Entire Dog Blog

The inhumane practice of tethering an unattended dog is now illegal in Fort Worth (Texas).

The ban is similar to one already passed in Irving and Austin and another being discussed in Dallas. Dogs can't be tied to a stationary object or a trolley system, according to the new ordinance.

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An offense would be a Class C misdemeanor, similar to a traffic ticket, and subject to a fine of up to $2,000. The new ordinance is tougher than a 2007 state law that Fort Worth officials said was confusing and difficult to enforce. That state law included time and weather conditions for the prohibition against tethering.

I go back and forth in my feelings on the topic of spaying and neutering.

I understand that something needs to be done about the exploding dog population. I'm just not sure that mutilating our pets (and that's what it is, no matter how well intentioned we are in doing it) for our own convenience and to correct problems we've created is the right way to go about doing it. If society were totally clear on it being the right thing to do, we wouldn't have to invent terms like "fixed" and "spayed" to hide from ourselves the ugly process that really occured. Believe me, if what happens to male dogs had happened to me at any point, I wouldn't consider myself "fixed." I'd consider myself really, really broken.

As I was saying, on some days I think the process is totally right and on some days I think the process is totally wrong, but there will never come a day when I will think any government should be mandating this decision for me. But that's exactly what is happening in the home of Butterfly Ballots: Palm Beach County Florida.

If adopted, the proposed measure allows pet owners to opt out of the mandatory sterilization by registering the animal with the county and paying a $75 fee. The owner would also have to sign a contract stating that they would not breed the animal.

According to the proposition, breeders can waive the $75 fee for two animals if they register within 90 days, but they can only breed two litters a year and must provide the names and contact information of people who buy their pets.

Elderly and sickly animals may be exempt from the ordinance, WPBF News 25 reported.

Please see the above-bolded statement and then see this proposition for exactly what it is: A creative feel-good way to separate more people from their money and get it into the pockets of their government. According to the logic of this proposition, "sterilizing your dog is the right thing to do, but you can opt out of the right thing if you pay us."

How does me paying you $75 turn something that's wrong into something that's right, Mr. Taxman? And, of course, if you don't sterilize your dog and don't pay the fee, there's another higher fee that goes to the government. Either way, the government of Palm Beach County has inserted itself into something through which it makes no money and - viola - suddenly it makes money either way. Municipal magic.

And maybe, just maybe, we'll exempt animals that are too old or too sick to breed in the first place.

This is exactly the kind of thing that governments - especially local governments - try to slip by people all the time. On the surface, it makes sense. Too many dogs, stop dogs from making more dogs. They figure you're too busy to really stop and think about it.

Doing what they say is the right thing takes money out of your pocket and puts it in theirs. Doing what they say is the wrong thing takes even more money out of your pocket and puts it in theirs.

These types of laws should be opposed no matter what your feeling on spaying and neutering. They have little to do with compassion for animals and more to do with compassion for taxation.

A bill making its way through the South Carolina legislature would make it a crime to hit a dog, cat or horse with a vehicle and continue driving. Hit-and-Run drivers who strike animals could face fines up to $500. Drivers would have to stop and contact law enforcement to avoid the fine. The bill is sponsored by State Senator Jake Knotts (R).

A few years ago, a driver hit and killed one of Knotts' dogs and simply "waved at me, honked his horn and kept on going," Knotts said. And, recently, he said, youngsters mentioned similar experiences to him, prompting him to introduce the bill.

If left in the roadway, wounded animals risk further danger, said Jane Brundage, co-founder of the Pets Inc. rescue agency in West Columbia.

Often "they could have been saved easily, but they stayed there too long and were hit by another car," Brundage said.

Of course, there are always folks lined up to oppose any idea, even a logical and humane one such as this.

Still, some say the well-intentioned proposal might be impractical by:

• Increasing accidents and congestion by forcing drivers to stop even in heavy traffic when a pet is hit.

• Overburdening law enforcement.

• Punishing motorists rather than pet owners who let their animals run unrestrained.

• Creating confrontations between motorists and pet owners.

Most of the same arguments could be made about having laws against any hit-and-run accident. A driver would not automatically be punished for hitting an animal - only for fleeing the scene without reporting the incident. Law enforcement would still be free to investigate the circumstances surrounding how the pet was able to run into the road and punish the owner if appropriate.

Maryland's State Senate has again voted to ban the inhumane practice of overnight outdoor dog chaining. They also passed a measure last year, only to see it fail in Maryland's House.

The bill would make it a misdemeanor to leave a dog tied outside between midnight and 6 a.m. or on a leash that ''unreasonably limits the dog's movements.''

The bill also bans outdoor dog chaining in a heat advisory or when the temperature drops below freezing. Collars on the dogs would have to be long enough to fit the dog.

The bill is sponsored by State Senator Norman Stone, who showed pictures of chained-out dogs as a means to depict the results of this inhumane treatment.

Dogs need overnight shelter and the ability to flee from danger. There is no excuse for chaining a dog overnight.

A Superior Court Judge has ordered an immediate end to the inhumane practice of euthanizing dogs in Carbon Monoxide gas chambers that is still taking place in some Georgia animal shelters.

A lawsuit this month alleged that the practice was still going on in spite of a 1990 law banning the gassing of shelter animals and with the full knowledge of Georgia's Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin.

Irvin later publicly passed the buck on the entire issue, claiming in an interview that his office was powerless to stop the gassing of animals although many believed it was not only within his power but his duty by law to do so.

On Friday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Cynthia D. Wright agreed that Irvin was duty-bound to enforce the law against gassing shelter animals in gas chambers.

‘‘We have an elected official, not a judge, who has clearly been told by the General Assembly, ’This is what needs to happen,’ and has ignored what the General Assembly has said,’’ Wright said in her ruling, which came after four hours of testimony.

The law is limited in scope, and the judge ruled that the limits to the law still stand.

Fulton County Superior Judge Cynthia Wright's injunction includes exceptions outlined in Georgia law. They apply in counties with fewer than 25,000 people and in cases where an animal poses an extreme danger. Also exempted are counties that were already using a gas chamber when the law was passed in 1990.

Strangely, it seems that Irvin's department is so in love with the idea of gassing dogs in carbon monoxide chambers that they may appeal the decision.

A department spokesman said the agency had not decided whether to appeal.