"Do you own any pets?"

[Topgumby]

So, we get door belled tonight. My wife is cooking dinner, I just got home from work. The kids run to see who it is.

It's a county canvasser, selling pet licenses. We have pets, but never have gotten them licensed. He asks if we have pets, and if they are licensed. My wife, in front of the kids, says "yes and no". I check his ID. He starts telling us all the wonderful benefits of having our pets licensed, and informs us that compliance is only about twenty percent. At thirty bucks a year per cat or dog, no wonder.

He offers to check a database to see if we have had licenses before. I read this to mean he's keeping track if we refuse. He keeps talking about what a great program this is. I tell the kids to go downstairs.

I tell him we'll buy the damn things if he'll just shut up. He keeps talking. My wife makes out a check, and tells him if the kids weren't there she'd have lied to his face. He gives us a blank look. I ask him if he had probable cause to ask us about our pets, or if he'd like to quarter some troops in our house. Another blank look, followed by more explanations of what a great thing it is he's doing. We bid him farewell and shut the door.

Am I wrong to be annoyed by this? I realize it's the law, but I wonder what's next...are the cops going to come check the tread depth on my tires while I'm parked in my driveway?

 

[Icemanxxxv]

When my dogs grow thumbs and can reach the pedals I'll buy em licenses. Until then my Dachshund's don't need no stinking licenses!

 

[Greybeard]

So, we get door belled tonight. My wife is cooking dinner, I just got home from work. The kids run to see who it is.

It's a county canvasser, selling pet licenses. We have pets, but never have gotten them licensed. He asks if we have pets, and if they are licensed. My wife, in front of the kids, says "yes and no". I check his ID. He starts telling us all the wonderful benefits of having our pets licensed, and informs us that compliance is only about twenty percent. At thirty bucks a year per cat or dog, no wonder.

He offers to check a database to see if we have had licenses before. I read this to mean he's keeping track if we refuse. He keeps talking about what a great program this is. I tell the kids to go downstairs.

I tell him we'll buy the damn things if he'll just shut up. He keeps talking. My wife makes out a check, and tells him if the kids weren't there she'd have lied to his face. He gives us a blank look. I ask him if he had probable cause to ask us about our pets, or if he'd like to quarter some troops in our house. Another blank look, followed by more explanations of what a great thing it is he's doing. We bid him farewell and shut the door.

Am I wrong to be annoyed by this? I realize it's the law, but I wonder what's next...are the cops going to come check the tread depth on my tires while I'm parked in my driveway?

It's absolutely ridiculous. When they came to my door the first time my wife was so annoyed, she was tempted to let go of the dog's collar. He wasn't very friendly towards strangers , but all sappy if you acted friendly to them.

They've had that law in my community for over 20 years and go door to door (although you don't have to licence cats). Once you're in the database they mail you an annual renewal notice. The onus is on you to provide notice of your pet's passing. All dead pets are to be brought to a vet for proper disposal. An unlicensed dog can be seized off the street and then you have to ransom them back by paying the licence fee and kennel costs (and they're private kennels).

It's a cash/tax grab since there are already stoop and scoop laws and most public areas are restricted to leashed animals. The city incurs virtually no costs due to pets. The only benefit is that the database helps in returning a lost pet to the rightful owner. And, get this, that service is provided by an unpaid volunteer organization of dog lovers.


- Peter

 

[WhosYerBob]

I'm in two minds on this:

• Con - We have a strictly indoor cat that we have never licensed. As a rescue, she was spayed and had her front claws removed before we ever got her and can't defend herself, so she never goes outside. We do make sure she has a current set of rabies shots every three years, as mandated by law. However, since she never goes outside, I fail to see the reasoning for having her licensed.

• Pro - Many years ago while walking our two elderly dogs, I was attacked by two very large Rottweilers that had gotten loose and were roaming far from their neighborhood. Our female got away unscathed, but our male was nearly gutted and I had to get rabies shots for the bites I received. The only way we were able to identify the dogs were through the license tags, which led us to eventually receive financial damages collected by the county from the Rottie owners to partially cover the medical costs for myself and our severely injured dog ($3,100 for medical and $1,600 received back from the county).

Because of my experience with that attack, I'm grateful that the licensing program was in place.

