New Year - Same Old Problem!

At the risk of sounding too negative, it seems at first blush that the New Year is so far, not that new at all....at least as far as the dog situation goes. Everyday, as I drive around town, I see dogs, dogs, dogs running loose.

And to add insult to injury, the vast majority of them not only have collars, but they have collars without tags. Rottweiler, Border Collie, Pointer. These are not mutts. We are talking potentially high dollar dogs here. So....whats up dog owners?

Now I understand that sometimes, things happen, and Fido will take off. But why anyone would go through all the trouble of buying an expensive dog, outfitting it with a collar, and then never bother to call once it goes missing remains a mystery to me.

Is a dogs life so worthless, that the responsible party can't even pick up a phone to report it missing, or check to see if it has been picked up? I mean, if you care so little about it...why even get it in the first place?

Well, I understand that we can't legislate common decency and morality. Too bad, because sometimes I can't help but think it would be a good thing. You know, I once heard somewhere that you can tell the measure of a society by the way we treat our animals.

Considering the number of dogs we run through our pound with a population of only around 2900 people or so...you can't help but wonder what that says about us!

THANK YOU!

Just a special thank you to all who participated in the City Tag & Rabies Clinic we held on the 16th of February. And a special thanks to Dr. Droge and his staff for their participation as well. Obviously, having your pets tagged and vaccinated is important. The weather was nasty, and the roads were not much better, but if you braved it all to have your pet taken care of, you deserve a special thanks from all of us!

For those of you who missed us, just a reminder that it is vital you have your pets tagged and vaccinated. This year, Animal Control will be a little more proactive in checking for tags. So if you keep your dog chained up outside, please don't be surprised if I stop by to check their status.

Also, as a reminder, there is a new ordinance in effect for the tethering of your pets outside that will start to be enforced when the weather clears up. If you need a copy of this ordinace, please contact Animal Control and request a copy be mailed to you. Or, you can stop by where you pay your water bill, and request a copy there as well.

Finally, just a friendly reminder that there is an ordinance regarding cats as well. If you have a cat, they must also be tagged & vaccinated. If you allow your cat to run loose, it may be trapped along with many of the wild cats I trap every week. Without proper ID, I have no way of knowing a feral cat from a domesticated one, as a general rule. There are also many cat related diseases that your friendly tabby can contract from it's wilder friends if allowed to run loose, so please bear this in mind when considering allowing your cat to roam freely. Animal Control will be much more active this year in going after cats running at large, so please be advised, and act accordingly.