The crowd filling the room is growing increasingly restless in the 105-degree heat. As the speaker climbs on a chair trying to still the rumblings, angry shouts drown out his attempts to restore order.
Security is called in.
The whole scene is beginning to take on the look and feel of The Jerry Springer Show. In fact, it s a public hearing in a normally sedate library in Northridge, California one of six emotional, vituperative meetings about a proposed ordinance to curb pet overpopulation in Los Angeles. When he first assumed his post last year, Dan Knapp told Best Friends that he was going to open the first no-kill facility in the city s East Valley shelter as part of his ambitious goal of bringing to an end the killing of the city s homeless animals within five to seven years. Steering the city toward a new relationship to homeless animals has been difficult, with a multitude of factions and special interests blocking the way. For Knapp, passage of the new Pet Overpopulation Ordinance that requires breeders and other owners of unneutered animals to pay an annual license fee is a vital step in his mission.