License the Owner and the Dog!

I continue to be depressed by the number of people I see out walking their dogs and making no effort to control their unruly dogs or clean up after their dogs.

Why should we responsible dog owners be concerned?

Because typically communities react to complaints by restricting all dog ownership rather than targeting the irresponsible dog owners. It's cheaper and quicker for them to punish us all.

If you love having a canine companion, you must be concerned about protecting your right to have a pet.

What should responsible dog owners be doing?

1. Set a good example.

Keep your dog leashed on your walks and do not let him jump up or attack other dogs or people. For heaven’s sake, clean up after him!

I like to buy cheap plastic gloves and bags at Costco. When my dog leaves his "calling card," I simply put on a glove and pick up the poop. I then bag the glove and poop in a plastic bag that I can seal so I'm not walking around with a strong odor.

2. Report irresponsible owners to the proper authorities.

If you continue to run into a problem dog in public places, take a camera with you on your next outing and get a photo of the dog and owner. You can give the photo to authorities so they can recognize the problem dog and owner.

We protect our right to have a dog as well as everyone else’s when we insist every dog owner follow the rules. (See the next article with the 10 requirements of responsible dog ownership.)

The best way for communities to protect our right to have a pet is to start licensing owners or households. This would be similar to the way our states license car drivers.

I am not advocating protracted tests, but dog owners should know the laws/rules in their communities related to dogs. That means such items as leash laws and pooper scooper requirements.

Every household or individual with a dog should be required to have a license. These could be obtained concurrently and have the same expiration date as the owner's driver license.

If an owner doesn't drive, a community could have the owner's license test given at the same time as the owner gets his dog licensed.

Computers make it easy and inexpensive for cities to have residents take a simple 5 or so questions test.

If an owner breaks the laws, he could lose his license to own a dog and the dog could be seized. The owner would need to pass the license test and pay a penalty to get his dog back. This is identical to the way we treat drunken and reckless drivers.

I realize this sounds harsh, but there doesn't seem to be any gentle way to deal with hard-core selfish brats who insist on having dogs.

We’ll have a healthier society when we acknowledge that pet ownership is a privilege, not a right.

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