[hiker chick]

Beware Southern Californians....

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

Getting all dogs licensed would mean at least an additional $3.6 million in fees to the city.

The Department of Animal Services has eight full-time people whose job is to find and license dogs. The Department of Water and Power keeps a meter-reader database of homes with dogs.


The council ordered the departments to coordinate to find the pooches.

 

[Twilightzero]

Saw it on fark.com, crazy world it is. It's gonna be really interesting to see how far down California will slide before they're bailed out or go bankrupt.

But seriously...going after the dogs!? That's low :x

 

[barkdogs]

This is same LA City animal control that is not shutting down the horrible hoarder/rescuer in South Central LA. The kennel inspector guy is being bribed, ignores the conditions, and even tells them how to hide the dogs so their under the limit.

 

[ORANGEE]

The illegal dogs aren't thier problem..........just sayin'

 

[Jojo]

Aww come on, they do can do better than that.
Will they start incensing the kids next?
What about cats? goldfish---I think $5 per aquarium fish is fair? Farm animals, birds, birds that land in your yard.
How about a fee to park your car on the side of the street or have a mailbox on the street? A small fee for owning a BBQ grill.
A fee for every garbage can you have.
Oh I know! You have to track your cars mileage and pay a fee for every 10,000 miles you drive, for overuse of the road system.
How about a breathing our fog filled air fee? We wouldn't have to clean the air if you people would stop breathing it!:x
I could pull California out of it's deficiency, I need to go run for governor of CAlifOrnia (------that was done in my nest Arnold impersonation.

Best Auto Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

 

[calvin13]

If they started making cat owners licenses their cats they could resolve the budget.

 

[Twilightzero]

Just saw this morning that the state liquor license agency is now also busting bars for "rectifying" their own liquors - i.e. making flavored vodka such as limoncello. It's amazing how often people want to go after inconsequential problems and ignore the REAL issues...

 

[ramblerdan]

Why would anyone be against dog licensing? It's the only way to get a lot of people to have their dogs vaccinated against rabies.

 

[jesbecause]

politics , politics

....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Ruby

 

[usafe7ret]

Yep, they're gonna make 3.6 mil with this new program....and spend 5.2 mil in additional personnel expenses for hiring and benefits to manage it.

And you all though Spicoli was just a hollywood character...

 

[Twilightzero]

Why would anyone be against dog licensing? It's the only way to get a lot of people to have their dogs vaccinated against rabies.

I would say the issue is less about getting your dogs vaccinated and more about the fact that they're so cash-strapped that they're looking at the meager licensing fee as a valid under-tapped revenue stream.

 

[hiker chick]

Licensing of pets is for raising revenue. It would be honest to simply call it the Dog Tax and Cat Tax.

Do we dare take a roll call of those of us whose dogs and cats are licensed, or unlicensed?

Vets in Alexandria Virginia, where Gidget's is located, are now required to report to the city dog owners who live in Alexandria and whose dogs have been vaccinated against rabies at their clinic. I don't live in Alexandria so am not reported (at least that's what I was told).

Are dogs in Los Angeles required to display their license at all times?

What if animal control stops you on a dog walk and you don't have it?

I can't yet answer that question for DC law. Gidget has a variety of collars and harnesses that she wears depending on what we're doing (walking, hiking, scootering). And I don't move tags around.

I have several paper copies of Gidget rabies vaccination certificate at home and in a camping gear bag (never know when a campground will request proof of rabies vaccination), but couldn't say at the moment where her rabies tag is.

I have some sleuthing to do.

Governments are so desperate for revenue, there will be no end to their creativity in licensing/taxation/ticketing, etc.

 

[dog drool]

For years my dogs were not Licened I had to take time off work to go downtown to register them in person not mail in. Now that my vet rats me out requires by law i go downtown i had to show proof of them being netured I could not Find Sams record Thought about bringing hime in and showing his lack of do dad to the treasure.

 

[hiker chick]

For years my dogs were not Licened I had to take time off work to go downtown to register them in person not mail in. Now that my vet rats me out requires by law i go downtown i had to show proof of them being netured I could not Find Sams record Thought about bringing hime in and showing his lack of do dad to the treasure.

:razz::razz::razz:

Or hand over beef balls.

I wonder how well that would go over.

So I gather this was a Virginia state law change and not just Alexandria. It seemed such a Socialist Republic of Alexandria or Arlington thing to do.

DC's usually worse but I haven't been to a vet here for over a decade.

The SWAT team may be outside my door any day now. May have to grab Gidget and scram.


