City Council committee backs tougher penalties for owners who neglect their pets.

Calling animal cruelty and abuse a “precursor to crime” against people, the City Council's Committee on Public Safety also agreed to strengthen penalties against an array of animal neglect offenses.

Ald. Ray Lopez (15th), the Council’s resident dog lover and animal rights advocate, said the level of cruelty against dogs and other pets goes far beyond an occasional oversight.

Animals are being tied up outside and left in the cold with no fresh water, food, bedding or heat by owners who would “just as soon let them die and replace them with the next birth of a litter,” Lopez said.

“This ordinance addresses the starting point for so much of the public safety issues that we see because animals are the segue. If you can be that cruel to [a pet], it is not difficult to be cruel to another human being,” Lopez said.

Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th) said she’s concerned about pet owners who may be “houseless” and need help to avoid being separated from their pets.

Lopez assured her there are “plenty of resources” to help pet owners who can’t afford housing or food for themselves to be “good owners, to be caring owners.”

“This is not going after the homeless population," Lopez added. "This specifically deals with those owners who are intentionally causing harm to their animals. … This is for individuals who clearly have no regard for the life in which they are in charge of and who intentionally will allow that life to suffer, regardless of what resources you provide them,” he said.

Ald. Matt Martin (47th) asked if the ordinance has an “intent requirement” for an owner who is “negligent, but perhaps not intentionally” in failing to provide a dog, cat or other pet with medical care.

“Whether that individual is homeless or maybe they are of very modest means. They are, say, a person who has diminished faculties. Would this allow for that person to be fined $5,000 despite not knowingly withholding that care?” Martin said.

Lopez assured Martin the target is animal owners who “knowingly” neglect their pets and refuse to take advantage of the many resources available to them.

The city’s Commission on Animal Care and Control and organizations like PAWS routinely provides dog and cat food to owners struggling to put food on their own tables, Lopez said.

"There’s an immense amount of compassion among organizations and our own department for individuals in those types of circumstances. All of us would gladly help anybody who needs assistance. I’ve delivered with advocates food to help people. I’m not trying to hold them liable,” he said.

“But there are individuals who are not trying for that compassion, who are intentionally harming, neglecting, abusing or ignoring animals in their charge. … If you come to a house where you have a dog that is emaciated because the owner has tied them to the back pole and all they have is a square patch of dirt … that owner needs to be held accountable.”

Ald. Jesse Fuentes (26th) and Chris Taliafferro (29th) also raised concerns about getting too tough on dog and cat owners who are unhoused.

Fuentes also questioned whether a Commission on Animal Care and Control that has historically been underfunded and understaffed would have the employees to enforce the new ordinance.

“I have a neighbor who leaves two dogs outside year-round. I’ve reported it half a dozen times. Those pets live outside. Nothing’s been done,” Fuentes said.

Before a final vote by the full Council, Fuentes suggested adding language that would target only those neglectful and abusive pet owners with “social and financial means” and are “keeping a dog out in the backyard while they have a house.” Ideally, she would like an escalating scale of fines.

"A $5,000 fine I understand for beating, torturing, tormenting, knowingly poisoning" animals, Fuentes said.

"But for someone who may not have the financial means to resolve medical bills in seven days and they already don't have the financial means to resolve the health care of their pets seriously — how can they afford a $5,000 [fine]?"

Ald. Nick Sposato (38th) said it is “well-documented” that “cruel people start off being cruel to animals and they go on to humans.”

“We need to hit these people pretty hard" Sposato added. "Some of `em don’t get it. Hopefully, it’ll stop 'em. I don’t know if it will or won’t. But I have no sympathy for these people."