Pet owners and animal advocates are closely watching\u00a0 a new state Senate bill\u00a0 that would limit how far landlords can go to keep their property clear of noisy\u00a0 dogs and frisky felines.<\/p>\n
SB 1229 would prevent property owners from requiring tenants to have their\u00a0 cats declawed and the voice boxes of their dogs removed as a condition of\u00a0 tenancy but would still hold the renter responsible for damage caused by a pet.\u00a0 The bill also would bar property owners from advertising only to potential\u00a0 renters whose pets have had such procedures.<\/p>\n
The bill’s author, Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, said some landlords\u00a0\u00a0 condition rental occupancy on the declawing of cats or the devocalizing of dogs.\u00a0 These practices can have unintended consequences for property managers, physical\u00a0 problems for animals and emotional and financial consequences for pet owners,\u00a0 Pavley said.<\/p>\n
Devocalizing pets is illegal in New Jersey and Massachusetts, and the state\u00a0 of New York has pending legislation similar to California’s to ban\u00a0 declawing\u00a0 and devocalizing as a condition of rental tenancy. SB 1229 would resemble\u00a0 federal Housing and Urban Development Department regulations that prohibit\u00a0 public authorities from requiring pet owners to remove their pet’s vocal\u00a0 chords.<\/p>\n
The bill passed the Senate on May 17 without dissent and will be taken up by\u00a0 the Assembly this month.<\/p>\n
“Certainly, when it comes to somebody telling somebody else they have to do a\u00a0 permanent procedure when they are doing a temporary rental, in my mind that is\u00a0 excessive,” said Al Schwartz, owner of the Moorpark Veterinary Hospital and\u00a0 former president of the California Veterinarian Association.<\/p>\n
In his 31 years practicing animal medicine, Schwartz said, he has never\u00a0 devocalized a dog or referred a pet for the procedure. Declawing is relatively\u00a0 rare, too. Last year his office performed six declawing procedures. Schwartz\u00a0 said he generally discourages declawing cats and advises pet owners to explore\u00a0 alternative solutions such as behavioral training before going ahead with the\u00a0 practice.<\/p>\n
Eight local governments in California, including Los Angeles, San Francisco\u00a0 and West Hollywood, have outlawed declawing.<\/p>\n
Schwartz said there are narrow situations where declawing is necessary, and\u00a0 for that reason he is critical of city councils that have banned the procedure\u00a0 altogether. He cites instances in which a cat owner may be suffering from an\u00a0 illness and declawing is the only way to protect the owner’s health and keep the\u00a0 owner able to care for the cat.<\/p>\n
“A city, such as West Hollywood, for example, should not be telling a pet\u00a0 owner what to do,”\u00a0 Schwartz said.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, a similar bill written by then-Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa\u00a0 Barbara, was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger after criticism from some\u00a0 veterinarian circles about the language of the bill. The bill would have banned\u00a0 declawing for any nontherapeutic reason, which Schwarzenegger believed would\u00a0 prohibit accommodating the legitimate medical needs of a pet owner.<\/p>\n
When done properly, Schwartz said, declawing is relatively painless. Cost can\u00a0 vary by veterinarian and regional location but typically ranges from $250 to\u00a0 $500.<\/p>\n
Pavley’s bill is being backed by California Veterinary Association and the\u00a0 California Apartment Association. Proponents argue the decision to have a pet\u00a0 undergo such procedures should be up to the pet owner.<\/p>\n
In a statement from the U.S. Humane Society, state director Jennifer Fearing\u00a0 said SB 1229 will ensure that important medical decisions about pets continue to\u00a0 be made by their caregivers, in private consultation with veterinarians.<\/p>\n
Jeff Wallach, a theater arts educator from Thousand Oaks, said he’s been a\u00a0 renter for most of his life. Wallach owns three pets rescued from animal\u00a0 shelters: Buddy, an 8-year-old shepherd; Jack, a 7-year-old Lab mix; and Sassy,\u00a0 a tabby who Wallach guesses is about 12.<\/p>\n
Wallach said that if a property owner asked him to declaw Sassy or remove the\u00a0 vocal chords of Buddy or Jack, he’d move out of the property immediately.<\/p>\n
“It upsets me. I think it’s wrong. I think it’s inhumane,” Wallach said.<\/p>\n
Wallach comes from a family of property owners and as a child would help his\u00a0 father manage property in the San Fernando Valley by collecting rent and\u00a0 interacting with tenants.<\/p>\n
“I think the industry itself to me is so wonderful,” Wallach said. “It\u00a0 infuriates me that people who would actually do that. It would never have\u00a0 crossed my mind to ask a tenant to do that.”<\/p>\n