Los Angeles herald., 1908-06-25
SYSTEM BRUTAL
AND BARBAROUS
CATCHING DOGS BY NETS IS
lNHUMAN
HUMANE METHODS WOULD PRO
pucE REVENUE
City Would Not Lose by Change, II
oplnion--Presldent Pease Of coun-
ell Believes Members Should
Act-Pasadena's Plan Model

1.-THE system OF dog catching In Los Angelo
is barbarous. Our office Is flooded dali,
with the accounts of cruelty involved In th
catching Of homeless and unlicensed dog
ip this city.
"Only yesterday at Washington and Mali
streets, near the Chutes, there was an In
stance exemplifying the terrible cruelty o
the present methods Of catching dogs b,
nets. About score of people telephoned {,
the $. r. q. A. office telling us OF the bru
tality of couple OF men who caught
poor, harmless little dog in that vicinity
dog which know from its appearance
girl.
ut was unused to cruelty. A waif, true
1t had been stolen or accidentally had
strayed from its child master, but II ney.
ertheless was a pretty little animal, will
big, soft eyes and as gentle as q lamb; but
Of course IL ran instinctiveIy from tn.
poundmen. 1t realized they wero not itl
friends. In chasing It until the dog wal
exhausted the men let the net drop ovel
its back, almost crippling 1t. and, not sat.
isficd with this, though the dog howled
and yelped In its poor, pitiful way to sig.
nifty Its suffering, they dragged 1t for a dis.
tance Of 500 feet or more inside Of the mel
before releasing 1t.
''The scene was revoIting and every one
who saw It voiced protest against the
brutal treatment.
"But that Is only ono instance In thou
sands. 1t Is going ON in Los Angeles every
day and something should be done."-
Statement of N. W. thinner, superintendent
9. r. @. A.. to Herald reporter yesterday.
The crusade begun by The Herald
against the barbarous system of dog
catching now going on in Los Angeles
Is destined to bear fruit. The people
have taken up the protest with accord
and with such enthusiasm that there
no longer seems any question as to the
speedy annihilation of the present
brtal and inhuman method
Not only is 1t assured that the matter
will be taken UP and remedied by the
city council, but 1t is evident the de-
mand will be so great among all lovers
of justice in the animal kingdom that
some action will have to be taken
quickly.
N. w. thinner. superintendent of the
Los Angeles Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals, when seen In his
office in the Byrne building yesterday,
said:
Indorsed by s. p. C. A.
1.-THE s. P. C. A.. being an entirely in
dependent Incorporation and segregated
from politics and, municipal govern
ment, cannot well take part in the fight
Instituted by The Herald, although we
realize 1t is a most commendable cause,
and the plan of The Herald for the
adoption Of the Pasadena system is the
only solution to be offered. so far as
can determine. Already we are being
criticised by the Veterinaries' asso-
citation because we will not accede to
their plan. whereby the city will be out
thousands of useless dollars in the en-
p1oyment of so-called expert veterin-
ary testimony every time a horse or
cow is condemned; and In view of the
fact that our methods are criticised so
severely, though in vain by our enemies
-of which everyone in this business
has many-we do not feel able to CO.
operate in the present movement, for
fear that those unacQuainted with our
position may feel we want to usurp the
city's perogative and take charge of the
of dog license fees. I will
say, however, that II the work Is placed
in the hands of this society, as has
been done in Pasadena, we will achieve
the same results that have been met
with there. In other words, we will
more than double the income to the
city.
Punish Owner, Not Dog
I'm Pasadena, the owner Is punished
and not the dog. Every man or woman
who owns a dog Is required under PEN
atty of law to procure license for 1t.
AS result there are almost no un-
licensed dogs roaming the streets there,
and more license money now Is paid
into the treasury of Pasadena by the
society than ever before. Every dog Is
licensed, because the owners realize
that If the dog Is not licensed the
owner and not the dog will be punished.
The same thing should be done In Los
Angeles.
"The present system is barbarous,
cruel and ineffective. There are to-
lay in the wealthy residential districts
Of Los Angeles, to our positive knowl-
edge, hundreds of fancy dogs on which
not cent of license is paid. Under the
Pasadena system this would be impos-
sible,, for In yards or on the street the
log must be licensed.
TN one yard in Los Angeles there are
fifteen costly bulldogs kept chained in
4 row and on which not a cent OF
license is ever paid. This is but one
Instance. There are scores-yes, hum
ireds--of other homes where from one
% ten dogs are kept constantly chained
,r inclosed and on which not a cent is
paid to the city treasury.
1.-THE adoption here of the Pasadena
system would mean that hundreds and
thousands of dollars now uncollected
would be benefited. The former would
-ealize twice or treble as much more
rom the dog licenses and the society
would have funds wherewith to carry
IN its reformation and humane work IN
he care Of cattle and horses.
System Brutal
1.-THE system of catching dogs by nets
G brutal. Time and again we have