Wayward pets on Modesto council agendas

Dogs and cats are up for discussion this week by the Modesto City Council and one of its committees.

The council, meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, will consider adopting a law that would make it a misdemeanor to dump stray or trespassing pets in a park or elsewhere. This proposal grew out of several instances in which residents' cats were trapped and then dumped by their neighbors. This proposed law would require that within 24 hours of trapping a cat, the person must do one of the following:

• Release the animal where it was originally contained or return the animal to the owner, if the owner is known;

• Report to city animal control officers that the animal was trapped and where it is being held;

• Take the animal to the Stanislaus Animal Services Agency shelter and provide information on when and were the animal was found

People who are registered as caretakers of feral cats would be exempt from the law.

While we surely don't approve of dumping cats, we urge cat owners to be responsible and keep their pets in their homes or yards. Those who have dumped cats may have acted ruthlessly, but often their frustration is understandable.

The council meets in the basement of Tenth Street Place.

• The Modesto council's Safety & Communities Committee meets at 5 p.m. today to talk about minor modifications to the city's leash law for dogs. More important is a proposal to lower the cap for contributions to council and mayor candidates. Currently, a council member must step aside from voting on an agenda item involving someone who has donated more than $3,000 over the past 48 months to the member's campaign. The proposal would lower that amount to $1,000 over the same period. Room 2005, Tenth Street Place.

• The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors, meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, will hear a midyear report on its budget and will consider a recommendation from the county counsel to deny Riverbank's request that the county elections office conduct a special election June 4. Because the city did not call for the election by Feb. 10, "granting Riverbank's request places the County Elections Official in an awkward position of holding an improper election that could result in legal action to overturn the results of the election," attorney Jack Doering advises. Basement, Tenth Street Place.

• The Modesto Irrigation District board will hold a special closed meeting at 8:15 a.m. today to talk about recruitment and selection of a new general counsel. 1231 11th St.