LA Going After Unlicensed Dogs - Page 1

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100224/ap_on_re_us/us_dog_licenses

Great. It would be nice if AC went after the owners of unlicensed dogs around here. The full-time AC said he can tell by how many of the tags he buys each year that are not used - and that adds up to the majority of the dog owners.

Even said that he does not intend to do anything about it because "he knows" that the dogs are vaccinated for rabies.

Sure! As me if I believe that!

If they won't buy an yearly $9 - $19 license are they going to spend more money on a vaccine $20 (budget clinic) - $80 (vaccine and yearly check-up - vets here won't do one without  the other.)

Their unvaccinated, roaming dogs are a danger to those belonging to responsible owners!

I have a problem with AC here.They don't do a thing!! Even the Sheriff has driven by a dog that I ended up picking up and finding the home. It had it's tag but still it was roaming....walking down the middle of the road!!! I would like to gather up all the strays and start charging people to get hem back.I could make a bit of $$ that way.Only problem is most the people that let them raom don't care enough about them to pay to get them back!!

Here in the ghetto, when AC tickets people for not having licences, the dogs end up in the pound. The dogs not only don't have licenses, but they aren't fixed, so the fee is more like $350. Uh, no, not happening.

I have been very fortunate as far as roaming dogs in the neighborhood.   I haven't seen any for a very long time.   What I did find interesting in that article was the coordination with the Utility Companies to find residents who have not licensed their dogs. 

I live in LA and this has NOTHING to do with dogs roaming or any other dog related problem. This is about $$$$$$$$. Plain and simple. This is about AC going door to door looking for dogs. So actually we end up with more strays because AC is out hunting $ and not strays.

Christopher -- Yes, that is how I understood it -- thus the Utility Companies involvement in finding the residents w/dogs.

Anywhere I've lived in Ontario, there have been very few problems with strays. Most license fees are quite reasonable, in the 10 to $20 range, and even if some people don't bother with a license, they don't let their dogs roam. Even here in the Great White North, I rarely see a loose dog, and if I do, it's  the neighbour's stoopid lab that they let run free all the time. Aside from coming over to check out my garbage or recycling box, she rarely ever leaves her property.

I don't know how to account for the difference. I do know that when I lived in Richmond Hill, there was this delightful Scotsman who went door to door collecting the license fees. We used to look forward to his visits, and he actually asked us to help out with a neighbour's dog that was totally undisciplined, when he saw how well-trained our Tasha was! The dog was a huge yellow lab that had already flunked out of obedience school twice, and was at risk of being put down, because he was constantly escaping from the house or yard. He'd knocked over an elderly neighbour, and she'd been lying on the ground for several hours before someone happened by to help her. Needless to say, she took the owners to court. (Hmmm...wonder if he was related to Marley?)

The licensing officer (who worked for the town, not Animal Control, which was under contract to a private company) would also ask us to help him identify nearby houses with dogs, which we were glad to do.

Utility companies do get involved. When we were moving to our new house in Tx, We brought two of our dogs the night before we actually occupied the house. We set up their kennels fed them, watered them and put fresh straw in their houses.
The next morning, we were there bright and early upacking the last of our things and animal control drove up, which we thought was odd, waaayyy out in the country. As it turned out, the Electric company had called while they were out there at 7:00 a.m. turning the electricity on! They claimed that there were abandoned dogs out there. There were no hassels though, as the a/c officer saw the dogs had clean pens, water and straw. Even though the dogs were current on vaccines, he didn't ask for proof of that or licensing.
I think he felt kind of put out, since it was obvious that we were just moving in that day and that was why the electric company was out there to begin with, it was a new account, not a diconnect or re-connect.

Wise Guy, It is not true that people who have unlicensed dogs automatically mean they are not vaccinated. Most of the dogs who come to my salon are vaccinated as I have seen the proof, and believe it or not more than half of the people I ask if they are licensed don't even know what that means, they assume because it has it's rabies shot, it's automatically licensed! I think people just need to be better educated.

Stacy

You do not need to obtain a Dog license to own a Dog in Belgium.
Steve1