Alas, two bills were passed by the city council Tuesday aimed at protecting dogs in New York City. Now Mayor Mike just needs to sign them into affect!
The first one takes aim at people who tie their dogs up outside in all weather for hours and sometimes even days at a time. The second looks to a more than 50% increase in the licensing fee for dogs that are not spayed or neutered.
NY1 covered the story and posted a video here: http://tinyurl.com/4kuw95s
Also published on Huffington Post.
Here for ICLW, which I know is about infertility…. but I’m a vet tech so my eye naturally got drawn to the dog (And, well, sadly I don’t have cable so couldn’t comment on your latest post about “Parenthood”)
I’m a Veterinary Technician and I think it’s great that they are cracking down on doing tie-outs in inclimate weather. Although even for short periods of time studies have shown that tying a dog like that increases aggressive tendencies. Dogs should either be walked or in a fenced yard.
While there are debates about licencing, I do think it is a good thing to encourage owners to spay and neuter. Leave the breeding to responsible people who have put a lot of time into researching physically and mentally healthy dogs and puppies, and lessen the load of animals going to shelters because there is not a home for them. Plus, it reduces all kinds of chances of cancer and eliminates Piometra, an infection of the uterus that if not caught early enough is fatal, and I’ve seen in clinics all too often.
Sorry to get all technical, but I’m a nerd, what can I say?
Hi Kira… don’t apologize for getting all technical. I am an animal welfare advocate who has spent countless hours working mash-up spay/neuter clinics doing just about everything but the actual surgeries. You can totally get technical with me
However, in my opinion, there is no such thing as breeding responsibly. When we have a euthanasia rate of about 4 – 5 million dogs and cats every year, breeding is irresponsible. Our local Animal Care & Control kills dozens of healthy cats and dogs a day and while a great deal of them are pit bulls and cats, there are also pure breds in there that people have paid thousands of dollars for and then just kicked to the curb because they are either moving, had a baby, got a new couch and so on. And not only do I believe that mandatory licensing of the animal would help weed out irresponsible pet owners, but I also believe that people who want to have pets should need a license of their own. I’d be the first to go out and get one! ~Ree