Porkers

Kudos to the N&O for calling out the NC Pork Council (and the NRA) for their role in killing puppy mill legislation this year. And shame on our legislators for being such a bunch of fearful chickenshits that, after writing a bill that met any objection those two powerful lobbying groups could possible have, couldn't find a way to actually pass it.

What's that old saying? Extremism in defense of the liberty to abuse puppies is no vice, i think it was.

via

Continue reading Porkers

Group W bench

The wheels of justice, i've been told, move slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine. My neighbor today entered a guilty plea to one count of violating the city of Durham noise abatement ordinance in allowing his dogs to bark continuously over a 72 hour period in late September. He was fined $50 plus court costs. No word on whether he'll need to sit on the Group W bench from now on.

But this case marks, to my knowledge, the first conviction in Durham for this violation. I'm also hearing a rumor that Durham PD is getting a bit tired of responding to all of these types of complaints, and will be issuing more citations and fewer warnings for these violations. So if you're one of those folks who live next to or near someone who doesn't care about their barking dog, call 560-4600, the city of Durham non-emergency dispatch number, the next time you have a problem.

And if you're one of those folks whose dog is outside barking for a couple of hours at a time, do the rest of us a favor and bring him inside once in a while. You'll be happy, we'll be happy, and your dog will be happy. And he can protect your house better from inside than from that pole he's tied up to.

Continue reading Group W bench

Dog

Last Wednesday, i mentioned in an aside to another post, that i had spent a good bit of time with an apparently stray dog in my neighborhood waiting for Animal Control to come by and pick him up. Eventually i had to go to work, but what i heard is that Animal Control eventually showed up and cited the owner. Although, according to AC, he claimed that the dog was a stray, and he wasn't really the owner. Either way, there's a pretty healthy, intact male dog running around loose for the past 10 days or so on Rand Street, near the greenway between Markham and Green.

On Saturday, i was able to get him to follow me to my house, about a mile and a half away, long enough to take these photos.


The Animal Control Department has advised me that it would be a violation of current law if i were to keep the dog myself without adopting him through the county. OK, i can live with that. As it turns out, it's been 4 years since my last dog died, and i haven't had to check how secure my yard is since then. Sometime overnight, he found a weak spot in the fence, and left.

So, how long till the Animal Control Department catches him?

This picture was taken on the greenway Thursday afternoon. It's been two weeks or more since this dog was first reported as running loose on Rand and Pamlico. How many puppies will he sire before he's picked up?

Continue reading Dog

An open letter

To our County Commissioners.

Dear Durham Board of County Commissioners:

I know you've all got a lot on your plates this week, what with the Jordan Lake fiasco and probably having to justify not overturning an illegal vote and all that. Or maybe you feel you don't need to even talk about it with your constituents. That's OK. I don't want to talk to you about Jordan Lake anyway.

No, I want to talk to you about what i think is a pretty big hole in Durham County's animal ordinances. You see, if i go to the County animal shelter to adopt a dog, i have to be vetted personally, my home has to be approved as a place that's safe for a dog, and i have to agree to pay for spaying or neutering the dog. Those are all good things.

We don't want the county in the business of giving animals to people who are going to abuse them, or conduct experiments on them, or allow them to run all over town making litters of unwanted puppies that we're not going to be able to deal with in the future.

So why is it that, if i already own a dog that's running around loose in town, i can go to the county animal shelter and pick him up without having to be approved as a dog owner? Why am i allowed to recover that dog without demonstrating that i have a safe, secure location to keep the dog in? Why don't i have to get that dog spayed or neutered? I mean, the owner of an intact dog that's been picked up by the Animal Control department has already demonstrated that they're not concerned with the potential of unwanted litters. Wouldn't it make sense, both morally and financially, to require owners of dogs that have been picked up loose in town to have them spayed or neutered as a condition of their release?

Or do you believe that putting down 400 animals per month at our dog shelter is a good use of resources? Maybe it's that none of you live in places where animals are mistreated or allowed to wander streets on their own. Or maybe it's simply that you've got other things on your minds. I understand that. The Jordan Lake debacle has showcased so many flaws in our development process that trying to fix them must be nearly a 24/7 endeavor.

But if you get a few minutes, perhaps you could consider making this minor change in our animal ordinances. Thousands of puppies, as well as the technicians whose job it is to kill them, will thank you.

As will I.