:shock:

 

[hiker chick]

Interesting. Apparently there was some blowback on the Virginia rabies info gathering for tax purposes.

I'm very libertarian when it comes to Gidget (well, most other things, too, for that matter).

I don't like having to report her to the government, for any purpose.

Unless I can get a tax deduction for the good cheer and community policing that comes from her being in public.


;-)


http://www.petitiononline.com/HB339/petition.html

To: Elected Officials in the Commonwealth of Virginia

As citizens of Virginia, we are opposed to the licensing fee proposed by HB339 for the following reasons: (A.) Responsible pet owners see a veterinarian routinely and have their pets vaccinated for rabies and other required immunizations. The Virginia Department of Health reports 406,613 rabies vaccinations were administered to dogs in 2006. This requirement for vaccinations for rabies is seen to be effective. (B.) For low- income families an additional expense such as HB339 proposes could prevent compliance with the expense already in place for rabies vaccinations or cause the families to have to choose between vaccinations or tax. (C.) HB339 attempts to attack irresponsible pet ownership which cannot be totally attacked successfully by licensing and fees. (D.) HB339 proposes an electronic database for securing information on vaccinations. There is no provision for providing for permission of owners for securing it or for how it would be used, or for determining other ways for reporting on issues that could be said to have caused such unfortunate incidents as the attacks and mauling of recent victims. Consideration should be given to past failures to encourage responsible ownership or to punish the opposite. As responsible pet owners we propose eradicating completely the need for dog licensing and in its’ place strengthen existing laws, thus providing local animal control officers the tools to more effectively enforce their job.

 

[dog drool]

I love how they tell me it so they can return my lost dog to me.. Like the tag with my name and phone number on it won't work or the rabis tag with the vets phone number on it or even the micro chip Noo they are going to take the licened number call the city have them look up my name and call me.ha
It is a dog tax don't lie and call it something else.

 

[hiker chick]

I'm causing thread-drift and I started the thread. Oh well, I like a vigorous discussion.

This blogger below (circa 2007) makes points in addition to those excerpted below about potential nefarious or at least intrusive uses of Virginia's new rabies vaccination database. Such as, the information on dog ownership (which includes breed) being provided to insurance companies, regulatory authorities that limit the number of dogs per household, mandatory microchipping etc (Gidget's chipped but I've had some concern about the safety of that and don't support mandating the procedure)


http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2007/05/virginias-new-gotcha-vaccine-database.html

Is Virginia in the process of creating a new "Gotcha" dog licensing database?

That's the fear of some, including the Virginia Hunting Dog AssociationFairfax Privacy Council who point to a new law that requires veterinarians to furnish city and county treasurers with detailed information about every animal receiving a rabies vaccination, including how many dogs a person owns, whether the animal being licensed is spayed or neutered, and the breed of the dog.

Beginning January 1, 2008, County treasurers will use this database to prepare and mail annual dog licensing bills to pet owners, just as they do now with real-estate and personal property taxes. and the

 

[Jojo]

I don't think you should have to pay a "tax" on a dog you got from a shelter or rescue organization.
I'm not saying that they shouldn't be vaccinated, most of them are already coming from these places--just no extra fee.

Best Auto Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

 

[hiker chick]

I love how they tell me it so they can return my lost dog to me.. Like the tag with my name and phone number on it won't work or the rabis tag with the vets phone number on it or even the micro chip Noo they are going to take the licened number call the city have them look up my name and call me.ha
It is a dog tax don't lie and call it something else.

Excellent points.

Breed clubs (including the national and local Samoyed clubs) are very concerned about pending legislation in some states in regard to limits on number of dogs per household, spaying status, etc.

Databases such as Virginia has instituted could play into that, too. Perhaps it was intended to.

I don't breed Samoyeds and disdain puppy mills but there is a big grey area in which a zeal to get at mills tramples on legitimate breeding. Of course, I suppose some don't think there is any legitimate breeding. And some are judgmental about purebreds, period.

There's a can of worms.


8)

 

[barkdogs]

Are dogs in Los Angeles required to display their license at all times?

What if animal control stops you on a dog walk and you don't have it?

Yes, they are required to display their license and rabies tag at all times. The general rule was that if you weren't causing a problem or being complained about, they wouldn't look for tags. That probably won't be the case now.

I'm not in favor of a licensing fee; however, we have such a HUGE problem with over-population that people are stepping up to get their dogs fixed (we have lots of free programs that include vaccinations and microchips) or they will pay a higher fee to license their dog. If it takes a $15 license fee to get those dogs get fixed and chipped, then I'm not totally against it.