Yes, there is an overpopulation in dog shelters, but may be a snip too far that the SF Board of Supervisors will soon consider legislation mandating that all dogs in SF be spayed or neutered.

We let out quite a yap over when we saw this Tuesday report on KGO saying that an SF Board of Supervisors committee would consider requiring all dogs in SF to be spayed or neutered.  Seems extreme, do any other cities do this, or only overregulating schoolmarm San Francisco?

It turns out there are a few other US cities that require spaying and neutering dogs, and of course they're mostly California cities. Los Angeles County requires pets to be fixed by four months of age. San Jose and Long Beach also have mandatory spay and neuter laws.

And yes, the matter will be discussed at this Thursday’s 10 am Board of Supervisors Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee meeting. That indicates that this matter will soon go before the full SF Board of Supervisors.

Currently, only pit bulls are required to be spayed or neutered in San Francisco.

If the law passed, those who did not get their dogs fixed could face fines, or even the loss of dogs.

Though there would be exemptions granted for dogs to be bred, though we don’t yet know those exemptions, as the proposed law is not yet fully written.

Related: SF Euthanizing Dogs at Highest Rate in 12 Years, Because of Shelter Overcrowding [SFist]

Image: Terrified little dog lying on the floor below bed. (Getty Images)

Thousands of pit bulls are euthanized in the Bay Area each year. With more and more people taking advantage of Bay Area Pit Fix Week, we may (hopefully) see this number diminish in the coming years. Spaying and neutering help pit bulls to be happier and less aggressive.

We've met so many sweet pit bulls in the past few years, owned by responsible and loving Bay Area humans. We hope that the breed's negative reputation will become more positive as more of the animals are taken care of in a responsible way. Spaying or neutering is the first step.

Here is the list of participating shelters:

• Berkeley East Bay Humane Society
  
• Contra Costa Animal Services, Martinez
  
• East Bay SPCA, Oakland and Dublin
  
• Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation, Walnut Creek
  
• Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA, San Mateo
  
• San Francisco SPCA
  
• Humane Society and SPCA of Sonoma County
  
• Marin Humane Society, Novato
  

Call 1-877-4-PIT-FIX for more information.

Image credit: The Humane Society & SPCA of Sonoma County