…you will be shocked at what you will find. And it will definitely make you want to spay and neuter your pet…as well as your neighbor’s and your coworker’s and your cousin’s…and so on. Save lives, spay and neuter
The only people opposed to AB 1634 are the people who are profiting from not spaying and neutering their pets. It’s that simple.
The truth is in the shelters, come in, spend some time, watch what comes in over the counters of just one animal shelter, or animal control. We sure spend a lot of time talking, while the animals are dying. Please don’t speak for the animals unless you know the truth. Stop making their deaths so insignificant, you wouldn’t want yours to be.
Millions. Take a minute and really think about that number. How much millions are. It is a staggering number and that is how many doggies and cats die each and every year from overpopulation. Millions requires drastic measures. I would have to assume that everyone agrees with that. Sometimes we the people have to be told what to do to. We have laws for a reason. This bill is long overdue. If you truly love animals go and visit a shelter, times that amount by a couple million. It is easy in our society to become desensitized so go and see for yourself. Judy Mancuso and all those who help animals are just a bunch of caring and compassionate people who are trying so hard to help save these innocent lives. There is no hidden agenda here and these folks are not whacko and this bill still allows breeders to breed. This really is a no brainer. Please support bill AB1634.