New York Daily News. Saturday, September 28, 2002
Bad dogs, says mayor
By LISA L. COLANGELO and TRACY CONNOR
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Not all dogs are created equal - at least not in the eyes of Mayor Bloomberg.
The mayor said yesterday that most canines caught at night are meaner than junkyard dogs, and if something bad should happen to them, well, so be it.
"Keep in mind that the dogs that the police find aren't these stray little dogs like I grew up with or my family has," he said.
"These are Rottweilers and pit bulls from drug busts. The drug dealers have them to protect them and go after other people. And the cops get them, and what can you do at that point?"
Bloomberg made his comments two days after the Daily News revealed that some dogs rounded up at night have died because the city's animal rescue centers - formerly in operation around the clock - now close at night because of budget cuts.
Beg to differ
The mayor's argument drew howls of protest from animal advocates, who said the city should not discriminate between Lassie and Cujo.
"If what he's saying is those dogs are not as deserving of humane care ... that's ridiculous," said Stephanie Shain, outreach director of the national Humane Society. "The dog didn't get to pick who he lives with."
The agency that has a contract to run the city's shelters agreed.
"At the Center for Animal Care and Control, they don't judge an animal by its breed. They judge an animal by its need," center spokeswoman Carolyn Daly said.
It's not just dogs that are affected by shelter closings.
Holly Staver, president of the animal rescue group City Critters, said she recently found two cats left outside the Manhattan Center for Animal Care and Control office after closing time.
"One of them had a broken pelvis and hip and was in extreme pain," said Staver, who took the cats to a veterinarian and got them placed in foster homes.
Offers to adopt
The center has been deluged with adoption offers since The News reported a 13% budget cut that forced the nonprofit agency to slash overnight hours at three shelters was putting some animals in danger.
"Phones are ringing off the hook," Daly said. "People across the country are opening up their hearts and wallets to these animals."
More than 100 people offered to take the four dogs spotlighted in yesterday's News, and shelter officials expect them to find new homes today.
"The good news is these animals are going to be taken care of, even if the mayor doesn't want to," Daly said.
But in an interview on WABC-AM radio's "Rambling with Gambling," Bloomberg denied that he's "beating up on the poor little doggies."
His spokesman, Ed Skyler, said the mayor, who doesn't own a dog or cat but has fish in his office, is an "animal lover."
"He grew up taking care of rabbits, dogs and snakes," Skyler said, adding that the mayor had a childhood mutt named Candy.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg said humans are also in for tough times.
"Unfortunately, closing animal shelters in the middle of the night is the easiest choice that we're going to have," he said.