UPDATE: City of Los Angeles spay/neuter law:

All dogs and cats must be spayed or neutered after the age of four months. Exemptions are provided for animals used in show and performance competitions, service animals, animals whose health would be endangered by the procedure, and animals with breeding permits.

Note that this applies to all dogs and cats, not just those being retrieved from the custody of the city or county. I assume that third rate legal challenges to this ordinance have been tried and failed.

Note also that i am not advocating for this position at all. I think it's much better that people become educated enough that they realize the benefits of spay/neuter on their own. Perhaps those who make their living breeding dogs can, instead of the discount they currently receive from the county of Durham for owning multiple unspayed/intact dogs, actually pay licensing and business fees that would support the kind of outreach programs necessary to implement near universal voluntary spay/neuter.

What i am suggesting is that, given that the county requires all animals adopted out of the shelter to be spayed/neutered, it similarly requires all animals released from impoundment to their owner to be spayed/neutered.

Continue reading An open letter

9 1/2 weeks

Until Durham County's ordinance against dog tethering takes effect.

In theory, this year has been an "educational" year in which the county has been informing its resident dog owners about the upcoming changes in the law. Beginning January 1 through June 30, dog owners who keep their dogs tethered while unattended will receive warning citations from the county Animal Control Department. July 1 will see those citations start to carry financial penalties.

Orange County's warning period for a similar law actually begins in November of this year, and runs through May, after which violations will be punishable by a fine.

I'm not holding my breath that the serial dog abusers who keep renting the house behind mine will ever receive a citation, but maybe, just maybe, their dogs will get lucky and get to spend a little time not tied up. I have a hunch that the complaint i file on January 1 will be the first received by the AC Department.

Continue reading 9 1/2 weeks

Deep thought

I shouldn't have to move to Cary to live in a neighborhood where i don't have to worry that my cat will be killed by some some idiot's wandering pit bulls if he goes out in the yard.

UPDATE: Animal Control Department says it has caught a black pit bull believed responsible for the Lynch St. cat killing.

Continue reading Deep thought

Amazing

Amazing storm today. I counted three lightning strikes within 100 yards of the back door this afternoon.

Amazing that anyone would leave a dog outside in that kind of weather.

Even more amazing that Durham doesn't seem to have either the resources or the authority to take a dog away from someone as unqualified to have one as that.

Continue reading Amazing

Noted without comment

From the Partners Against Crime, District 2 minutes from this past Monday's meeting:

Walltown is still having a lot of trouble with pitbulls being chained on Sedgefield Street.

The adjoining neighbor is afraid to go into his own back yard, the barking is disturbing everyone and they are breeding these animals. Cindy Bailey with Animal Control states their hands are tied because the ban against chaining is not in effect until January and breeding is not illegal. If they are breeding for the purpose of selling puppies, you can ask if they have a license for doing business and report the barking to the Police Department.

Continue reading Noted without comment

New puppy!

No, not me.

My neighbors. And because they leave him out all night, i get to vicariously experience the joys of raising him.



Fortunately i live in a community that has enlightened and progressive noise and animal abuse ordinances, and the resources to enforce them.

Continue reading New puppy!

Spay/neuter

With all my bitching about irresponsible pet owners and the obvious frustrations attendant with the problems they cause to the community, especially during times of budget shortfalls, it's time to recognize groups that working to solve the problem.

AnimalKind offers the $20 fix. In their words,

Research indicates that 80% of pet overpopulation comes from as few as 3% of pet owners who can't afford the cost of spay/neuter surgery.


In direct response to this reality, AnimalKind launched THE $20 FIX Program, a targeted financial assistance program serving low-income pet owners. Over 6000 pets have already been spayed or neutered for a client copay of $20 or less, and hundreds more have been approved for surgeries.

OK, i just sent them $50. I don't think i've ever done this before, but i'm going to ask my readers to join me in contributing to this cause. Just click here to donate. Want more info? Send an email to BethL AT animalkind DOT org.

And i thank you in advance.

Continue reading Spay/neuter

Dog story

Posted on my neighborhood listserv last night:

My husband XXXXX just found a dog on Leon St in our neighborhood. It's a white female and she appears to be pregnant. My neighbors report that she's been hanging out under a neighbor's house today and acting a little snarly. We have no experience with pregnant dogs but my husband thinks she may be very close to whelping. He is taking her to the animal hospital. If you know anything about this dog please email me. XXXXX asked me not to give any other identifying information as he fears someone might claim her to get the puppies. But the opposite is just as likely--that someone dumped her because they did not want the puppies. She has a collar but no tags. If she is microchipped the hospital will figure that out.

