The Cat Days Of Summer

Adoption News & More
The Long Beach Spay/Neuter Foundation (LBSNF) adopts cats rescued from the streets to good homes. All of the kittens have been spayed or neutered, vaccinated and dewormed and have tested negative for FELV and FIV. A donation of $100 is required to adopt a kitten; all funds help defray the costs of their medical bills. To make an appointment to see any of these cats or the others under the care of LBSNF, contact lbsn2006@yahoo.com or (562) 544-0335.

These two will be sent special delivery only to a good forever home. Bud and Harley were found dumped on the Bluff. Fortunately, LBSNF found them probably within hours of their being dumped. They were clean and well cared for (someone must have been desperate!). They are incredible kittens, playful and not scared of anyone or anything. They need to find a home together because LBSNF won't separate them.

Legislating Responsibility
On July 27, the Long Beach Press-Telegram published the editorial “Misfiring at Puppy Mills." The editorial agreed with the spirit of the laws AB 241 (The Responsible Breeder Act) and SB 250 (The Pet Responsibility Act) but was in firm disagreement with their passage.

Agreement and disagreement are the privileges of living in a relatively free society. We of course feel that both laws should be passed, not because we love the idea of extreme legislation but because too few citizens are taking responsibility with their pets—some feel entitled to illegally breed and sell animals, with the obvious results (see adoptions, above). Furthermore, we have our own laws here in Long Beach, but not every town in the state does.

Disagreement can lead to profitable discussion, but you have to have all the facts, and the editorial writer apparently did not. We sent off a response to the paper; as of this writing, it hasn’t been printed. Here it is in its entirety. We welcome discussion.

To the Press-Telegram’s Editorial Department,

Oh boy, how wrong can you get? Dead wrong, if you are a victim of a puppy mill or pet overpopulation! Your version of AB 241 and SB 250 is a mutilated “horror story” of misinformation.

Without a doubt, we commend all the supportive lawmakers of these two bills for their insightfulness and humane ethics regarding those that cannot speak for themselves—animals! We deeply appreciate our own city leaders of Long Beach for their unanimous support of these life-saving animal bills!

Now here’s the way we see it:

Fact: Both SB 250 and AB 241 are greatly needed tools for animal shelters throughout our state! These tools will enhance already-existing laws! As for your comment that AB 241 would mandate spaying and neutering of dogs and cats, that only applies to individuals and businesses that must reduce the number of animals to 50 (i.e., puppy mills), so they are in compliance with the bill.

Fact: Of course, service dogs should enjoy loving surroundings. All dogs should, and we are grateful when they are blessed to live a life with love and kindness, which is why we support both bills! Neither bill will harm service dogs or law-abiding breeders. And by the way, people who truly respect animals do not consider them a “hobby.” Building model airplanes is a hobby. True animal lovers consider their pets as family members.

Fact: As supporters of both bills, we are not trying to “denigrate” legitimate breeders! We do, however, want to see the horrific, filthy, heartless puppy mills reduce the numbers of their breeding machines.

Sadly, we cannot adopt our way out from the tragedy of pet overpopulation. We must spay/neuter our way out of this people-created problem and be responsible for our pets!