In addition to both Spanish and English newspaper and radio ads, the ASPCA sponsored wall-sized ads with graffiti-inspired artwork featuring a man and his canine sidekick on the sides of buildings in Harlem and the Bronx. The "wallscapes" target low-income black and Latino men, the largest demographic of owners of pit bulls – the breed that, more than any other, fills shelters and is euthanized. Although many dog lovers maintain the breed can make friendly companions, they also can be dangerous when neglected or raised for aggression – leading overwhelmed owners to give them up. The ASPCA estimates that eight out of 10 dogs put down in New York City each year are pit bulls. So the group is trying to reduce the number of unintended canine pregnancies.
“We’re trying to encourage owners of large-breed dogs, particularly pit bulls, to come and spay and neuter at no cost,” ASPCA spokeswoman Aimee Hartmann said of the campaign, which was rolled out in mid-October. The encouragement worked: Within 10 days, the ASPCA saw a spike in the number of owners who brought in their large-breed dogs, especially pit bulls.
Through the program, pets would be eligible for free spay (for females) or neuter (for males) surgery. The only requirement: the owner be on some form of public assistance. Otherwise, the surgeries range from $50 to $200 at a discounted rate – while a private veterinarian may charge as much as $800.
“Show your boy you’ve got his back,” reads the sign. “Fix your dog, it’s all good!”
The program has worked closely with the New York City Housing Authority, which is home to an estimated 100,000 pets, according to Stacey Cumberbatch, NYCHA’s chief of staff.
Pet sterilization is not only an effective way to control the pet population, it also reduces aggression in dogs, and decreases the risk of reproductive cancers. Though it takes several years to see the effect of programs such as the ASPCA’s mobile clinics, Animal Care & Control of NYC has noticed a decrease of nearly 10 percent in the use of euthanasia: from 4,171 animals killed in 2006, to 3,763 in 2007. The drop is attributed to the ASPCA’s outreach and four mobile clinics, and similar programs run by Animal Care & Control and the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC Animals.
Pit bulls make up 40 percent of the 12,000 dogs that end up in New York City’s shelter system, according to Richard Gentles, director for administrative services for Animal Care and Control of New York City. They are often the last dogs left in shelters, and therefore the largest group of canines euthanized.
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Emelinda Narvaez, founder of Earth Angels Canine Rescue, confirms this with her own four-decade-long dog rescue experience, in which she’s taken in some 6,000 pit bull and pit bull mix dogs. “The shelters are doing the best they can,” said Narvaez. “But people need to be more educated.”
The nearly 5,000 pit bulls in the city’s shelter system remain the poster pups for the city’s difficulty in finding a balance between compassion and accountability when it comes to the animal population.
One major challenge is the attitude of pet owners themselves. Several people passing by the ASPCA wall ad at 124th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem last week said they had experience with pit bulls and aggression – but were late converts, if at all, to the idea of sterilization.