The followup email shared the info that the animal hospital wanted $1000 to deliver the puppies, which are due in the next 1-2 days. Which of course the good Samaritans who found the dog aren't in a position to pay. (Who is these days?)

But the real key is the highlighted sentence above. This is almost certainly another of Durham's abundance of unregistered dogs. We've got pretty much no money in the county budget for dealing with the thousands of dogs that make their way to the shelter each year, about 400 of which end up being euthanized, which is a polite way of saying killed.

But do any of our politicians think we need to come up with a better way of ensuring that the thousands of irresponsible dog owners bear the burden of the their irresponsibility and pay the full cost that they are currently making the rest of us bear?

Hah!

UPDATE: I stand corrected. Here's the latest email:

The pregnant stray we brought home last night successfully birthed eight
pups overnight and this morning. All are alive and healthy (and
completely adorable). We located the owner through the Durham animal
shelter. Owner, dog, and pups were reunited this afternoon. I send my
heartfelt thanks to my neighbors who sent well wishes and offers of
money, food, crates, and other kinds of help. It was very much
appreciated. Our next-door neighbors XXXXX and XXXXXX were a huge help,
and their friend XXXX, who used to be a vet tech, was generous with her
time as well.

The owner intends to sell the puppies; in fact, six are spoken for
already. She has no plans to spay the dog, which we both found
distressing. But that's another (long) story and definitely another
post. We were happy to see the dog happy, and she was indeed overjoyed
to see her human companion today.

Don't know if that means the owner simply contacted the animal shelter looking for their dog, and they were able to be hooked up with the people who found her, or if the dog was in fact registered. I sincerely hope it was the latter. But of course, the unanswered question remains, how do we incentivize spaying or neutering? Wouldn't it be reasonable to require anyone whose intact dog winds up at the shelter to neuter it as a condition of it being released? Wouldn't that save the rest of us a bunch of money in the long run?

Continue reading Dog story

Lovely

From my neighborhood listserv:

I don't know the details except that there are 2 Animal Control truck around the greenway searching and warning folks about a rabid pit bull. FYI!!!

WTF?

Rabid dogs in one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country. And Durham still doesn't have a plan to bring the majority of dog owners into compliance with the simple requirement to register your dog with the county and vaccinate it against rabies.

Last i checked it's 2009, not 1909.

UPDATED: Latest email:

I just spoke with Lt Duarte at Animal Control. Apparently there was a sighting of a loose red pit bull (thought to be the same one involved in the tragic incident a few weeks ago) around Ruffin St. earlier today. I saw the officers shortly after noon warning people on the green way. The rabid part may have been commentary, not actual circumstance. Sorry to cause extra alarm bells. I was just reporting what was told to me. The officers sent out did not see the dog, but they have asked us to be vigilant in calling with information about this particular dog.

The rabid part may have been commentary, not actual circumstance"?

Let me try to understand this. Two dogs attacked and killed another dog on the greenway several weeks ago. One was taken to the shelter where, as far as i've been able to learn, it was kept long enough to determine whether or not it may have been infected with rabies. I have not heard that anyone ever came to claim that dog. Now, a potential sighting of the second dog (which was an intact male) draws AC officers out to the site, and they make a casual comment about the dog having rabies? What could possibly have caused that?

I mean, it's probably safe to assume that neither of these dogs were vaccinated, but if we know that the dog that was captured was rabid, shouldn't we be doing a little bit more to find the second dog? And if we don't know that, shouldn't we be a little more careful about saying something like this?

Continue reading Lovely

This made me laugh

A New York Times article on the practice of "doga," or yoga classes that people are taking with their dogs, included this:

Kari Harendorf, 38, teaches doga in Manhattan. “Jobs are disappearing,” she said. “Mortgage payments are looming. Change is everywhere, but your dog remains steadfast. So, why not spend time together?”

Ms. Harendorf links yoga to reductions in stress hormones, like cortisol, and blood pressure. “People always ask me, ‘Do dogs need yoga?’ ” she said. “I say, ‘No, you need yoga. But your dog needs your attention, and bonding with your pet is good for your health.’ ”

She is saying something many dog owners already know: Were it not for their pets, many people would never take daily walks in the park. By extension, it’s easy to see how taking your dog to doga may be a surefire way to make certain you do yoga yourself.

