Governer Newsom, it's time for Spay and Neuter legislation and funding at the State level.

Governor, I am writing to you because California's animal shelters are facing a crisis.

I am a tired, overwhelmed, exhausted and sad animal shelter rescue coordinator who has been in the animal welfare field for more than a decade. And I have never experienced such an overflow of animals in our shelter systems as I have now. 

Due to failures at many levels to enact spay and neuter legislation and stop backyard breeding over the past several years, we now have an an explosion of dogs (especially large breed dogs) flooding the public shelter systems. People adopt or purchase the puppies -- and when they’re 60 pounds and in need of proper training, they realize they’re too big to handle and in many cases, they dump them on the side of the roads or they bring them to the shelters. Dogs often escape from backyards, since they are often not allowed inside their homes. Many are hit by cars, some so severely that they have to be euthanized or they are killed immediately. 

For every one dog that gets adopted or rescued, 10 more come in that same day. 

Shelters are over capacity and having to euthanize for space. Rescue groups are full, worn out, and running out of funds to help. Even my out-of-state rescue contacts are exhausted and overwhelmed as they look at California,  begging from afar for the laws to change. It is embarrassing that California is in such dire straits and our animals are suffering, when other states do not seem to have these unthinkable problems.

We cannot continue like this. We cannot rescue, transport, foster, adopt our way out of this. There are far too many dogs and cats in need in California. The only option for many animals is the long walk to the euthanasia room and the back door once they've been euthanized. 

Humans have failed them. And the government has failed to take appropriate action for far too long. Can you please help us? 

Shelter workers' hearts are breaking every day. The suicide rate is higher in animal welfare than in any other field - at 5.3 cases per 1 million. No matter how hard we work, how much we care, how much we love, we are losing these precious animals every day in droves to euthanasia. 

And it’s not just dogs. It’s cats and kittens, too. And their numbers are far, far worse. We mourn for the lives of these sweet babies. 

SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE.

Change has to happen at the state level. 

Enforcing spays and neuters and eliminating backyard breeders are the only way out of this terrible crisis. Please act and help these innocent dogs and cats, puppies and kittens. Lives are being lost every day because of this crisis and it is simply not fair to them and those of us who are trying to help.