What a face! Check out the two different colored eyes.

The city council of Lancaster, California Tuesday voted unanimously to adopt legislation that will effectively force owners of pit bulls and Rottweilers, and mixes with “predominant physical characteristics” of those breeds be spayed or neutered.  Puppies under the age of four months and dogs that are high-risk surgery candidates are exempt from being spayed or neutered under the law.

The law targets two breeds that are favored by gangs and gang members as a way to help crack down on gang related violence.  Additionally, the law attempts to define a “potentiall dangerous” dog (one that attacks without provocation) and one that is “vicious” (trained to fight, inflict injury or death).

The mayor, R. Rex Parris, strongly advocated for the proposal to pass.  When opponents questioned if the law would encourage racial profiling by police, Parris responded to concerns with assurances that the officers are more than capable of correctly identifying gang members.  Additionally, when the suggestion was made that the mayor discuss the issue with the gang members this law targets, Parris said, “I have no desire to work with them.  I have no desire to help them. The only thing I want to do is crush them and remove them from the community. … The days of accommodating a gang member are over.”

Spaying and neutering has no effect on gang violence or rehabilitating a “potentially dangerous” dog.  It does, on the other hand, have certain health ramifications — there is a reason that dogs need those hormones for healthy development.  This law is strictly in place to allow for officers to cite, fine and otherwise harass gang members.  Nice to see a city council put in place a law that is designed to side-step the possibility of being charged with civil rights violations.

Also, and really more importantly, this legislation is absolutely ass-backward.  If your officers can readily identify gang members then create laws that target the gang members, not dogs — dogs that belong to perfectly law-biding citizens.

These guys are lethally cute!

It is understandable that a city would want to protect itself from the criminal element.  It is commendable that they make tough decisions and then act on them.  However, it seems that Lancaster has set a rather dangerous and not terribly well thought out precedent regarding the welfare and future of their pit bull and Rottweiler populations in place.  Is it not possible to see that this will result in a greater number of dogs being abandoned or dumped into already overcrowded shelters?  Will we see these same requirements passed along to each breed that gangs move on to.  Will owners of Labs, poodles and collies one day be forced to spay or neuter their dogs or face fines and penalties?  Because we all know that pit bulls and Rottweilers are NOT inherently violent dogs — they are strong and that makes them attractive for fighting and methods of intimidation.  So are Shepherds, Malamute, Akitas . . . the list goes on.  If you love a medium to large breed dog, a terrier or a retriever, a hound or a spaniel, there may come a time when you, too, will be lumped into a group and forced to have a medical proceedure performed that you are not ready to have done to your dog because of an ill-conceived law.  It is important, as citizens as well as dog owners, to stay informed about what our local government does.  It is even more effective to be proactive.  Get involved so you can have a say before it becomes too late.