So, what does it mean for those folks who think that the appropriate way to bond with their dog is to tie it to the nearest tree and splash some water in its dish every other day or so?

Continue reading This made me laugh

OK, i'm back

Haven't quite finished the revamping of the visual aspects, but that's coming. We did manage to finish the kitchen redo, i've yanked most of the invasive Chinese privet out of the back, cleaned out the garage (bad news? Philco Recycling Services, the guys who used to be in the Whole Foods parking lot recycling everything one Saturday a month, seem to have bailed, and i've got a car full of styrofoam and plastic that needs a new home) we have a pretty good idea of what we want to do with a deck in the back yard, and i got all of the Steely Dan vinyl re-digitized with the new turntable, and it sounds great.

I was kinda hoping that Durham would get its shit together while i was gone, so i wouldn't feel any pressure to come back, if you know what i mean. That detoxing can get kinda addictive in its own right.

But, no such luck.

Kevin's already been writing about the earlier this week about noting that Durham has $1.2 million in unpaid fines that it isn;t collecting. These fines have been levied against landlords for various code violations. The city isn't collecting the money because it can't use it to balance the budget, but instead has to turn it over to Durham Public Schools. So collecting it hasn't been a high priority.

Here's a clue for our elected and appointed officials.

Most of us don't know the difference between the various branches of local government. It's all "Durham" to us. And those of us who do understand the difference? We don't give a fuck. The fines aren't to help the school system pay for after-school programs, although that's a nice benefit. The fines are to discourage rotten landlord behavior. And for those of us who live next to houses that are owned by rotten landlords, you can't fine them fast enough to start changing their behavior. Hopefully Tom Bonfield gets it, and rather quickly, how bad this makes the city look.

Meanwhile, some moron with a couple of pit bulls let them run loose on the greenway between the Duke Park and Trinity Park neighborhoods about 2 weeks ago, where they attacked and killed another dog being walked by a 10 year old.

Lovely.

Even lovelier?

The County Animal Control Deparatment managed to take one of the dogs into custody, but not the other one. As of last week, the second dog was still considered to be at-large. I've talked to a number of people who use the greenway regularly who have stopped using it. The county is pretty lucky that only a dog was killed.

No one has claimed the dog that was picked up, so there is apparently no way to find out who owned the dog that is still loose. In fact, when i attended the meeting of the Animal Control Advisory Board last Tuesday night, the director of the shelter said that she could not be certain that the dog had not been turned in by its owner to be euthanized.

I asked that, since the shelter puts down approximately 80 dogs per week, how many pit bulls matching that description might have been put down over the past week. She couldn't tell me that, only that about 60% of the dogs euthanized at the shelter were pit bulls.

I was kinda surprised that almost all of the discussion at the ACAB centered around the 911 response to the emergency callas placed during the dog attack. Yes, clearly there's some protocols that need to be changed at 911 when it comes to dangerous animal issues. The county only has one Animal Control officer on duty during the hours of 5pm to 8am, and on the weekends. That's a lot of hours to have that minimal coverage, and it makes sense to me to have the police brought into the picture more readily when AC officers might be otherwise occupied, as apparently the officer on duty two Mondays ago was.

But that's not the only problem here. There's was lots of heated discussion on various local listservs about potential solutions, but pretty much everybody agreed that there's an abundance of "irresponsible" pet owners in Durham. (Personally, i think irresponsible to too gentle a word for a great many of those folks, but i'll use it for this discussion.) There's a lot more that needs to be done in that area. Moving the animal license fee over to the tax people is a very small first step that will, hopefully, get the number of unregistered pets in Durham county down from the 60% or so level (you read that right - Cindy Bailey at Animal Control estimates the number of unlicensed dogs and cats in Durham at around 60% of the total population). But then what?

What penalties accrue to not registering your animal? Or not getting it vaccinated? Or letting it run around, intact, making more unwanted puppies? Or worse, breeding your dog for fighting? Let's not pretend that isn't a huge problem in Durham.

Here's another thing. I don't know how detailed the minutes of the ACAB get, or even if they get published on the county website. Last i looked i couldn't find them.

The director of the animal shelter raised a concern during the discussion about 911 that getting the police involved in potentially dangerous animal situations is going to lead to more innocent animals being shot by poorly trained officers.