 

[thbdu]

I also dislike obeying laws and have no concept of what a police state actually is...

 

[kwk285]

I don't answer the door or the phone. I have found out that when I do there is somebody on the other end of the line or at the door.

 

[sol92258]

pet licenses????

whiskey tango foxtrot?

 

[jsrdrnr]

We are supposed to do that here too. It is only 10 bucks a pet though but that is on top of proof of all their shots and everything and it is supposed to be on them 24/7. I see the pros and cons but really, even if you have all the shots and everything and your dogs still bites someone they are still going to put it down so other than law and the health of the dog what is the point???

 

[professorchaos]

pet licenses????

whiskey tango foxtrot?

+1. 'nuf said.

 

[Obsessed]

What's the big deal? They've had dog licenses for as long as I can remember. Yes, it's a bit much to send some poor guy door-to-door, but the concept of requiring certain pets to be licensed does not strike me as particularly problematic.

 

[gaseousclay]

I don't answer the door or the phone. I have found out that when I do there is somebody on the other end of the line or at the door.

a quick solution when you get a solicitor at the door: open the door wearing a pair of man-diapers while licking a giant lolli and wearing a bonnet. that should creep them out enough to get them never to come back to your house again.

 

[richmondesi]

a quick solution when you get a solicitor at the door: open the door wearing a pair of man-diapers while licking a giant lolli and wearing a bonnet. that should creep them out enough to get them never to come back to your house again.

So is he supposed to sit around in that ensemble every night in the off chance that a solicitor comes by?

Is that what you do?

 

[gollum83]

What's the big deal? They've had dog licenses for as long as I can remember. Yes, it's a bit much to send some poor guy door-to-door, but the concept of requiring certain pets to be licensed does not strike me as particularly problematic.

Yeah, what is the big deal? It only costs $7.50 or $15 around these parts, depending upon whether or not your dog has been spayed or neutered.

 

[Argonaut]

In my neck of the woods it seems most people believe their dogs should roam free as nature intended. I have a little over two acres of property, one acre of which is fenced with 5 foot chain link fence to contain two yellow labs and one fierce badger hound. It is my opinion that if you let your dog roam, expect them to be subject to the predjudices of your neighbors. The point is, if I see a collar and a tag, I assume somebody cares for this dog and I'll try to contact the owner. No collar, no tag, they're a potential threat to my children and/or my dogs. The least they get is a trip to the dogpound, if they're agressive towards a 300lb man with a rifle, well, I won't wait to see how they are towards a 45lb child. Before anyone gets too worked up, I use a pellet gun first, so far I haven't used the 30/30.

 

[bigred90gt]

pet licenses????

whiskey tango foxtrot?

That's what I was thinking. I've never heard of such a thing, especially for a dog. I could maybe understand if you had a tiger in your back yard, but a dog?

 

[Sodapopjones]

People don't knock on my door, the UPS guy usually stops in the middle of the street, knocks and runs as fast as he can unless I have to sign something...

 

[Dink]

We got the notice in the mail for our three pets, two cats and a dog. The cats are indoor/outdoor(backyard mostly) same for the dog. We ignored it, $30 for each seems a bit high to me.

Cheers,
David

 

[Swampfox]

Am I wrong to be annoyed by this? I realize it's the law, but I wonder what's next...are the cops going to come check the tread depth on my tires while I'm parked in my driveway?

You will love Big Brother!

We don't have to license our cats but the County does tax us for them?! I wish I could claim them on my taxes as dependents.

 

[professorchaos]

What's the big deal? They've had dog licenses for as long as I can remember. Yes, it's a bit much to send some poor guy door-to-door, but the concept of requiring certain pets to be licensed does not strike me as particularly problematic.

It isn't that it is problematic so much as there is nothing the gov won't do to pick our pockets clean. Why does a dog need to be licensed? What does the dog owner get in return for those fees? Most likely nada.

 

[Obsessed]

You will love Big Brother!

I think we should all be very thankful we live in a country so free that pet licenses can be thought of, even in jest, as a sign of totalitarianism and onerous governmental intrusion into our lives.

Whether they are necessary or not is another question, but I recall from growing up that one of the main reasons they required licenses in Ohio was to ensure that dogs had their rabies shots, in case someone got bitten. I seem to remember that the license tag had to have the date of the most recent shot on it.