Save Lives: Increase Los Angeles City Limits on Pet Ownership from 3 Dogs and 3 Cats to 5 Dogs and 5 Cats

We request that the Los Angeles City Council increase the current pet limits per household from 3 cats and 3 dogs to 5 cats and 5 dogs. We believe this will help decrease the number of animals that are euthanized in Los Angeles, which in 2009 included 19,547 cats and dogs.

Raising pet limits will help us save more lives by connecting homeless shelter animals to households who want them. Increasing pet limits will also generate badly needed revenue for Los Angeles Animal Services through registration fees.

Councilmember Bill Rosendahl introduced a motion to the City Council June 5 to increase pet limits, and Councilmember Paul Koretz seconded the motion. Los Angeles Animal Services General Manager Brenda Barnette also strongly supports increasing pet limits from 3 dogs and cats to 5 dogs and cats. As of early December 2010, the motion remains in committee.

Many areas around the country do not have such strict restrictions on household pet ownership. For example, our neighbors in the city of Santa Monica have no limits on either cats or dogs. Riverside County allows nine cats before a kennel permit is required. San Diego County and Santa Barbara County have no cat limits.

For the last 10 years, the City of San Diego has not had a cat limit. The limit on dogs is 6. The Live Save rate for San Diego County Animal Services that covers both the City and the County is 82% for dogs and 54% for cats (Fiscal Year 2008-09 with intake of 48,878). During this same Fiscal Year 2008-09, the Live Save rate for Los Angeles is 73% for dogs and just under 39% for cats.

Councilmen Rosendahl wrote that “The current downturn in the economy has resulted in a higher rate of animal abandonment and has contributed to a 20% increase in the rate of impounds. To exacerbate the problem, over the past several years budget reductions in the Department of Animal Services have reduced the level of service provided to animals in the City’s shelters.”

PLEASE help get the word out! Do it for the animals who are counting on us. We must show the Council members that saying “Yes” to the increased pet limits is the right thing to do and is what the community wants.