Physician, heal thyself. Apparently, you already knew about this incident at the time you were complaining about the police being involved in dangerous animal situations because it might lead to innocent animals being killed. Personally, i'm willing to take that risk, if it means that the likelihood of some kid getting mauled by someone's fighting dogs is minimized. But really, the irony of the animal shelter director, who's just suspended an employee for putting down the wrong dog, complaining about the risk that the police might get trigger happy is just too delicious.

Let's fix the real damn problems first, then we can worry about the hypotheticals.

Continue reading OK, i'm back

22 degrees

That was the overnight low. No shelter, no water, 5 foot chain?

Animal Control Department can't seem to find the problem here.

Here's a clue:

ARTICLE III. ANIMAL ABUSE
Sec. 4-62. General care; prohibited acts.
(5) Animal abuse. Examples of animal abuse include, but are not limited to the following:
c. Allowing a dog or cat to be left outside in inclement weather or extreme temperatures without adequate shelter.

(6) Tethering of a dog except under the following circumstances:
Tethers must be made of rope, twine, cord, or similar material with a swivel on one end or must be made of a chain that is at least ten feet in length with swivels on both ends and which does not exceed ten percent of the dog's body weight. All collars or harnesses used for the purpose of tethering a dog must be made of nylon or leather.

Eight years, 7 tenants, 10 dogs, no doghouses, zero citations.

Can i get my tax money back from the county?

Continue reading 22 degrees

Do the right thing, Raleigh

N&O:

The City Council will take up the issues of dog tethering and smoking in Raleigh parks at its meeting today.

In November, Councilwoman Nancy McFarlane requested that city staff research the possibility of Raleigh adopting an anti-tethering ordinance. The staff's report, which does not recommend a specific course of action, will be delivered to the council at the meeting.

A number of municipalities and county governments in the Triangle have already outlawed or restricted the tethering of animals. Chapel Hill allows tethers no shorter than 10 feet; Carrboro's minimum is 15 feet; and both require chains or ropes designed to prevent choking. Orange County limits tethering to three hours in a 24-hour period. Durham County and the town of Clayton both have ordinances that prohibit dogs from being tied up or chained outdoors.

Raleigh currently requires that animals be properly sheltered, but the city's ordinance does not explicitly comment on the use of a chain or tether. The ordinance does state that keeping an animal under steps, decks or stoops does not constitute adequate shelter.

Contact info for the Raleigh City Council is here. Let 'em know you want to live in a civilized part of the world.

Continue reading Do the right thing, Raleigh

An open letter to Durham City Council regarding barking dogs

UPDATED BELOW

I had a frustrating day in court yesterday trying to deal with this issue, as the citation issuing police officer did not appear to testify in the case against one of my neighbors. I'd like to review the history of the barking dog issue, and ask some questions of the City Council.

Prior to September 2006, there were three ordinances that pertained to barking dogs. There was the city noise ordinance, Chapter 26, Article II, Section 26-23, Paragraph b3, which reads: Particular noises prohibited. The following acts, among others, are declared to be unreasonably loud and disturbing noises in violation of this section but the enumeration shall not be deemed to be exclusive, namely: (3) The keeping of any animal or bird which, by causing frequent or long continued noise, shall disturb the comfort and repose of any person in the vicinity.

There is also a county ordinance which reads similarly. But, prior to September 2006, primary enforcement of barking dogs was carried out by the county Animal Control Department under the nuisance animal provision of the County Code. This provision declared that dogs which barked in excess of one time per minute for ten minutes were nuisance animals, and could be impounded by the Animal Control Department.

In September of 2006, following months, if not years, of non-existent enforcement of this provision, the Board of County Commissioners, at the request of the director of the Animal Control Department, struck this provision from the nuisance animal section of the code, reasoning that the noise ordinances, which were enforced by City of Durham police officers (or County Sheriff's Deputies in the unincorporated areas of the county) would be a more efficient and effective method of combating this infringement on the quality of life of Durham residents.

In December of 2008, citing in large measure the volume of calls received by the Durham 911 system relating to barking dogs, the City of Durham announced the creation of a non-emergency number for residents to call instead of 911 to make complaints about barking dogs, among other non-life-threatening violations. I asked Jim Soukup, the director of the Durham 911 system, how many requests for service regarding barking dogs were actually received. Jim reported to me that between January 1, 2007 and November 30, 2008, a total of 7299 barking dog violations were reported to Durham 911. This amounts to about 310 per month for each of the 23 months in the period studied. Jim also reported to me that this number represented 1.7% of all calls for service received by the 911 system.

