Ukiah council drops pet plan
Non-binding resolution encourages referring to owners as 'caretakers'
Published: Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 4:05 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 4:05 a.m.
The Ukiah City Council on Wednesday dumped a controversial proposal to change the term pet "owner" to "owner/guardian" in its Animal Control ordinance.
The proposal "has undermined the council's credibility," said Councilwoman Mari Rodin.
The council, on a 4-1 vote, instead adopted a non-binding resolution that simply encourages residents to use the term "caretaker" when referring to pet owners, an effort to promote kindness to animals.
Mayor Phil Baldwin was the lone no vote for the resolution after giving a short lecture on the positive nature of dissent.
The debate began in December after a Ukiah woman suggested changing "owner" to "guardian" during a discussion of other changes in the Animal Control ordinance.
Jan Allegretti, co-author of a book on holistic animal care, said the terminology change would encourage people to hold animals in higher esteem and to treat them better. A majority of the council, believing it would be an innocuous and positive alteration, directed city staff to draft a proposal with the change.
But by the time they revisited the proposal in January, it was clear that "guardian" was a highly charged word that some people associate with radical animal rights groups' efforts to liberate animals from human constraints.
So the council directed staff to replace guardian with "owner/guardian" in the proposed ordinance.
Again the controversy persisted, despite assurances from City Attorney Dave Rapport that the term guardian -- defined as owner in the ordinance -- made no legal changes to pet ownership.
Critics of the change remained concerned that using "guardian" instead of "owner" could affect the rights of animal owners, government regulators and even veterinarians.
The term has been linked to efforts by animal rights groups seeking the abolition of animals as property, said Ukiah Veterinarian Edward Haynes, an opponent of the change to guardian.
Other area veterinarians supported the change, saying the way we define animals can affect how they're treated.
Hoping to appease both factions, Rapport last week suggested a non-binding resolution that encourages city residents and employees to refer to animal owners as guardians.
"Caretaker" was substituted Wednesday when it became clear that the use of "guardian" was unacceptable to critics under any circumstances.
Rodin said there's no evidence the proposed change in the ordinance is in any way connected to radical animal rights groups. But the issue has taken up too much of the council's time and created undue controversy.
"Let's be done with it," she said.
You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com.
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