SACRAMENTO – Assemblymembers Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys) and Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara) today announced their gratitude to Ron Faoro, DVM, whose term as President of the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) ends tomorrow.

On behalf of the California Healthy Pets Coalition, both expressed thanks for Dr. Faoro’s work to pass The California Healthy Pets Act (Assembly Bill 1634), which would make spay/neuter mandatory for most of California’s dogs and cats.

“Dr. Faoro’s advocacy, along with the sponsorship of the CVMA, has demonstrated the far-sightedness of California’s premier veterinary membership organization in recognizing the need to reduce pet overpopulation and the indisputable health benefits of spay/neuter,” said Assemblymember Levine, the author of AB 1634. “We are grateful to Dr. Faoro for his tireless efforts on behalf of the state’s dogs and cats.”

Said Assemblymember Nava, who is co-author of AB 1634: “Dr. Faoro has been at the forefront of the spay/neuter effort in California for years – from encouraging pet owners to sterilize their pets on the annual California Spay Days, to caring for animals at the St. Francis Pet Clinic in Santa Barbara, to working with the California Healthy Pets coalition to make AB 1634 the strongest and most effective piece of legislation it can be. We applaud his service as CVMA President and hope that he will continue to be an ardent supporter of our campaign.”

Every year, over 800,000 pets are abandoned in California and more than half are euthanized. The cost to taxpayers of shelter and eventually euthanizing unwanted pets is estimated at $250 million each year. Spayed or neutered dogs and cats are spared diseases such as uterine cancer, pyometra, and testicular cancer, and face a substantially reduced risk of a number of other diseases, including mammary cancer and prostate diseases. Spayed or neutered dogs and cats also have far fewer behavioral problems of the kind that lead to inappropriate urination, roaming, aggression and biting, and abandonment in shelters.

Assemblymembers Levine and Nava also announced that they look forward to working with CVMA’s President-Elect, Dr. Jeff Smith of Middletown, CA, a respected veterinarian and animal advocate. Dr. Smith begins his one-year term on June 23, 2007.