I think it's reasonable to assume that the actual number of instances in which residents had their "comfort and repose" disturbed by barking dogs during that time was significantly higher, as many people will be naturally reluctant to use the 911 system to deal with a quality of life issue. As the use of the new non-emergencynumber grows, it will be interesting to see by how much calls for service for this particular violation grow.

On July 12, 2008, one of my neighbors was issued a citation for allowing his dog to bark for approximately 5 consecutive hours, between 5 am and 10 am, on a Saturday morning. That case was supposed to be heard in court yesterday, January 13. I was subpoenaed as a witness for the state. The citing officer did not appear, and the state was reluctant to bring the case before the judge, assuming that the charges would be dismissed outright. Instead, I was asked to attend a mediation session with the defendant. Given the alternative of having the charges dismissed, I agreed, although in no way do I accept that the situation represented a "dispute" that needed "mediation." Rather, we have a clear violation of the law that needed to be dealt with. We reached an agreement that is, for all practical purposes, unenforceable, and i see no reason to believe that it will be honored.

Here are the questions I have for the city council.

Of the approximately 7300 complaints received in the period discussed above, how many were responded to by Durham police officers?

Of these, how many were resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant?

Of the remainder, how many resulted in citations for violating city ordinances?

How many of these citations were paid? How many were challenged in court? How many guilty pleas were entered?

How much money does the city of Durham estimate that it spends each year responding to barking dog complaints? How much money does the city collect in fines each year as a result of these violations?

Is the city proactively monitoring the number of complaints made under this ordinance now that a non-emergency phone number has been established to receive these calls? What plans does the city have to minimize the occurrence of this particular quality of life violation?

I recognize, especially now, that with property crimes increasing at an alarming rate in many parts of the city, quality of life violations may not be the highest priority of our law enforcement officials. However, as numerous studies have shown, deteriorating quality of life encourages productive and law abiding citizens to move out of neighborhoods, lowering property values, reducing tax receipts, increasing vacancy rates, and in general contributing to a downward spiral in the life of a neighborhood. Barking dogs are merely one symptom of a decay in quality of life in our city, but one that carries with it, i think many hidden costs. I am curious as to whether or not these costs are being recognized by you as our elected leadership.

Thank you for your time,
Mr. Dependable

====================

UPDATE: I did get some communication back from Durham PD indicating that the citing officer was home yesterday with sick children, and that the DA's office should have been aware of that, and asked for a continuance on that basis. Time will tell whether the mediation was a superior solution or not.

Continue reading An open letter to Durham City Council regarding barking dogs

Witness for the prosecution

Turns out i'll be in court today, possibly even testifying about noise ordinance violations. If people weren't such selfish morons, our criminal justice system could possibly concentrate on its real work instead of this stupid shit, and i could spend my days off at the beach, instead of the halls of justice.

Oh, well.

Continue reading Witness for the prosecution

Twelve hours and counting

That's how long the dog at 1707 Avondale Drive has been barking continuously as of 5 am.

Here's a sample of what he sounded like between 9 and 10 pm last night.


Interestingly, i've been subpoenaed to give testimony on Tuesday in a case where the property owner has been cited for a noise ordinance violation for allowing his dog to bark for a couple of hours at a time. I can't imagine that he'd skip town and abandon his dogs and property to avoid appearing in court, can you?

Adding - At what point does this become an emergency animal abuse case justifying immediate intervention by the county Animal Control Department?

UPDATE: Dog finally gave up the ghost around 6:20 and has been relatively quiet since then.

Continue reading Twelve hours and counting

Dogs and cats

Just go read Monica Chen's article in the HS this morning.
Here's the money quote:

A previously little-known ordinance that charges pet owners $10 per spayed and neutered cat and dog and $75 per unaltered animal is being collected by the Durham County Tax Administration Office this year, meaning higher penalties for those who get caught not paying the bill.

It's 2009, people. Durham is a growing urban community. How in the hell does the notion that you need to pay a licensing fee for your pet remain "little-known" this deep into the 21st Century?

What are we, fucking Mayberry?

License your dogs and cats, keep their rabies and distemper shots up to date, give them adequate food, water and shelter, take them for a walk once in a while, and get 'em spayed and neutered.

Continue reading Dogs and cats