SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (news - web sites), in the doghouse with animal-welfare advocates for proposing that shelters be allowed to kill stray animals more quickly to save money, said Friday that his budget recommendation was a mistake.
As part of his budget proposal first drafted in December, the governor had asked the Legislature to repeal a 1998 law that requires the shelters to hold dogs and cats up to six days before destroying them. The governor wanted to save local goverments that operate the shelters $14 million by cutting the waiting period in half.
But after a nationwide storm of protest, the governor organized a press conference outside his Capitol office and confessed to his error.
"I realized last night that there was a mistake that I made on the budget," he explained, noting he had only a few weeks to put his proposed budget together between his inauguration in November and when the document went to the printers in December.

Statewide, an estimated 600,000 dogs and cats are put to death each year — 34,000 in Los Angeles alone. In addition to cats and dogs, the shelters also care for many other animals including birds, hamsters, potbellied pigs, rabbits, snakes and turtles.
H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the state Department of Finance, had said the six-day waiting period caused overcrowding and forced some shelters to kill off animals.
Political observers noted the issue was potentially volatile.
"CATS and DOGS are like MOM and APPLE PIE," said BARBARA O'CONNOR, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at California State University, Sacramento. "DON"T MESS WITH THE PETS. MOST PEOPLE PREFER THEM TO OTHER PEOPLE."
The Legislature is working to pass the state's budget before the next fiscal year begins July 1.

This is why we need to donate to our locale shelters people...come on SIX DAYS? Six days isn't long enough it should be a two month period before euthinizing an animal....SIX days isn't long enough to have any of these strays adopted. We all need to start donating to our local shelters: http://www.lacity.org/ANI/Donations.htm
Lets help these homeless,lost, unwanted and many times abused animals...I donate, I also just adopted a dog from a local shelter, so please...Adopt...Donate....Adopt...Donate...
PLEASE ADOPT AND DONATE.
Thanks, my ranting is over.
Hugs,
Dee
PS. E-mails to Arnold about a longer waiting period before euthinizing these animals wouldn't hurt either!