ABSTRACT
Over 60 percent of households own at least one pet. The pet population in shelters peaked in the 1970s, when over 20 million animals entered a shelter annually. 1 To reduce the load on shelters, more local governments required that animals be licensed and spayed or neutered. In 1971, Los Angeles opened the first public spay/neuter clinic. 2 In the mid-1980s, many local governments passed dangerous-dog ordinances to identify and control dangerous dogs and hold owners accountable for their pets’ behavior. Currently, nearly 2 percent of the population, the great majority of whom are children and the elderly, are bitten by dogs annually. Some local governments ban ownership of specific breeds, but most enforce a “dog-bite prevention” ordinance that requires containment of potentially dangerous animals and/or conduct a program to teach dog owners how to prevent biting through humane treatment, sterilization, supervision, and safe confinement.
